For all you audiophiles out there, I think the reason the cheap speakers sound so good is because the AA batteries my son put inside them are ionizing the air molecules and are allowing each driver to produce a more accurate tone. I highly suggest stuffing your speakers with batteries.
Haha, maybe you could rent your son out to audiophiles. There's a lot of nonsense out there with audio. With that said I'm in my 50's now and STILL have some speakers I bought when I was 15 (and have photos to prove it)... In short I've ALWAYS chosen speakers by going to a audio store and listening to "the best" but always blindly, I'd have the sales rep just give me a number. Trust your ears always! Now that finding electronic stores with sound rooms is difficult I bought a couple of speakers online that had rave reviews and HATED them, in fact same with some headphones that recently got sent back. Amps can sound very different though, I've found cheaper amps tend to exaggerate some frequencies, "vintage" amps even more so, it may produce a sound quality some like but I feel I'd rather have something flatter then add my own EQ to achieve that. My current home speakers are Klipsh RF7''s, if you can demo a pair check those out, I love the sound but if I turn them up my ears hurt so maybe if you have sensitivities it won't be a sound you enjoy. My wife and I attend over 100 live shows a year, many in small clubs even some jazz/classical without amplification to me I like a forward sound that emulates live audio as closely as possible. As always love your videos and the blunt honesty, you can make videos on anything and we'll watch :)
You figured out the secret. The great and powerful Oz has been unmasked. Now what you do is you start a company that charges people hundred and even thousands of dollars to modify their existing speakers to make them sound Audiophile. You could maybe call the company… I don’t know… FStop Research.
I feel into the audiophile things decades back with my dad. I got out of it when i realized that whatever you listen to, whether you pay $500 or $5000, there is always something better somewhere, and listening to find defects in equipment actually degrades the overall listening experience, the enjoyment of music. Get something you enjoy for money you can afford, and then just enjoy it.
100% the same here, it becomes like a drug, improve one part then you automatically say to yourself, well that didn't improve things as much as I thought it would, so the default 'Think' is, well the next bit of the system needs improving to get the best out of the new bit I just bought lol, and so on it goes, I was down the rabbit big time for about three years, but eventually cured myself of the disease my wife called 'Upgradeitus' 😂
If you’re going to pursue A/B testing I encourage you to at least test them blind. Studies have shown that people’s subjective impression of what they hear from a speaker changes with color alone. Literally, the same speakers in different colors yielded a different impression to the listeners. Audio is a weird world. I also should note that listening in the nearfield as you’ve shown can sound extremely different than listening in the farfield (2-3m) due to the dispersion characteristics and linearity of the speakers response as the sound is reflected from the sidewalls. Just my two cents.
Hey Erin, big fan of your channel and objective testing (that we didn’t do at all) I didn’t have the ability to do totally blind testing because I was there by myself most of the time but I tested so much over the course of weeks that I would forget what was plugged up and lot of time making it essentially blind. When I got Patrick to test, it was almost always blind although in one of the clips I showed he did know one of them was the polks based on where the sound was coming from but the very next test, he assumed I rewired them, but did not. We also did distance listening but I didn’t go into much detail. We bother preferred the elac over a distance.
Put literally ANY amount of distance between both sets of speakers and the proper amplification and the results will be massively different. The coaxial design of the KEF's, or in other words coaxial midrange and tweeters are designed to create large imaging. You need to be in between midfield to farfield for amazing results. Nearfield even the cheapest speakers with just enough amplification, heck even desktop speakers, will sound nice. You basically have the speakers in your ears with the exception that you can slightly have better left-right experience than headphones. If you set a few meters between both of these sets the Polk will age like milk.
I have a $200 Onkyo receiver, Polk Audio TSi300 tower speakers, and a Polk Audio powered sub base($200 or so). I've had this system for 15 years or so and absolutely love it. At the time the entire system cost around $600. I recall the tower speakers were on sale. My point of posting is --> if you don't have a lot of money this system will absolutely shock you and your friends for the amount of money you'll spend. It loves loud rock-n-roll, classical, and pretty much anything in between. I love it. FYI my amp never gets turned off either.
I used an A/B switcher before on very expensive amps. I could not hear a difference BUT when I removed the switcher from the system the sound quality dramatically increased. These cost effective switchers diminish amplifier quality significantly and probably shouldn't be relied on for comparisons. I ended up comparing the amps for months without using a switcher and there are defiantly differences.
those cheap swithers have series power resistor not to trigger a safety circuits in amplifiers when you switching between a speakers ... those "safety" resistors are mainly cheap ones and when you heat them up by power signal they sounds horrible due heat + added impedance to power stage heat amplifier power stage physicaly from nature of function... modern "amplifiers" mainly class d dont like high impedances , previous generation of cheap A/B class amps lack of good cooling tend to sound harsh just after minute or two when pushed and "foolproof" resistor is just a case to push them ... power stages on power IC chips are too very vulnerable to heat showing their bad side right in scenarios i mentioned previously... so all your "testing" is just about listening music througth bad resistor ...
I do have a pair of those Polk TSi 100, They were my second main speakers, and i love them. Now, i use them as front atmos speakers, and for fronts i have some old Wharfedale diamond 9.5 from a decade ago, and very pleased.
As a DIY guy I made a few 2 way bookshelf speakers. 1. A pair for 30$. 15$ unknown speakers (woofers) both had unwanted resonance at 400hz you could clearly hear, 3$ tweeters was quite ok, but not that precise and crisp, speakers had not much bass, but was quite loud, used ported box design. Sill much better than 80% of speakers in the market for 100 - 200$. 2. A pair for 80$. It was much better improvement in bass and highs. but could not handle much power (30-50W rms max). Used them for 5 years and was quite happy. 3. A pair for 250$. Used SL-657R (70$ each) ceramic woofers from china and some chinese 30W silk dome tweeters for 60$ a pair. Combined with 5x8 chinese passive radiators in about 4 litter boxes. It plays amazing. Bass is clear and deep due to passive radiators, silk dome tweeters are nice and warm sounding. Even without a subwoofer they can pack serious punch. Never heard such good sounding speakers even on 10$ class D amp. Not sure how much I could improve them, maybe there is a just little drop between 2-3khz but this is common with 2 way setups. Both can handle about 200Wrms Wasting few 1000$ on speakers and amps is not worth. What important is to get things right. Anything above 1000$ for a pair of simple 2 way speakers IMO is scam. There is still a lot of scam happening in audio equipment. So the best thing to DIY your speakers. Audiophiles are the targets of those scams. My research shown they have a lot of money and don't know shit about physics
100% this. Those little Polks are probably the closest to near field speakers, and probably why they sound the best on a desktop application. Set up those KEF LS50 Metas in a natural listening position of 7-8 feet away, and about 7-8 ft apart, and give them some juice, and they’ll sing. The clarity and detail with the KEF Uni-Q driver is stellar. I’m not a particular fan of the overall design aesthetic of LS50 speakers. They look like a giant chunk of plastic. I did love the look of KEF R3 in white. For my computer, I bought the little B&W MM1 powered desktop speakers years ago. They have a mini nautilus tweeter. While I normally don’t like the hollowed out voicing of some of B&W’s less expensive speakers and headphones - these little desktop beasts have a beautifully flat tonality with surprisingly good mid tones. Vocals sound so good. Bass isn’t deep, but it’s well balanced. I have them sitting on little desk top speaker stands so they’re ear level, and pushed a good bit wide to create a good listening triangle. They are fantastic - and about $200 for pair on eBay. Wish B&W still made these things. I still haven’t found anything that sounds as good as these tiny MM1 speakers at a desktop level - especially for price now. When it comes to sitting back and listening to music, my Revel M106 speakers with the fairly inexpensive REL HT1003 sub just brings a smile to my face. That wave guide is magic - creates a beautifully detailed holographic sound field. But that’s sitting on a couch and soaking in the music. I’m sitting in my basement giving this Revel rig a little spin before bed. Fffffffk. So good.
I came here to say the same thing just not with the correct terminology(near-field monitors). These speakers need to be across a room from the listener and ideally placed on stands. Unsurprisingly, they'll sound different, again, and probably better. He's better off with high end headphones than this setup. Another issue with this is that the A/B testing wasn't done blind. It effectively eliminates a lot of bias.
I love this video. I too binge hi-fi RUclips reviews. I too lust after expensive equipment. But everytime I’ve taken a chance on higher end gear I’ve always been disappointed even when spending weeks of not months to try and properly set up my room. So I’ve determined my ears are either not sensitive enough or that the law of diminishing returns sets in WAY sooner than the influencers would have you believe. Cheers brother.
you forgot "wall treatments". you need an elaborate setup of different sized wood-block "pictures" and textile wall hangings. Don't forget you have to build them yourself w/$2k in tools because you are a budget conscience hi-fi diyer....
@@K03sport And you forgot that no matter how expensive your gear setup and room treatment is, it will always sound crappy without, at the very least, a 5k/feet power cable pair.
The difference in sound when you change their positioning is due to room acoustics. To minimize this effect, set them up in an equilateral triangle with your listening position, ensuring the speakers are at ear height and away from the wall like you mentioned. Additionally, level matching the audio is crucial since louder often seems better to our ears.
KEFs are not designed to be listened at THAT near field. The engineers designed them to compensate for room gain and in room response. You need a proper set up and adequate distance. Speakers and HIFI are all science based as well. I dont think that $99 polks measurement gona be better than the LS50s
After all music is to be enjoyed by the listener. Who cares how the speakers measure in a lab environment or how much they cost. Go by what you like the most, ultimately you will be the listener. To quote Steve Jobs: "life is too short to live someone else's life"
its not about scientific measurements its about what he hears and we ALL hear differently. We also all see differently. He found what sounds best to him and the expensive snake oil speakers wasn't it.
I've owned Polks, of all sizes and types, for 25 years, including car speakers. I think they are the best sounding speakers for the price. Smooth and warm sound.
Polk is a great value brand for that East Coast sound. I also like certain Boston units. East coast is typically somewhat less clinical and smooth is often the description.
The Kef's sound very good, but perhaps for a more discerning ear. They definitely wouldn't sound great on top of another speaker as it's best to have the tweeter at ear level, not above it, and they perform best with good power. Additionally should be sitting back from the speakers at least the same distance that the speakers are spread apart. So 4 - 6 feet back ideally for critical listening so you can really hear the imaging, which is a large part of what the Kef's are great at.
