I've been digging around and reading these forums for a couple of months now since I've had a renewed interest in audio. I've learned a lot and am beginning to listen a lot differently now. It seemed appropriate to share my first listening experience to "give back" to the forum and hopefully learn even more.
First, it might help explaining where I am coming from. I've enjoyed audio for quite some time, since college when I bought my first system (1988). It was just a Technics receiver, CD player, and some Polk Audio bookshelf speakers. Over the course of a few years, I began to "upgrade" some of these components, namely the receiver (Sony 100WPC) and the CD player (Onyko). The Polk speakers were still sounding good to my ears, so I kept them. At the time I listened to mostly Rock. Money was tight so my system stayed like this until my first real job came along. BTW, I'm still at my first real job.
I had some money to spend so I began to "upgrade". I didn't audition equipment much and didn't seem to care what is sounded like as long as it was loud. So, I ended up with a Carver CT-28v preamp, a pair of Carver TFM-15CB amps bridged to mono driving a pair of Klipsch KG 5.2 speakers. CDs were being played thru a Sony CDP-555 ES 300 disc changer. It did what I wanted. It played loudly.
Here I am now, 10 years later and 36 years old. My music has changed as well as my needs. I really like Blues and stuff like Dave Matthews, Counting Crows, REM, etc. My old system was tiring to listen too. The highs were harsh (an understatement) and the bass booming. My speakers were huge. I'm moving into a different house this Summer. Where are these speakers gonna go? Do I really need 225WPC? It was time to make a change... something drastic.
I'm cheap... no wait, frugal. Not because I can't afford better, but I'm not sure my ears could yet appreciate a $5000 system.... Maybe in another 10 years. So, I have a budget... not in dollars, but in value. Being in Maine means I won't have a chance to listen before I buy. So, I've decided to buy my equipment used when possible. If I don't like it, sell it and buy something different and I'm out only a few dollars in most cases.
The first thing that had to go are those Klipsch speakers. My new speakers had to be small in size and I was hoping to find something for under $1000. It didn't take long for me to decide on a pair of Algeria Lings. A few emails back and forth with Tim and they were on their way. They arrived yesterday. I hooked them up to a single Carver TFM-15CB amp and listened for a couple of hours last night.
The first thing I noticed was the highs... incredibly clear compared to the Klipsch, but a bit bright... oh, that's because the treble knob is at 3 o'clock. I crank it back to 1 o'clock... much better. This is when I begin to hear something that I've heard you talk about, but never truly experienced... soundstage. I thought I would need to get surround sound to hear music all around me. I never knew that the sound existed beyond the boundaries of my speakers. I clearly hear music well to the left of the left speaker, and right of the right. The stuff in the center is different too... what used to be in the middle and right in front of me is now behind the speakers (is this called imaging?). I also begin hear where the mics are placed... sounds like those conga drums on track 6 of Dave Matthews Crash each has it's own mic.. a bit strange if your used to listening to your music live. Acoustic guitar sounds incredible... I think I hear everything, not just the note, but fingers sliding over a string and a finger tap on the body of the guitar. I woke up early this morning just so I could hear it again and moved that treble knob to 12 o'clock.
At first, the bass seemed to boom... then I turned off that loudness button. Much better now. I hear the bass drum, a bass guitar, an upright bass and nothing in my house is rattling! It's amazing how much of the music was being drowned by huge booming bass. Why did that ever sound good to me? I'm excited to listen more, but I had to go to work.
I've been listening to music for years that was colored by my equipment. It's nice to finally start hearing what's really on that CD.
So what's next? Besides a lot more listening, I need to finish my speaker stands. Letting those Lings sit on top of the Klipsch speakers is less than ideal. Also, on my floor here in my office I have a Rotel RB-1050 amp and a Rotel RC-1070 preamp waiting to be introduced to system. But, I'm only changing a piece at a time. I want to hear how each piece changes the sound. Baby steps I guess.
Aaron, a well rounded and realistic review of what you are hearing. Jan's 'live music' is relevant only if you listen to live, unamplified music, which you may or may not have access to/ or intersest in.
I personally listen to Rock music, amplified and all. a different animal.
Jan's assessment is spot on, and my amplified music assertation is exactly correct(for me, drummer/vocalist). If you can narrow down your preferences, the products will fall into line fairly quickly.
My main amp is Rotel 985rb, and althought it is down for repair now, presents a very, very nice stage for my Psb Silver fronts.
I have not seen a lot of complaints from the Rotel owners here, so long as you understand what you are getting.(the speaker match is very important)
Aaron, your assement of the Lings is fairly consistant with others I have read. Understand what you are looking for and receiving, and you have a very flexible speaker for the sound that you expect.
The Lings will be a part of your listening for a long time, please continue to post your observations.
Welcome and excellent first listen and report. I'm interested to know what you hear after you introduce the Rotel gear, I think you will be even more pleasantly surprised, especially as Tim's Lings break in. (I'm a little jealous, I listened to Tim's Lings before I introduced an Adcom amp into my HT system and I suspect the Lings would have enjoyed the more and better amp power.)
Keep the information coming but most importantly, enjoy your new gear. Dave.
Welcome and excellent first listen and report. I'm interested to know what you hear after you introduce the Rotel gear, I think you will be even more pleasantly surprised, especially as Tim's Lings break in. (I'm a little jealous, I listened to Tim's Lings before I introduced an Adcom amp into my HT system and I suspect the Lings would have enjoyed the more and better amp power.)
Keep the information coming but most importantly, enjoy your new gear. Dave.
Welcome and excellent first listen and report. I'm interested to know what you hear after you introduce the Rotel gear, I think you will be even more pleasantly surprised, especially as Tim's Lings break in. (I'm a little jealous, I listened to Tim's Lings before I introduced an Adcom amp into my HT system and I suspect the Lings would have enjoyed the more and better amp power.)
Keep the information coming but most importantly, enjoy your new gear. Dave.
I listened a bit more last night and this morning. I took advantage of an empty house this morning and turned up the volume quite a bit. I noticed a lack of clarity that I had at lower volumes. The Lings need a lot more breaking in and I'm exicited to swap over that Carver stuff for the Rotel, but that'll have to wait.
Depending on what you were playing and at what level you may have been experiencing excessive cone travel. This is not an issue at moderate levels but if you're looking for higher output levels the lower ranges should be rolled over to a bass unit (subwoofer), 80Hz down for example.
That may be. I listened again this morning at high levels and didn't hear the same thing I did yesterday. It may have been the music... or me. I need to listen a lot more :-)