This is the strangest test for listening to speakers that I have seen. There is a vast difference between listening at super close range and at distance beyond say 5 feet away. The one real takeaway is that what sounds good is 100 percent subjective. I am glad you found what works best for your ears and that it turned out to be without additional cost.
@@donsimpsonshead8809 I think they know exactly what they're doing. This type of video will stir up lots of passionate comments, good for the algorithm and more views. I owned the 99 dollar subwoofer they showed in the video about 10 years ago. For a $99 and if you have nothing to compare to its not bad but I've heard and owned way better subs since then. I cant take the video seriously knowing what I experienced with that sub.
@@FStoppersthen why didn’t you show the test being done at that range. All we can see is your friend sitting near table with speakers kept above each other and within 1 meter distance.
Love andrew robinson’s channel also. Thanks for the ‘world’s colliding’ moment-my favorite audio channel being mentioned on my favorite photography channel was pretty fun!
Keep in mind that speakers also sound different near field and far field. Near field, such as two feet away on a computer desktop, requires very little power compared to that same pair of speakers in a dedicated listening space where they may be five to eight feet away from the listening position. That additional power handling is where you may start to hear the differences between amplifiers and speakers. I also listen to speakers near on my computer desktop. Speakers that use similar technology do sound very similar at low power levels. But if I go from horn loaded/wave guide tweeters speakers vs surface mounted dome tweeters verse decoupled tweeters then the differences become apparent almost immediately. I even had a pair of speakers whose sound field shifted from wide to narrow as the frequency moved above or below the speaker's crossover point between the tweeter and the woofer. I am not assigning quality of sound here. That is a different topic all together. Thank you for your video and insight.
100% agree with you. I have the same experience. I am 50 years old and listen to a lot of speakers on hifi shops. It's a lot of bull shit in hifi culture - just to motivate "scam" customers with really expensive stuff. I have a small pair of Dali, 500 Euro. Equalizer also important in my opinion to fine tune your type of sound.
Two schools of thought.... equalize to correct what you're hearing, or treat the room. If you have the time, budget, and motivation, add bass traps and sound-absorbing material to damp the resonances that throw the frequencies out of balance. You can fix a lot with EQ, but you can't fix everything. Even just a sheet of foam rubber (dress it up with a piece of fabric, if you like) at the nodes on the wall can make a room *much* better.
@ sorry but your type is for me a complicated and neurotic idiot. I guess you don’t correct contrasts and colour settings on your TV, you instead put a nylon sock over the screen and a bunch of other tricks? Again, your HiFi bullshit I heard for so many years. You have to also consider that all your recordings are different, what u do then? Rearrange your setup for each band/song?
@820stovall ABSOLUTELY. 👍 It is even more absurd that they tested them grouped and stacked while facing straight ahead. Sitting so close means they're listening way off-axis, so the upper frequencies would be significantly rolled off. Then there's the fact the KEFs are single-point source speakers explicitly designed for sound-stage presentation, which is impossible to create with the way their speakers were placed.
You are not crazy! Polk TSi series are seriously underappreciated. I happen to have Polk Tsi 300's, 100's and CS10 center channel hooked up to a Denon AVR. The system sounds great for gaming, movies, and music. Too bad Polk replaced the TSi line cause these speakers are fantastic for the money! Lots of fun....
Exactly they don't compete with my paradigm or b&w towers, but they're simply amazing for $100. The tsi300s are a steal if you can find em used market for a starter setup then buy these tsi100s for surrounds. Used receiver and sub and boom you've got a legit starter system
Great video! There are so many things that effect sound prior to it entering our ears, from source to the room with varying amounts of electronics in between and your experiment illustrates significant (but not exhaustive) examples of this. Great job getting the tweeters to ear level, bringing them to the edge of the table to minimize the reflection of the table top and I know that you listened at distance as well. Room correction adjustments are my next pursuit. These are all things that I am currently doing as I reenter the amazing world of audio, and do so on a budget. All of my speakers are Polks and all are old. The RTi 28 and 38 bookshelves as well as the RTi4 bookshelf and like you, the very underrated TSi100's. Polk subs round out the speakers, the PSW10 and PSW303. Yeah, I appreciate Polk. I have the same Sony amp as you, 2 class D amps, Fosi Audio bt20a pro and RSL ia255.1 and 2 aged AVR's from Onkyo and Kenwood. There are 3 setups in the house and Wiim mini's with SMSL SU-1 dacs source all, along with cd/dvd players as well. Like you, I am looking at what sounds good and how do I get the most out of it because I love having pleasing music play in our home. My combinations all sound different, sometimes significantly so but all of them, when placed well, cause me to close my eyes and hear the music, not the gear. Have fun, I know that I am!
For an amateur audiophile like myself, this video confirmed some thoughts I had, but I think the testing seemed a little problematic. Nevertheless, it reminded me that speaker placement makes a huge difference. I can't move my PC speakers to ear level (no room!) but I pointed them upwards to my ears from sitting on the desk below my monitors, and the clarity from how it was before pointing them up is incredible.
These are the wrong speakers for his needs. Instead he needed some active monitors designed for near field use. A Kali, Adam or Genelec speaker would have been perfect and he wouldn’t have needed an amplifier, they’re in the speakers.
Thanks for this, and what you said about listening to things that you normally wouldn't. I worked for a big box electronic store and people would come in asking for the 'best speaker' they could get within their budgets. I really hated when they said that because first, our 'training' was limited and it's amazing how people are influenced by brand. Fortunatley, one of the guys that did car audio installations shared his knownledge. You could show them a very good speaker, and they would say it wasn't loud enough, or didn't have enough base..etc. I would always remind them, "Listen, we are basically in a huge warehouse, it will completely sound different in the room they are in and what and where you place them." Still, they would go for the name brand and always thought that the more money they spent, the better the sound. They always ended up returning them, no matter what I would say. Our clients were mostly from the local college, and they always expected small, rechargable, blutooth speakers to sound as good as a home set-up, so I hated selling them. I have a Sowo portable speaker that I've had for a few years and the sound from it is amazing. I would play music on on it and people were always amazed at how great it sounded. They always wanted something that they could get 'right now' that was just as good. My point is, I really appreciate you taking the time to do this, the next time someone asks me about speakers, I'm going to have them watch this.
You are the first audio review I have seen on RUclips or anywhere that did it right and got it right. I have been an audio hobbyist for over 50 years, and you sir are 100% correct on all of your conclusions. Notably, the speaker room/height room connection is what a person hears. Great job! 👍
Very well done. Three decades ago, I wanted to buy a cheap but well regarded Polk audio speakers. They didn't sound good when trying them out at home, but I was telling myself they must be better than my $10 car speakers in an open box, until my mom, who is a professional singer, say they sounded less harsh but didn't sound better. They only reason I can think of is that the minimal crossover design of the car speakers must be the reason why they sounded better.
I think you're brave man! Not a lot of people make a video like this even if they think the same way. For me, nearfield listening, a subwoofer and a bit of eq make wonders and save a lot of money. And I have the Elacs b5.2 and I must admit I hated them in one room and loved them in another. I've always thought it's better to get the best out of a more modest gear than spend what you cannot afford in something that is only going to be slightly better and this can be done with placement, eq,...
The problem with auditioning new speakers is that the sound of any speaker changes quite significantly as they are broken in over time, new speakers tend to sound quite harsh and cold for many tens of hours until all the moving parts have had time to "breathe". Interestingly, the Elacs were the only three-way pair of the bunch, which I'm not sure if you picked up on, that might go some way to explaining their smoother sound which you mentioned. Audio is such a huge minefield filled with disinformation and strong opinions, you absolutely did the right thing by choosing the ones you personally liked the most.
lol.... Speaker break in is a myth and not scientifically even able to be measured via microphones. Audioholics debunked this in any article years ago.
Speaker "rolling-in period" is a myth... it's the brain which gets accustomed over that time :D Only the dried glue on the spider can change the compliance of a cheap cone when fired up the first time (most expensive speaker go through a quality check, making the issue non existent) and thus, the sound... and that autocorrects in like 3 seconds, not "weeks"
This confirmed a lot of how I set myself up. My set up is low budget and some speakers are cheap 90’s box store brand from the side of the road placed in vintage boxes/cabinets. I also added subs, but also small drivers pointed at the wall, 6 speakers all together, two small subs, yet, an old eq system, one: to tune, and two: to go between digital and vinyl on the fly. I am happy with my system and it was cheap. Others see my stealth set up, but then are blown away by sound. Placement is a huge element in this kit, some knee height, some ear level at sitting position, and others high up and pointing at the wall and ceiling, and completely hidden.
like cheap plastic speakers? Or you take the drivers out and hide them in tabletops and stuff or what? im trying to understand this comment is all lol like cheap philips/RCA cody type brands or what?
In 2014, I brought a set of Polk TSi 100, Cs 10 and PSW 10 speakers from a trip to the United States, along with a Pioneer VSX-824 Receiver and an Apple TV. I recently added a DVD player as a CD transport and an SMSL SU-1 to the set. They work perfectly to this day and the sound is very pleasant, whether playing CDs or lossless/hi-res from Apple Music.
Props to you man for identifying and admitting when enough is enough. There are a lot of diminishing returns in the audio world and ppl don't speak about it to not get ridiculed by so-called audiophiles. I think more people need to rise up and say cut the crap already
Yeah,that's for sure.But this is not an audiophile channel,his review just proves one point:all speakers in this video are the same level(forget about the price tag,too many marketing BS today).Could you image Fstoppers upload a video titled "the best DSLR We've ever used cost $99",then he tell you there are slightly differences betweent entry level and premium level model?
That is called a disclaimer. As he is giving purchasing advice, presented objectively, where he makes definitive claims on products. IE This is better than that. He has to say that.
@@R33GTRRRR Trust me ... there is nothing objective about AR's "reviews". If you want an objective examination of hi-fi gear try "Audio Science Review" (Do a search).
The listening room and speaker placement and listening position as well as the objects in the room and materials etc will impact the sound field and frequency curve of the particular audio material perceived. Then factor in your individual personal ear and scull construction…. Yeah, impossible. No such thing as perfect, but there is an optimal combination for your particular use case.
I've said for years the Polk Tsi 100 are crazy awesome. I was forced to use them one time as my primaries due to space, they sound so good. I now use them in outside entertainment area.
I suspect the switchbox is a possible bottleneck. However, speaker placement is, as you said, crucial to the presentation of each speaker. A rule of thumb is to have the tweeter at ear level and in some case pointed at your ears. You can certainly get a good quality sound even if you use Spotify as a source but that’s a whole different story.
Speaker placement in a space has by far the most impact on sound. Even in meticulous acoustically treated rooms it makes a huge difference as it's unrealistic to evenly address all reflections, phase cancellation, etc. In most cases, understanding your listening space characteristics and selecting speakers that work better in that space yields better results.
Loved the video, very interesting to get a non-audiophile, pragmatic perspective. And I find comments like "you're sitting too close", "you're using the wrong gear/ the gear wrong" funny.
But they are completely valid points. The tweeter in Polk speaker is closer to the ear level as it should be so no wonder it sound the best. Also, some speakers need more volume and more space between the speaker and the listener to sound the best. I have somewhat cheap but great Wharfedale 225 speakers, Onkyo A-9010 amplifier and a mid level subwoofer SVS SB-1000 Pro. It is a great system for music, movies and games.
Some of my friends are audiophiles, investing tens of thousands in high-end equipment. They're never satisfied with these systems, and are always buying something they perceive as "better", when an inexpensive system will suffice.
There were definitely a lot of face palm moments but to be fair 99% of audiophile reviews and documentation are on a par and less transparent about it. He's just watching the wrong audio channels. Maybe the next time he's in the market he'll binge acoustics Insider rather than cnet lol
@@leedolman3191 BAHH LOL , Mate, just having ears doesn’t automatically make someone an expert on high-end audio. This guy clearly has no clue what he’s talking about when it comes to critical factors like speaker placement and proper pairing of amplifiers and power. Speaker placement alone can make or break the soundstage and imaging, while the right amp-to-speaker synergy is essential for maintaining clarity, dynamics, and tonal balance. Throw in things like room acoustics, cable quality, and even power conditioning, and it’s obvious this isn’t just plug-and-play. High-end audio is all about precision, and this guy’s approach misses the mark entirely. Leave the comments to people who know a thing or two about audio
Well, I was wondering about the name of your channel, thinking that it would be about photography--thanks for clarifying it for me. I am happy for you, that your "cheap stuff" was more satisfying to you! One of the best speakers I have ever listened to was my old BIC Venturi II's. Awesome bass, awesome mids, awesome highs. They are incredible speakers! Thanks for a very entertaining video!
Many commenting these speakers are not designed to be listened to in near fiels, that's what studio monitor are for. Like the radiation pattern is drastically changed between these two when sitting in close. Lol what? Far field speakers have wider disspersion pattern, that's all. NF monitor have narrower "beam", so the positioning is even more crucial than FF speakers. But saying that you lose some information by sitting close is of course completely false. You don't get any nulls or pluses if you go closer to a wide beam, if that would be the case it would mean that by going far the nulls would be even worse. "Shadow" gets bigger that farer it's being projected. You get all the info as when sitting far, just the room is not interacting that much. Usually listening in far field is much harder to do than NF, cause you must have a perfect room to really hear the speaker properly.
to be fair to the KEF you arent setting them up the way theyre designed. If you need help finding that resonant 100hz let me know. Also you should try lower gauge speaker wire. Im curious if you notice the difference but I do.
You've discovered the rule of thumb placement for studio monitors. Also, for near-field desktop use you should try out some studio monitors. I quite like my Yamaha HS-8(0M)...they seem to have become an industry standard.
@@DrewPerayeah not that big of a deal for most. I hv a good dac and bought decent headphones in DT 880. Tried lossless tidal vs Spotify no EQ. Maybe a 5% change? As a guitarist and vocalist it’s mostly the same with amps. The tubes! They have like 5% change at most type thing.
The switch box will definitely inhibit the ability of the higher end amp to sound its best. It like using a cheap receiver as a preamp for a high end power amp. There is a significant degradation of sound quality running electronics through cheap switchers.
@@buttonman1831 a lot of musicality isn't perceived consciously. It's like a person taking a glance at a masked person with a hat and only seeing their eyes and can almost immediately gage their age and gender. And then when you ask them to quantify and why they guessed it. They can't. So much is in the unperceived nuance. So much of music reproduction is in the inperceived. You can't quantify why live music just sounds better than any reproduction through speakers. He method has multiple bottle necks everywhere. Or in photography terms. It's like compressing he the hell out of an images colour space From 16bit Adobe RGB to 8bit sRGB And then putting it on A World class monitor vs wallmart Samsung tv and saying. I don't see a difference in skin tones.
I’ve got those very polk speakers and just moved them to my office from the garage and I’m happy with them. I knew you were going to say the Klipsch were harsh. I’m glad I watched this so I don’t chase a ghost, lol.
The comment section alone makes this video worth it. Imagine dropping orders of magnitude more money on a speaker system then having to read from a RUclips commenter that "you're just doing it wrong".... I wish these experts would link us to the manufacturer documentation that specifies exactly the room volume size, distance, room materials, audio source format, air density, temperature, elevation etc. that their fancy speakers should be used at. Also if you spend THAT much money that info should be printed front and center on the box or manual, or on a golden plate attached to the speaker. If you can't then maybe consider the fact that a speaker system that requires you to read online comments in order for you to "get it right" just plain sucks, or most likely, is just way overpriced. High-end RUclips review content in many cases has become like the mainstream media, we still watch it sometimes but mostly for entertainment purposes.
One example where he figured out he was doing it wrong was the revelation he had when he discovered adjusting speaker height. Having tweeters pointed at your ears is a pretty basic principle of speaker setup, and he'd been doing it wrong for years. There are other important factors as well that he just doesn't know about. So yeah, he's doing it wrong. IMO that doesn't mean he's wrong to do it. If you're not setting up a room for sound, not able to find the perfect listening position and speaker placements, not able to acoustically treat the room, not able to decouple the speakers and sub from resonating surfaces, etc., you SHOULD just test your speakers how you're gonna use them in the room where you're putting them. This is the right way to review speakers for yourself and the room you have. And if the cheap ones give the best result, that's a huge win! Making a video about it without these caveats make it sound like he's claiming it's a proper review, though. A serious review would need to be done with a proper room setup to mitigate outside factors. The room itself can have just as much impact on your perception as speaker choice, and a well setup environment vastly minimizes that. It's still a factor! But he'd be able to get much more repeatable results.
I’ve never liked the LS50s, never understood the love for them. I’m what you’d call an audiophile, listening to equipment, as you’ve done, is the only way to find the setup for you. Cost doesn’t equal better, audiophile equipment is insanely priced, it’s the audiophile aficionados that will pay it as we love the equipment as much as the music.
*This is incredible.* Not the content of your message, whatever surprising and exhilarating it may be, but to me, it is the clarity of your presentation that surpasses everything I've heard so far. I have replaced TV with the Yt long ago, and have a lot of viewer experience, mind you!
I had some POLKs just like those... but with covers on the front... My roommate always complimented them. Then I had a friend who worked for Pioneer tell me the best speakers he ever heard were PSB speakers so I recommended them to a friend. He purchased a pair of PSB speakers nearly identical to my POLKs... And he asked me to "Burn them in until his new amp arrived" so I swapped out my polks with the PSBs.. They looked nearly IDENTICAL... My roommate IMMEDIATELY asked me "What did you do to the sound? It's INCREDIBLE NOW!" I showed him I swapped out the speakers.... They were THAT much better. It was amazing.. A month later my friends amp arrived so I swapped the PSBs back out for my polks... My roommate again... "What did you do? You swapped them? DAMMIT!" He immediately could tell the PSBs were literally MILES better than the Polks.
Hence, why I bought some PSB Imagine XBs to complement my NOS Energy RC-10 bookshelf speakers. Once I get done with my headphone system (ie: Hifiman HE1000SE planars + Gustard A26/H26) - and rearrange my listening space - I'll be looking into DIYing a Parts Express subwoofer to go along with them.....
OMFG!!! HAhahahahaha!!! It takes a freaking photographer to make the most sense in hi-fi than any other hi fi reviwer I've ever heard! I freaking love it. BTW I'm a photographer and videographer. I think I have the same enclitical mind. Amps don't matter, speakers can matter, use a sub with every speaker (even the biggest baddest speakers), placement is everything, your room treatment is everything! Room treatment a little less important when you're listening nearfield because the percentage of direct sound vs reflected sound is less but still, you nailed everything and I freaking love it!
I disagree. Amplifiers do matter. But most amps are good enough anyways... This isn't true anymore since cheap class D amps like the Wiim amp flooded the market. They show amazing specs, but they're underpowered and not linear. So you may experience listening fatigue after a while. Just get any class AB amp, even the Sony in the video will do.
Agree, this is one of the best videos I have seen. He does say that the KEFs are better than the Polks....just not $900 better. All the audiophiles who keep claiming that some $2000 amp will blow the Wiim out of the water are remarkably reluctant to perform even simple AB tests let alone blinded AB tests
Hi, greetings from the distant Netherlands! :-) RUclips had been recommending your video for a few days, and I finally decided to click on it. I’ve been into vintage audio for years and have had the pleasure of owning and listening to many different setups. The fun part of this hobby is buying something, enjoying it for a while, and then selling the component you like least-hopefully at a profit. Since last summer, I’ve been working on putting together a permanent system. I managed to buy a hand-built, 40 kg (88 lbs) single-ended tube amplifier, producing 2 x 18 watts, for €800 from an enthusiast. A few weeks ago, I picked up an Audiolab M-DAC+ for €250 as a temporary preamp and a permanent DAC. The DAC supposedly had an issue that could be fixed by switching the filter. That small effort was worth it for the reduced price. So far, no sign of the issue, so it’s been an absolute steal! My old KEF RDM2 speakers sound fantastic, but upgrading my speakers is the next step in my journey. I’ve got my eye on the KEF LS50 Meta.
As a guy who owns somewhere in the vicinity of eighty turntables and bunches of vinyl; and as someone who has a RUclips channel devoted to vinyl records . . . Man, I absolutely agree with you.
I think your review is applicable for 95% of people, and the most honest. Re 'audiophiles', it's like wine experts who mistakenly prefer boxed wine. They hear what they think they're supposed to hear, because the equipment is more expensive, so it must sound better.
I think the wine expert analogy is right on, but different than what you lay out. As someone becomes more expert in wine, they can taste and appreciate small differences the rest of us just don't sense. they are real but subtle. Personally, I've become more discerning of some of those, but have discovered that a $300 bottle of wine (got one as a gift) still doesn't taste that much better to me than a well-chosen $25 bottle. I probably could not distinguish them in blind tasting. I do believe there really are differences, but below my level of discernment... so I stick to $25 or less.
This assumes that the price is an indicator of quality. It is not. IMO the analogy is spot on. I’ve never had an expensive wine that actually tastes significantly different or better than another wine from the same place. IE a 200 dollar Meursault doesn’t taste better than a 20 dollar Bourgogne. There might be some subtle differences, but not better. No, you don’t need a golden tongue to tell what tastes good. I really don’t think what you’ve even buying most of the time is tastier wine. The Meursault club at my local wine shop is an exclusive group. The same applies to audio IMO. You don’t need golden ears to hear that all amplifiers, when not in distortion, sound identical. The people that claim you are too simple to tell the difference have a vested interest in selling. Audio reviewers will give you a disclaimer about subjective nature of this all. If you started mixing in used equipment especially to this conversation as price is a significant factor and varies wildly. People will also pay for brand recognition as it is usually tied to value retention.
14:40 ... this might sound a little odd but given the price it's worth a try. It sounds like you're sitting right in an excitation point for a standing wave. Simply try moving your desk a couple of feet in any direction and see what happens. If you can find the null point you might have a totally free solution to a nasty problem.
Your account brings to mind people who say that they prefer instant coffee to coffee brewed with freshly ground Sumatra beans or prefer the cheap wine they regularly drink to Napa Cabernet. If you (and your friend) cannot tell one system from another your powers of auditory discrimination are limited. You can prefer your speakers (Polk is good company and makes decent cheap speakers.) but 30 years of experience has taught me that high quality speakers play music very differently.
@@lvi3818 All depends on the model too. Low end Polk stuff is cheap, but 30 years ago Polk were a pretty high end name is it seems like they didn't forget how to make decent kit. Their Reserve line is very difficult to beat for even twice their price unless you are building your own speaker.
Interesting. I remember when you first did the video on the Polks. You were so convincing that I went and got the exact same setup , except I got a Sansui receiver. Though I had one issue in that the speakers were too large for my desk. So they ended up on stands for the TV. I eventually replaced them with Klispch speakers for the computer and still run the Polks on the TV. Very accurate IMO, and great job!
A-B testing is good. Setting up speakers and the listening position in this way is not. Having certain tracks that offer specific instruments, frequencies or voices and comparing those tracks (if they are recorded well) is great. Just living with them day to day setup like this doing whatever… well lets just day im not surprised they dont sound that much different. Basic things to note in placement are distances apart for stereo imaging and depth of the soundstage, if they are ported and if so, front or rear (because that affects how close to a wall you should have them), the room in general as well- seriously. True hifi nuts have acoustically treated rooms. Personally, if the speakers are in the affordable range (aka fractions of what a normal family car costs) the speakers should also be listerned to in a space where such a family would live daily for a sense of realism and normality. One wouldnt sit so close to speakers, especially if they arent desktop monitor speakers Im quite new to the hifi hobby but have been pleasanly surprised at how much small changes can make. Knowing some nerdy features about a particular speaker or even driver design might also inform all of the above factors (and more). As an example, some speakers only realy wake up if you smack them into action with a more powerful amp, others donwell with delicate encouragement. Then AB testing doesnt really seem like a fair comparison. What i do have to agree on in a strong way is the law of diminishing returns: the more younpay the smaller the incremental improvements are and the more specific the application becomes as well (not all speakers and amps do well with classical music). Even more compelling is the fact that cheaper / older / secondhand speakers and amps may be a lot better value for money if you dont need professional grade sound reproduction. Bottom line is do your favorite artists and music genres give you tue feels on your system in your space? Then you have a winning combo. When we moved, my awesome hifi combo sounded blander than cardboard boxes they came in. I want to be there, be moved and hear all they intended me to - then the hifi itself evaporates and im just left getting goosebumps in an invisible mist made purely out of an artist’s drive to convert their hearts and minds into sounds.
worked in audio for 25 years, the amount of times we blindtested "audiophiles" and they couldnt guess expensive speakers over cheap speakers....lots of people think things sound good because of what they cost
I think the key takeaway in this video is you’re looking for what you “prefer” and not what objectively and technically sounds better. Using Spotify isn’t really conducive to these kinds of tests.
While I agree that using Spotify is lousy for evaluating the quality of sound from a system, exactly how does one "objectively and technically" determine which sounds better? Do measurements alone determine what sounds the best? Shouldn't the subjective impression be the final arbiter?
@@bentonpix Well, I do agree when it comes to determining what sounds "best" as that could be very subjective when it comes to which qualities determine what is "best", and which qualities are above others. However, determining what sounds "better" objectively is also relative to what are being compared. Some things can be measured, some things can be described. Some speakers can be good at detail retrieval, while some can be good in sound staging. It's all relative. It's important to know how they are objectively, then choose which ones fit our subjective preferences.
I’m Just starting out! Sounds like I am exactly where you were at the beginning. Scored Pioneer SPBS22LR bookshelves (by Andrew Jones) for 40 bucks and got a Wiim Amp for $240 (“black friday”) … all in $300 with cables and am giddy with the result! Excited and anxious 😅 for the slippery slope to come Btw awesome vid, I’m tuning in to all those same channels already myself … you got a sub 👍🏼
If you are "just a beginner" please let me give you a little advice that I hope will save you a ton of fret and disappointment... Do NOT even consider going down the "cables and accessories" rabbit hole. It's just a complete waste of your money. In a nutshell, these guys are selling solutions to problems that nobody actually has. If you can't confirm the big claims from sources outside the audiophile community, rest assured they are lying to you.
I love hearing non audiophiles do test like this. I watch all the same audiophile channels and wonder how much of a difference there really is. Very interesting!
Absolutely loved this, and i was not disappointed by the comments! Great test, i applaud you for doing it A/B with a switch. That right there is something all the audio reviewers should be doing. Now lets hear it from all the audiofile snobs and know -it-alls how this review is unvalid and not done proper! 😅
He was able to figure out his room ringing at 100 hz so i don't think he's deaf. I think he's honest with what he is hearing and understands visual bias which audiophiles seem to struggle with.
The video is a experience sharing. Enjoyed it. From the various comments, I want to generalise as: Audiophile listens to the audio as a science, non-audiophile listens to music as an art. First is tangible and the second is transparent thru the system.
I'm having the time of my life listening to all the "wise" people telling our host what's wrong with his setup, how he could get better results, how his stuff isn't good enough and on and on and on. BUT .... how many of these advisors actually took the time to A-B compare, to test and re-test, or even try different things in their own systems? I'm betting almost none of them. Audiophiles are some truly strange little critters.
I stopped caring about million dollar system, pie-in-the-sky audio reviewed by many. I have thrift shopped most of my gear and am extraordinarily pleased with my component stack. I have a Denon stereo receiver, a Denon CD player, a Fluance RT82, a Kenwood cassette deck, and a WiiM Pro streamer. A pair of JBLs and another pair of Boston Acoustics with a Velodyne sub makes things sound sweet. All for the price of cables on some one-percenters Mcintosh set up.
yeah cheap 7.1 hdmi yamaha reciever I puchiced used for peanuts on craigslist marketplace, advent baby 2s, alto powered tx308s that are supose to be pa speakers but kickass and dirt cheap brand new, and some nicer goodwill jensons for the rears, cheap $90 polk sub, cheap klh center channel I got from a trade, radioshack linear tracking tt I fixed up and a teak cassette and my pc/phone connected to the aux it sounds fabulous and I have several options to use it.
Somewhere around the 70's amplifier brands decided to REMOVE tone control knobs, the mantra was, that the BEST amplification was a straight line,so you could hear music exactly the way the sound engineer in the recording studio recorded it ( as if any modern well equipped mixing table has no tone and fase altering knobs) that is like driving a expensive car with a permanently fixed gas and steering wheel, or if it was a camera, a " fixed focus" lens ...you get the point. Years earlier many amps came even with a treeway tone filter ,bass,MID' TREBLE, capability,that was VERY GOOD for the customer,but very BAD for business, sincy it forces the innocent customer to now start messing with different tuned speakers, witch in the sellers showroom sound MARVELOUS, but in many homes disappoints because the room acoustics and placement is totally different,any way as of the years ' 90 To today, many expensive amplifiers come without tone controls,or ( oh horror, equalizers) so for speakers sellers this is a GREAT way to keep pumping out year after year " improved" versions of their speakers. the Hifi and certainly the " HIGH-END" AUDIO BUSINES IS filled with many sellers of " snake- oil" today . Best thing is to do what you did, buy or rent equipment ,and test it out with YOUR MUSIC, IN your room, and don't believe all audio gurus.
I liked your review because of its energy, but I wouldn't call it all encompassing. I've owned the Elac UB52 and currently own the KEF LS 50 Meta. In a typical living room environment, the KEFs are substantially better than the Elac, especially at lower volume. The Cambridge amp you're sending back is much better at driving complex speaker loads in a larger room. Your test didn't stress any of amps in question, and for what you're doing you weren't likely to notice a difference. I do agree with your conclusion about the Wiim amp due to its streaming capability and room EQ. Wiim's room EQ is modeled after Yamaha's original YPAO from the RX-V2600. For what you're doing, I would recommend KEF LSX2-LT which is on sale for $899. (Although, since you own the Polk's and like them, the Wiim is a no-brainer.) The LSX are very similar in design to the LS 50 Meta, includes a full array of streaming services and some degree of room correction (albeit not as complete as the Wiim's). You are correct about room correction being a game changer. Before they went the way of the Dodo bird, I bought from Paradigm a couple of their free-standing Anthem Room Correction modules that will work with any standard two channel system. Another product slated for end-of-life is KEF's EGG Duo. They use an LSX inspired UNI-Q driver, a 25w/pc class-D amp, along with a variety of analog/digital inputs. They also have a sub-woofer output connection. For $299 they're a steal and ideal for a bedroom/den system.
All of this started when I purchased the lsx and hated the sound but was amazed by the imaging and I decided to step up and buy the real thing. The lsx didn’t have enough bass to pair with my sub imo
@@FStoppers I think that's interesting that you disliked the sound. I would say the lack of bass was likely a configuration issue. The LSXs are designed more for near-field listening, whereas the LS50s are for a traditional living room. BTW, if you want to keep your original Sony, but get the benefits of the Wiim amp, then buy the Wiim Pro Plus. You'll get all the streaming capabilities, plus room correction for $220.
Agree with the general sentiment in this video. Many youtube audio channels are essentially shop fronts for manufacturers to buy extended advertising from the "audiophile" channels. For the vast majority of users who just want better sound than average, lower end or even used equipment is absolutely fine. You can get 90% of the quality of a high end system for 10-20% of the price if you know where to look. It's only worth spending the fortune if your ears can actually tell the difference
This is such an exasperating way of testing speakers. The LS50s are not for desktops (or bookshelves). Ironically you captured a pic of audiophile reviewer John Darko, and he pointed out that the LS50s are simply too big to use on a desktop. He recommended the Kef LSX powered speakers, which are much smaller and more appropriate. Andrew Robinson recommends the Kanto powered brand for your use case. The Elac and Kef's should be listened too from a distance,
It’s also a bit surprising that, despite watching all those videos, he didn’t know these speakers are designed to be listened to on stands at the very least.
He trashes all of these reviewers but each and every one of them has videos with options for low cost systems. None of them would ever use these three speakers from a foot and a half away. It’s a ridiculous video.
Great video, you definitely went deep on the research. But I do have to say, the speakers should be level-matched using pink noise and professionally calibrated measurement microphone before any A/B testing. The loudness being even 2-3 decibels off will cause people to almost always prefer the louder one. And in the Polk vs KEF comparison, the tweeter level of the KEF speakers was much higher than the Polks which like you said causes a massive difference. I'm not saying the KEF should have been massively better though, speaker design has been solved for decades. Any well built reasonably flat speaker with good design practices will sound excellent. Room correction and positioning is much much more important.
you're not crazy. Polk are good speakers. The KEFs are hyped speakers. They spent a lot of money on creating the hype. KEFs LS50 are muddy. The room environment is the biggest factor in speaker quality, not the speaker. KEFs LS50 are not meant to be desktop speakers, they are meant to be placed at least 3 meters away from you.
Owned ls50wii and totally agree to you. Myself killed my ls50wii with purpose (50% of the sound reason, 50% of connection matter which supper unstable even wifi so strong both 2.5 and 5G). Cost $3000, sound not as good as my projector LG HU85LS except my projector can not produce low note), all so not sound as good as my Technic AZ70 inear both tonality, detail level.
I have to say this, i love watching the same audio channels that you binge on. I can't help but notice that many of those guys seem to be in love with the design of some of those gear and how it looks in their space. I have two sets of PSB speakers and the Klipsch the FIVES i got for my sons computer since they are self powered. I think that these guys are in love with these names so much that they convince themselves that the sound coming from them, is a sound from HEAVEN. I think for me to spend the money on audio gear that i could buy a used car for is insane. I mean , how much more detail in highs or mid-range am i going to hear if i buy a five thousand dollars speaker. I still use a pair of Pioneer bookshelf i bought for $89.00 years ago when Andrew Jones was the Designer. I'm happy that these guys have that kind of income because of their channel to blow that kind of money on FURNITURE STYLE AUDIO FOR THEIR LIVING ROOMS, BUT COME ON GET A GRIP.
@@jordcoerse if you want speakers to sit on your desk to do video edits and watch computer content, how would you recommend setting them up? This seems like the exact setup for Lee’s end goal. -P
I'm just like you. I have multiple sets of speakers I enjoy, yet I'm watching guys like Paul from PS Audio and the other guys you've mentioned on a regular. I have no intention of upgrading my gear, but I guess watching them soothes that gear acquisition syndrome itch.
I'm seeing more and more "audiophiles" realize that marketing made a fool of them. Good on you for being honest with yourself. I've learned the same thing with positioning. My $75 bookshelf speakers set in the right spot sound way batter than my $1500 speakers in the wrong spot. Location and direction are WAY more important than any other spec, and then the next most important spec is the room they're in. No need to spend $1500, just spend an hour getting your room right and finding the right speaker location.
Bookshelf speakers are usually easy to drive. Amplifiers will not be different if they can easily drive the speaker loads (unless they have noise problems etc, which modern amps should not have, regardless of price) Your Polk speakers are broken in. It would only be fair if all speakers are broken in.
Man, this is an excellent review. I really wish you would have bought a pair of the Sony SSCS5's, as I've seen tons of reviews on that bookshelf and for the $125 or $75 on sale, they are an absolute steal, and would have loved to hear what others think they sound like compared to those coveted KEF LS50's. Regardless, this was an excellent comparrison. Thank you for posting!
I wish he did too. I’m thinking about upgrading my Sonys to the kef q150’s. I heard they are 90% as good as the ls50’s also mentioned in the video. I’ll probably stop chasing after the better sound after that.
If they compare compared precisely back to back over the course of weeks and multiple bakers all choose the images out of the cheapest camera I’d love to see it.
ok someone's angry. If you didn't want his advise why did you watch. Anyway, do you not agree that speaker placement and room are the biggest factor in audio sound quality?
I bought the Polk Audio TSi100 on Sep 14, 2022, not once, but twice. I have a pair that lives on my desk and I absolutely love them, which is why I bought a 2nd set Sep 23, 2022, still sealed in the box just in case mine ever quit working. They are phenomenal speakers.
Points to ponder: - tweeters should ideally be at ear level or pointed at ear level - speakers need distance from walls to "breathe" or they'll become muddy - speakers placed correctly should provide a large and deep soundstage - whatever sounds best to YOU is all that matters.
You should do audio reviews. OK, I bought the Polk STI 100's new from Safe and Sound audio approx one year ago. I know they're older models but this must've been new old stock they had. They were around $150.00. I A I'd them with Polks brand new model that cost a lot more. I definitely preferred everything about the STI 100's. I bought them for my daughter and she loves them! Her HSU sub is dying, so i just bought her a new refurbished, by Polk, an PSW 108 Polk subwoofer with the class AB amp. I bet that's the same one you have there. After I give this to her for Christmas, I'll tell her to watch your video. Btw, I found out about these Polk speakers through Cheap Audio Man. You should do audio reviews. Did I already say that?
I actually did. All of this started after I purchased the KEF LSX and hated the way they sounded but was mesmarized by their imaging. Also, after this test, I never want to go back to speakers that don't have room correction and I don't know how to do that with powered speakers.
@@FStoppers Powered speakers like studio monitors have level controls built into the back panels of them. They sound great, check out Genelec, Kali Audio, JBL LSR Series, Yamaha. If you have a Guitar Center near you or if you go to B&H you can try them out, but of course the placement isn't optimal.
@@FStoppers There are actually many powered speakers with built-in room correction support. Basically the speakers have a DSP processor integrated that runs the room correction. Genelec is the best in the world but they are insanely expensive. iLoud MTM is a much cheaper alternative, they sell a bundle with the speakers and a calibrated measurement microphone which will provide much better results than iPhone too.
I have 1985 Polk speakers, cheapest Sony amp and a Klipsh sw10 sub found at a thrift store for thirty bucks. I always thought it sounded great l. Great vidio I can stop worrying that I am missing something big. Saved me money too!
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
For all you audiophiles out there, I think the reason the cheap speakers sound so good is because the AA batteries my son put inside them are ionizing the air molecules and are allowing each driver to produce a more accurate tone. I highly suggest stuffing your speakers with batteries.
@@FStoppers maybe!!!
Haha, maybe you could rent your son out to audiophiles. There's a lot of nonsense out there with audio. With that said I'm in my 50's now and STILL have some speakers I bought when I was 15 (and have photos to prove it)... In short I've ALWAYS chosen speakers by going to a audio store and listening to "the best" but always blindly, I'd have the sales rep just give me a number. Trust your ears always! Now that finding electronic stores with sound rooms is difficult I bought a couple of speakers online that had rave reviews and HATED them, in fact same with some headphones that recently got sent back. Amps can sound very different though, I've found cheaper amps tend to exaggerate some frequencies, "vintage" amps even more so, it may produce a sound quality some like but I feel I'd rather have something flatter then add my own EQ to achieve that. My current home speakers are Klipsh RF7''s, if you can demo a pair check those out, I love the sound but if I turn them up my ears hurt so maybe if you have sensitivities it won't be a sound you enjoy. My wife and I attend over 100 live shows a year, many in small clubs even some jazz/classical without amplification to me I like a forward sound that emulates live audio as closely as possible. As always love your videos and the blunt honesty, you can make videos on anything and we'll watch :)
Will do!
😂
You figured out the secret. The great and powerful Oz has been unmasked. Now what you do is you start a company that charges people hundred and even thousands of dollars to modify their existing speakers to make them sound Audiophile. You could maybe call the company… I don’t know… FStop Research.
I feel into the audiophile things decades back with my dad.
I got out of it when i realized that whatever you listen to, whether you pay $500 or $5000, there is always something better somewhere, and listening to find defects in equipment actually degrades the overall listening experience, the enjoyment of music.
Get something you enjoy for money you can afford, and then just enjoy it.
100% the same here, it becomes like a drug, improve one part then you automatically say to yourself, well that didn't improve things as much as I thought it would, so the default 'Think' is, well the next bit of the system needs improving to get the best out of the new bit I just bought lol, and so on it goes, I was down the rabbit big time for about three years, but eventually cured myself of the disease my wife called 'Upgradeitus' 😂
Absolutely!
The LS50 Meta are just a waste of Money overrated stuff
If you’re going to pursue A/B testing I encourage you to at least test them blind. Studies have shown that people’s subjective impression of what they hear from a speaker changes with color alone. Literally, the same speakers in different colors yielded a different impression to the listeners. Audio is a weird world.
I also should note that listening in the nearfield as you’ve shown can sound extremely different than listening in the farfield (2-3m) due to the dispersion characteristics and linearity of the speakers response as the sound is reflected from the sidewalls.
Just my two cents.
These were tested blind, at least mine was. Lee didn’t tell me what I was listening to and sometimes he did the switching. -P
@ okay. I missed that. Thanks for the clarification. 👍
Hey Erin, big fan of your channel and objective testing (that we didn’t do at all)
I didn’t have the ability to do totally blind testing because I was there by myself most of the time but I tested so much over the course of weeks that I would forget what was plugged up and lot of time making it essentially blind.
When I got Patrick to test, it was almost always blind although in one of the clips I showed he did know one of them was the polks based on where the sound was coming from but the very next test, he assumed I rewired them, but did not.
We also did distance listening but I didn’t go into much detail. We bother preferred the elac over a distance.
@@anonimushboshfor sure. We were very careful to volume match.
@@FStoppers did you listen to the speakers on stands?
Put literally ANY amount of distance between both sets of speakers and the proper amplification and the results will be massively different. The coaxial design of the KEF's, or in other words coaxial midrange and tweeters are designed to create large imaging. You need to be in between midfield to farfield for amazing results.
Nearfield even the cheapest speakers with just enough amplification, heck even desktop speakers, will sound nice. You basically have the speakers in your ears with the exception that you can slightly have better left-right experience than headphones. If you set a few meters between both of these sets the Polk will age like milk.
I have a $200 Onkyo receiver, Polk Audio TSi300 tower speakers, and a Polk Audio powered sub base($200 or so). I've had this system for 15 years or so and absolutely love it. At the time the entire system cost around $600. I recall the tower speakers were on sale. My point of posting is --> if you don't have a lot of money this system will absolutely shock you and your friends for the amount of money you'll spend. It loves loud rock-n-roll, classical, and pretty much anything in between. I love it. FYI my amp never gets turned off either.
I used an A/B switcher before on very expensive amps. I could not hear a difference BUT when I removed the switcher from the system the sound quality dramatically increased. These cost effective switchers diminish amplifier quality significantly and probably shouldn't be relied on for comparisons. I ended up comparing the amps for months without using a switcher and there are defiantly differences.
those cheap swithers have series power resistor not to trigger a safety circuits in amplifiers when you switching between a speakers ... those "safety" resistors are mainly cheap ones and when you heat them up by power signal they sounds horrible due heat + added impedance to power stage heat amplifier power stage physicaly from nature of function... modern "amplifiers" mainly class d dont like high impedances , previous generation of cheap A/B class amps lack of good cooling tend to sound harsh just after minute or two when pushed and "foolproof" resistor is just a case to push them ... power stages on power IC chips are too very vulnerable to heat showing their bad side right in scenarios i mentioned previously... so all your "testing" is just about listening music througth bad resistor ...
Amazed that he didn't address this (or maybe, not surprised would be a better term) It's like having a Ferrari with a one speed transmission
I do have a pair of those Polk TSi 100, They were my second main speakers, and i love them. Now, i use them as front atmos speakers, and for fronts i have some old Wharfedale diamond 9.5 from a decade ago, and very pleased.
As a DIY guy I made a few 2 way bookshelf speakers.
1. A pair for 30$. 15$ unknown speakers (woofers) both had unwanted resonance at 400hz you could clearly hear, 3$ tweeters was quite ok, but not that precise and crisp, speakers had not much bass, but was quite loud, used ported box design. Sill much better than 80% of speakers in the market for 100 - 200$.
2. A pair for 80$. It was much better improvement in bass and highs. but could not handle much power (30-50W rms max). Used them for 5 years and was quite happy.
3. A pair for 250$. Used SL-657R (70$ each) ceramic woofers from china and some chinese 30W silk dome tweeters for 60$ a pair. Combined with 5x8 chinese passive radiators in about 4 litter boxes. It plays amazing. Bass is clear and deep due to passive radiators, silk dome tweeters are nice and warm sounding. Even without a subwoofer they can pack serious punch. Never heard such good sounding speakers even on 10$ class D amp. Not sure how much I could improve them, maybe there is a just little drop between 2-3khz but this is common with 2 way setups. Both can handle about 200Wrms
Wasting few 1000$ on speakers and amps is not worth. What important is to get things right. Anything above 1000$ for a pair of simple 2 way speakers IMO is scam. There is still a lot of scam happening in audio equipment. So the best thing to DIY your speakers. Audiophiles are the targets of those scams. My research shown they have a lot of money and don't know shit about physics
My dude, none of those speakers are near-field monitors. You should be testing studio monitors if you are going to sit that close.
100% this. Those little Polks are probably the closest to near field speakers, and probably why they sound the best on a desktop application.
Set up those KEF LS50 Metas in a natural listening position of 7-8 feet away, and about 7-8 ft apart, and give them some juice, and they’ll sing. The clarity and detail with the KEF Uni-Q driver is stellar.
I’m not a particular fan of the overall design aesthetic of LS50 speakers. They look like a giant chunk of plastic. I did love the look of KEF R3 in white.
For my computer, I bought the little B&W MM1 powered desktop speakers years ago. They have a mini nautilus tweeter. While I normally don’t like the hollowed out voicing of some of B&W’s less expensive speakers and headphones - these little desktop beasts have a beautifully flat tonality with surprisingly good mid tones. Vocals sound so good. Bass isn’t deep, but it’s well balanced. I have them sitting on little desk top speaker stands so they’re ear level, and pushed a good bit wide to create a good listening triangle. They are fantastic - and about $200 for pair on eBay. Wish B&W still made these things.
I still haven’t found anything that sounds as good as these tiny MM1 speakers at a desktop level - especially for price now.
When it comes to sitting back and listening to music, my Revel M106 speakers with the fairly inexpensive REL HT1003 sub just brings a smile to my face. That wave guide is magic - creates a beautifully detailed holographic sound field. But that’s sitting on a couch and soaking in the music. I’m sitting in my basement giving this Revel rig a little spin before bed. Fffffffk. So good.
I came here to say the same thing just not with the correct terminology(near-field monitors). These speakers need to be across a room from the listener and ideally placed on stands. Unsurprisingly, they'll sound different, again, and probably better.
He's better off with high end headphones than this setup.
Another issue with this is that the A/B testing wasn't done blind. It effectively eliminates a lot of bias.
There's literally no difference.
time for testing Genelecs .... studio mintors are a diffrent level but also need other equipment to make it work
In the video, the man said he tried sitting both near to and far from the speakers.
I love this video. I too binge hi-fi RUclips reviews. I too lust after expensive equipment. But everytime I’ve taken a chance on higher end gear I’ve always been disappointed even when spending weeks of not months to try and properly set up my room. So I’ve determined my ears are either not sensitive enough or that the law of diminishing returns sets in WAY sooner than the influencers would have you believe. Cheers brother.
your wallet was knocking some sense into you brain... that's what happened. Your brain responded by saying the expensive speakers aren't worth it.
you forgot "wall treatments". you need an elaborate setup of different sized wood-block "pictures" and textile wall hangings. Don't forget you have to build them yourself w/$2k in tools because you are a budget conscience hi-fi diyer....
@@K03sport And you forgot that no matter how expensive your gear setup and room treatment is, it will always sound crappy without, at the very least, a 5k/feet power cable pair.
The difference in sound when you change their positioning is due to room acoustics. To minimize this effect, set them up in an equilateral triangle with your listening position, ensuring the speakers are at ear height and away from the wall like you mentioned. Additionally, level matching the audio is crucial since louder often seems better to our ears.
KEFs are not designed to be listened at THAT near field. The engineers designed them to compensate for room gain and in room response. You need a proper set up and adequate distance. Speakers and HIFI are all science based as well. I dont think that $99 polks measurement gona be better than the LS50s
We listened to everything across the room as well. For that we preferred the Elac
To each their own.
After all music is to be enjoyed by the listener. Who cares how the speakers measure in a lab environment or how much they cost. Go by what you like the most, ultimately you will be the listener. To quote Steve Jobs: "life is too short to live someone else's life"
Very well said.
its not about scientific measurements its about what he hears and we ALL hear differently. We also all see differently. He found what sounds best to him and the expensive snake oil speakers wasn't it.
I've owned Polks, of all sizes and types, for 25 years, including car speakers. I think they are the best sounding speakers for the price. Smooth and warm sound.
Polk is a great value brand for that East Coast sound.
I also like certain Boston units.
East coast is typically somewhat less clinical and smooth is often the description.
@@frankstetka7206 I miss Boston speakers.
The Kef's sound very good, but perhaps for a more discerning ear. They definitely wouldn't sound great on top of another speaker as it's best to have the tweeter at ear level, not above it, and they perform best with good power. Additionally should be sitting back from the speakers at least the same distance that the speakers are spread apart. So 4 - 6 feet back ideally for critical listening so you can really hear the imaging, which is a large part of what the Kef's are great at.
I did notice the precise imagine out of the kef and should have mentioned it.
This is the strangest test for listening to speakers that I have seen. There is a vast difference between listening at super close range and at distance beyond say 5 feet away. The one real takeaway is that what sounds good is 100 percent subjective. I am glad you found what works best for your ears and that it turned out to be without additional cost.
We also listened at range.
@@donsimpsonshead8809 I think they know exactly what they're doing. This type of video will stir up lots of passionate comments, good for the algorithm and more views. I owned the 99 dollar subwoofer they showed in the video about 10 years ago. For a $99 and if you have nothing to compare to its not bad but I've heard and owned way better subs since then. I cant take the video seriously knowing what I experienced with that sub.
@@donsimpsonshead8809 35mm coke f3.5 with aspherical elements
@@FStoppersthen why didn’t you show the test being done at that range. All we can see is your friend sitting near table with speakers kept above each other and within 1 meter distance.
Love andrew robinson’s channel also. Thanks for the ‘world’s colliding’ moment-my favorite audio channel being mentioned on my favorite photography channel was pretty fun!
Keep in mind that speakers also sound different near field and far field. Near field, such as two feet away on a computer desktop, requires very little power compared to that same pair of speakers in a dedicated listening space where they may be five to eight feet away from the listening position. That additional power handling is where you may start to hear the differences between amplifiers and speakers. I also listen to speakers near on my computer desktop. Speakers that use similar technology do sound very similar at low power levels. But if I go from horn loaded/wave guide tweeters speakers vs surface mounted dome tweeters verse decoupled tweeters then the differences become apparent almost immediately. I even had a pair of speakers whose sound field shifted from wide to narrow as the frequency moved above or below the speaker's crossover point between the tweeter and the woofer. I am not assigning quality of sound here. That is a different topic all together.
Thank you for your video and insight.
thanks for the heresy - much needed in the world of hi-fi.
100% agree with you. I have the same experience. I am 50 years old and listen to a lot of speakers on hifi shops. It's a lot of bull shit in hifi culture - just to motivate "scam" customers with really expensive stuff. I have a small pair of Dali, 500 Euro. Equalizer also important in my opinion to fine tune your type of sound.
Dali makes wonderful speakers, but do you sit a foot and a half away from them?
@@donsimpsonshead8809 who does?
Two schools of thought.... equalize to correct what you're hearing, or treat the room. If you have the time, budget, and motivation, add bass traps and sound-absorbing material to damp the resonances that throw the frequencies out of balance. You can fix a lot with EQ, but you can't fix everything. Even just a sheet of foam rubber (dress it up with a piece of fabric, if you like) at the nodes on the wall can make a room *much* better.
@ sorry but your type is for me a complicated and neurotic idiot. I guess you don’t correct contrasts and colour settings on your TV, you instead put a nylon sock over the screen and a bunch of other tricks? Again, your HiFi bullshit I heard for so many years. You have to also consider that all your recordings are different, what u do then? Rearrange your setup for each band/song?
You don't know how much this video help me get a grip on reality with music gear.
Testing speakers while sitting 30 inches in front of them is insane. This is not how these speakers were designed to be heard. Ridiculous comparison.
it's a desk setup, that's how it's going to be used.
what? it's called nearfield listening = eliminating room acoustics
@820stovall ABSOLUTELY. 👍
It is even more absurd that they tested them grouped and stacked while facing straight ahead. Sitting so close means they're listening way off-axis, so the upper frequencies would be significantly rolled off.
Then there's the fact the KEFs are single-point source speakers explicitly designed for sound-stage presentation, which is impossible to create with the way their speakers were placed.
@@kovrcek These are not nearfield speakers.
@@viperhd70 so what? if you set them up like monitors they should sound ok if you read my comment
Thanks so much for this one. I got the same hifi YT channels obsession and don’t think majority customers can’t tell the difference 😊
You are not crazy! Polk TSi series are seriously underappreciated. I happen to have Polk Tsi 300's, 100's and CS10 center channel hooked up to a Denon AVR. The system sounds great for gaming, movies, and music. Too bad Polk replaced the TSi line cause these speakers are fantastic for the money! Lots of fun....
Exactly they don't compete with my paradigm or b&w towers, but they're simply amazing for $100. The tsi300s are a steal if you can find em used market for a starter setup then buy these tsi100s for surrounds. Used receiver and sub and boom you've got a legit starter system
Great video! There are so many things that effect sound prior to it entering our ears, from source to the room with varying amounts of electronics in between and your experiment illustrates significant (but not exhaustive) examples of this.
Great job getting the tweeters to ear level, bringing them to the edge of the table to minimize the reflection of the table top and I know that you listened at distance as well. Room correction adjustments are my next pursuit.
These are all things that I am currently doing as I reenter the amazing world of audio, and do so on a budget.
All of my speakers are Polks and all are old. The RTi 28 and 38 bookshelves as well as the RTi4 bookshelf and like you, the very underrated TSi100's. Polk subs round out the speakers, the PSW10 and PSW303. Yeah, I appreciate Polk.
I have the same Sony amp as you, 2 class D amps, Fosi Audio bt20a pro and RSL ia255.1 and 2 aged AVR's from Onkyo and Kenwood. There are 3 setups in the house and Wiim mini's with SMSL SU-1 dacs source all, along with cd/dvd players as well.
Like you, I am looking at what sounds good and how do I get the most out of it because I love having pleasing music play in our home.
My combinations all sound different, sometimes significantly so but all of them, when placed well, cause me to close my eyes and hear the music, not the gear.
Have fun, I know that I am!
For an amateur audiophile like myself, this video confirmed some thoughts I had, but I think the testing seemed a little problematic.
Nevertheless, it reminded me that speaker placement makes a huge difference. I can't move my PC speakers to ear level (no room!) but I pointed them upwards to my ears from sitting on the desk below my monitors, and the clarity from how it was before pointing them up is incredible.
These are the wrong speakers for his needs. Instead he needed some active monitors designed for near field use. A Kali, Adam or Genelec speaker would have been perfect and he wouldn’t have needed an amplifier, they’re in the speakers.
Thanks for this, and what you said about listening to things that you normally wouldn't. I worked for a big box electronic store and people would come in asking for the 'best speaker' they could get within their budgets. I really hated when they said that because first, our 'training' was limited and it's amazing how people are influenced by brand. Fortunatley, one of the guys that did car audio installations shared his knownledge. You could show them a very good speaker, and they would say it wasn't loud enough, or didn't have enough base..etc. I would always remind them, "Listen, we are basically in a huge warehouse, it will completely sound different in the room they are in and what and where you place them." Still, they would go for the name brand and always thought that the more money they spent, the better the sound. They always ended up returning them, no matter what I would say. Our clients were mostly from the local college, and they always expected small, rechargable, blutooth speakers to sound as good as a home set-up, so I hated selling them. I have a Sowo portable speaker that I've had for a few years and the sound from it is amazing. I would play music on on it and people were always amazed at how great it sounded. They always wanted something that they could get 'right now' that was just as good. My point is, I really appreciate you taking the time to do this, the next time someone asks me about speakers, I'm going to have them watch this.
You are the first audio review I have seen on RUclips or anywhere that did it right and got it right. I have been an audio hobbyist for over 50 years, and you sir are 100% correct on all of your conclusions. Notably, the speaker room/height room connection is what a person hears. Great job! 👍
Very well done.
Three decades ago, I wanted to buy a cheap but well regarded Polk audio speakers.
They didn't sound good when trying them out at home, but I was telling myself they must be better than my $10 car speakers in an open box, until my mom, who is a professional singer, say they sounded less harsh but didn't sound better.
They only reason I can think of is that the minimal crossover design of the car speakers must be the reason why they sounded better.
You’re now diving into my other hobby. I love photography and I also love high end audio.
This is not high end audio
3rd person POV...love it, sometimes its refreshing to hear from someone thats not big on audio. good job.
Polk's silk tweeters are very good. They make a huge difference in making the audio easy on the ears.
I think you're brave man! Not a lot of people make a video like this even if they think the same way. For me, nearfield listening, a subwoofer and a bit of eq make wonders and save a lot of money. And I have the Elacs b5.2 and I must admit I hated them in one room and loved them in another. I've always thought it's better to get the best out of a more modest gear than spend what you cannot afford in something that is only going to be slightly better and this can be done with placement, eq,...
The problem with auditioning new speakers is that the sound of any speaker changes quite significantly as they are broken in over time, new speakers tend to sound quite harsh and cold for many tens of hours until all the moving parts have had time to "breathe". Interestingly, the Elacs were the only three-way pair of the bunch, which I'm not sure if you picked up on, that might go some way to explaining their smoother sound which you mentioned.
Audio is such a huge minefield filled with disinformation and strong opinions, you absolutely did the right thing by choosing the ones you personally liked the most.
lol.... Speaker break in is a myth and not scientifically even able to be measured via microphones. Audioholics debunked this in any article years ago.
The review took place over 2 weeks.
No,good speakers are good from the start!
Speaker "rolling-in period" is a myth... it's the brain which gets accustomed over that time :D
Only the dried glue on the spider can change the compliance of a cheap cone when fired up the first time (most expensive speaker go through a quality check, making the issue non existent) and thus, the sound... and that autocorrects in like 3 seconds, not "weeks"
@@GeirRssaak *all
This confirmed a lot of how I set myself up. My set up is low budget and some speakers are cheap 90’s box store brand from the side of the road placed in vintage boxes/cabinets. I also added subs, but also small drivers pointed at the wall, 6 speakers all together, two small subs, yet, an old eq system, one: to tune, and two: to go between digital and vinyl on the fly. I am happy with my system and it was cheap. Others see my stealth set up, but then are blown away by sound. Placement is a huge element in this kit, some knee height, some ear level at sitting position, and others high up and pointing at the wall and ceiling, and completely hidden.
like cheap plastic speakers?
Or you take the drivers out and hide them in tabletops and stuff or what?
im trying to understand this comment is all lol like cheap philips/RCA cody type brands or what?
I feel like you missed a big opportunity to test the Polk R200. Your a fan of Polk sound . It seems like a no brainer to test the polks
And I believe they are on sale for around 450.00.
In 2014, I brought a set of Polk TSi 100, Cs 10 and PSW 10 speakers from a trip to the United States, along with a Pioneer VSX-824 Receiver and an Apple TV. I recently added a DVD player as a CD transport and an SMSL SU-1 to the set. They work perfectly to this day and the sound is very pleasant, whether playing CDs or lossless/hi-res from Apple Music.
Polk consistently makes nice sounding speakers
Props to you man for identifying and admitting when enough is enough. There are a lot of diminishing returns in the audio world and ppl don't speak about it to not get ridiculed by so-called audiophiles. I think more people need to rise up and say cut the crap already
It's all subjective! This is exactly why Andrew's motto is "the only person who has to like the sound of your system is you".
Yet, strangely enough his primary tactic is convincing people their current systems are not good enough.
Yeah,that's for sure.But this is not an audiophile channel,his review just proves one point:all speakers in this video are the same level(forget about the price tag,too many marketing BS today).Could you image Fstoppers upload a video titled "the best DSLR We've ever used cost $99",then he tell you there are slightly differences betweent entry level and premium level model?
That is called a disclaimer. As he is giving purchasing advice, presented objectively, where he makes definitive claims on products. IE This is better than that. He has to say that.
@@R33GTRRRR
Trust me ... there is nothing objective about AR's "reviews".
If you want an objective examination of hi-fi gear try "Audio Science Review" (Do a search).
The listening room and speaker placement and listening position as well as the objects in the room and materials etc will impact the sound field and frequency curve of the particular audio material perceived. Then factor in your individual personal ear and scull construction…. Yeah, impossible. No such thing as perfect, but there is an optimal combination for your particular use case.
I've said for years the Polk Tsi 100 are crazy awesome. I was forced to use them one time as my primaries due to space, they sound so good. I now use them in outside entertainment area.
I suspect the switchbox is a possible bottleneck.
However, speaker placement is, as you said, crucial to the presentation of each speaker. A rule of thumb is to have the tweeter at ear level and in some case pointed at your ears.
You can certainly get a good quality sound even if you use Spotify as a source but that’s a whole different story.
Yep going into that switch box definitely is going to bring the sq down
Speaker placement in a space has by far the most impact on sound. Even in meticulous acoustically treated rooms it makes a huge difference as it's unrealistic to evenly address all reflections, phase cancellation, etc. In most cases, understanding your listening space characteristics and selecting speakers that work better in that space yields better results.
Loved the video, very interesting to get a non-audiophile, pragmatic perspective. And I find comments like "you're sitting too close", "you're using the wrong gear/ the gear wrong" funny.
My personal favourite: "If you had a system, like mine, that can..."
But they are completely valid points. The tweeter in Polk speaker is closer to the ear level as it should be so no wonder it sound the best. Also, some speakers need more volume and more space between the speaker and the listener to sound the best.
I have somewhat cheap but great Wharfedale 225 speakers, Onkyo A-9010 amplifier and a mid level subwoofer SVS SB-1000 Pro. It is a great system for music, movies and games.
@@AJ-vy4yu
Do you not understand that is what he was doing... checking to see which speaker he liked best *_In His Setup_*
@@Douglas_Blake He uses speakers as a stand for his speakers? Ok.
@@AJ-vy4yu
Oh my gawd... the horror ... the horror of it!
Some of my friends are audiophiles, investing tens of thousands in high-end equipment. They're never satisfied with these systems, and are always buying something they perceive as "better", when an inexpensive system will suffice.
A photography site giving us audio reviews with no idea what he's talking about . Sounds legit 😅
There were definitely a lot of face palm moments but to be fair 99% of audiophile reviews and documentation are on a par and less transparent about it. He's just watching the wrong audio channels. Maybe the next time he's in the market he'll binge acoustics Insider rather than cnet lol
Hea?
He has ears that work I think….so qualifies to have an opinion.
@@leedolman3191 based on your logic , he also has eyes that work so that qualifies him to give you advise as an Optometrist on your eye sight .....
@@leedolman3191 BAHH LOL , Mate, just having ears doesn’t automatically make someone an expert on high-end audio. This guy clearly has no clue what he’s talking about when it comes to critical factors like speaker placement and proper pairing of amplifiers and power. Speaker placement alone can make or break the soundstage and imaging, while the right amp-to-speaker synergy is essential for maintaining clarity, dynamics, and tonal balance. Throw in things like room acoustics, cable quality, and even power conditioning, and it’s obvious this isn’t just plug-and-play. High-end audio is all about precision, and this guy’s approach misses the mark entirely. Leave the comments to people who know a thing or two about audio
Well, I was wondering about the name of your channel, thinking that it would be about photography--thanks for clarifying it for me.
I am happy for you, that your "cheap stuff" was more satisfying to you! One of the best speakers I have ever listened to was my old BIC Venturi II's. Awesome bass, awesome mids, awesome highs. They are incredible speakers! Thanks for a very entertaining video!
Holy cow, this is a crazy way to evaluate audio gear, but if you prefer the cheapest option, consider yourself lucky!
some people are tone deaf.
@@jhue73I come to fstoppers for the camera reviews. Obviously he doesn’t know anything about speakers cause he’s talking out of his ass here.
yeah I know listening a b comparisons and what sounds best is crazy how can he do that LOL :)
Many commenting these speakers are not designed to be listened to in near fiels, that's what studio monitor are for. Like the radiation pattern is drastically changed between these two when sitting in close. Lol what? Far field speakers have wider disspersion pattern, that's all. NF monitor have narrower "beam", so the positioning is even more crucial than FF speakers. But saying that you lose some information by sitting close is of course completely false. You don't get any nulls or pluses if you go closer to a wide beam, if that would be the case it would mean that by going far the nulls would be even worse. "Shadow" gets bigger that farer it's being projected. You get all the info as when sitting far, just the room is not interacting that much. Usually listening in far field is much harder to do than NF, cause you must have a perfect room to really hear the speaker properly.
to be fair to the KEF you arent setting them up the way theyre designed. If you need help finding that resonant 100hz let me know. Also you should try lower gauge speaker wire. Im curious if you notice the difference but I do.
You've discovered the rule of thumb placement for studio monitors.
Also, for near-field desktop use you should try out some studio monitors. I quite like my Yamaha HS-8(0M)...they seem to have become an industry standard.
Dac? Music source? Spotify isn't lossless. Switchbox could have altered the outcome.
That was my thought. That switch could be inhibiting the signal in some way if it's not as simple as a pure connection.
@@DrewPerayeah not that big of a deal for most.
I hv a good dac and bought decent headphones in DT 880. Tried lossless tidal vs Spotify no EQ.
Maybe a 5% change?
As a guitarist and vocalist it’s mostly the same with amps. The tubes! They have like 5% change at most type thing.
The switch box will definitely inhibit the ability of the higher end amp to sound its best. It like using a cheap receiver as a preamp for a high end power amp. There is a significant degradation of sound quality running electronics through cheap switchers.
@@buttonman1831 a lot of musicality isn't perceived consciously. It's like a person taking a glance at a masked person with a hat and only seeing their eyes and can almost immediately gage their age and gender. And then when you ask them to quantify and why they guessed it. They can't. So much is in the unperceived nuance.
So much of music reproduction is in the inperceived. You can't quantify why live music just sounds better than any reproduction through speakers.
He method has multiple bottle necks everywhere.
Or in photography terms.
It's like compressing he the hell out of an images colour space
From 16bit Adobe RGB to 8bit sRGB
And then putting it on A World class monitor vs wallmart Samsung tv and saying. I don't see a difference in skin tones.
I’ve got those very polk speakers and just moved them to my office from the garage and I’m happy with them. I knew you were going to say the Klipsch were harsh. I’m glad I watched this so I don’t chase a ghost, lol.
The comment section alone makes this video worth it.
Imagine dropping orders of magnitude more money on a speaker system then having to read from a RUclips commenter that "you're just doing it wrong".... I wish these experts would link us to the manufacturer documentation that specifies exactly the room volume size, distance, room materials, audio source format, air density, temperature, elevation etc. that their fancy speakers should be used at. Also if you spend THAT much money that info should be printed front and center on the box or manual, or on a golden plate attached to the speaker.
If you can't then maybe consider the fact that a speaker system that requires you to read online comments in order for you to "get it right" just plain sucks, or most likely, is just way overpriced.
High-end RUclips review content in many cases has become like the mainstream media, we still watch it sometimes but mostly for entertainment purposes.
Cold blooded comment. I love it.
F1 cars also should have the instructions printed on them right?
One example where he figured out he was doing it wrong was the revelation he had when he discovered adjusting speaker height. Having tweeters pointed at your ears is a pretty basic principle of speaker setup, and he'd been doing it wrong for years. There are other important factors as well that he just doesn't know about. So yeah, he's doing it wrong.
IMO that doesn't mean he's wrong to do it. If you're not setting up a room for sound, not able to find the perfect listening position and speaker placements, not able to acoustically treat the room, not able to decouple the speakers and sub from resonating surfaces, etc., you SHOULD just test your speakers how you're gonna use them in the room where you're putting them. This is the right way to review speakers for yourself and the room you have. And if the cheap ones give the best result, that's a huge win!
Making a video about it without these caveats make it sound like he's claiming it's a proper review, though. A serious review would need to be done with a proper room setup to mitigate outside factors. The room itself can have just as much impact on your perception as speaker choice, and a well setup environment vastly minimizes that. It's still a factor! But he'd be able to get much more repeatable results.
Good video! The tip on raising the height was helpful, my Klipsch desktop speakers sound SO much better raised up a few inches. Thanks!
Awesome!
I hope you're happy, the mere mention of an equalizer broke all the YT audiophiles' brains now.
Great!! 😅
I’ve never liked the LS50s, never understood the love for them. I’m what you’d call an audiophile, listening to equipment, as you’ve done, is the only way to find the setup for you. Cost doesn’t equal better, audiophile equipment is insanely priced, it’s the audiophile aficionados that will pay it as we love the equipment as much as the music.
*This is incredible.* Not the content of your message, whatever surprising and exhilarating it may be, but to me, it is the clarity of your presentation that surpasses everything I've heard so far. I have replaced TV with the Yt long ago, and have a lot of viewer experience, mind you!
I had some POLKs just like those... but with covers on the front... My roommate always complimented them. Then I had a friend who worked for Pioneer tell me the best speakers he ever heard were PSB speakers so I recommended them to a friend. He purchased a pair of PSB speakers nearly identical to my POLKs... And he asked me to "Burn them in until his new amp arrived" so I swapped out my polks with the PSBs.. They looked nearly IDENTICAL... My roommate IMMEDIATELY asked me "What did you do to the sound? It's INCREDIBLE NOW!" I showed him I swapped out the speakers.... They were THAT much better. It was amazing.. A month later my friends amp arrived so I swapped the PSBs back out for my polks... My roommate again... "What did you do? You swapped them? DAMMIT!" He immediately could tell the PSBs were literally MILES better than the Polks.
Hence, why I bought some PSB Imagine XBs to complement my NOS Energy RC-10 bookshelf speakers. Once I get done with my headphone system (ie: Hifiman HE1000SE planars + Gustard A26/H26) - and rearrange my listening space - I'll be looking into DIYing a Parts Express subwoofer to go along with them.....
OMFG!!! HAhahahahaha!!! It takes a freaking photographer to make the most sense in hi-fi than any other hi fi reviwer I've ever heard! I freaking love it. BTW I'm a photographer and videographer. I think I have the same enclitical mind. Amps don't matter, speakers can matter, use a sub with every speaker (even the biggest baddest speakers), placement is everything, your room treatment is everything! Room treatment a little less important when you're listening nearfield because the percentage of direct sound vs reflected sound is less but still, you nailed everything and I freaking love it!
I disagree. Amplifiers do matter. But most amps are good enough anyways... This isn't true anymore since cheap class D amps like the Wiim amp flooded the market. They show amazing specs, but they're underpowered and not linear. So you may experience listening fatigue after a while. Just get any class AB amp, even the Sony in the video will do.
Agree, this is one of the best videos I have seen. He does say that the KEFs are better than the Polks....just not $900 better. All the audiophiles who keep claiming that some $2000 amp will blow the Wiim out of the water are remarkably reluctant to perform even simple AB tests let alone blinded AB tests
Hi, greetings from the distant Netherlands! :-)
RUclips had been recommending your video for a few days, and I finally decided to click on it. I’ve been into vintage audio for years and have had the pleasure of owning and listening to many different setups. The fun part of this hobby is buying something, enjoying it for a while, and then selling the component you like least-hopefully at a profit.
Since last summer, I’ve been working on putting together a permanent system. I managed to buy a hand-built, 40 kg (88 lbs) single-ended tube amplifier, producing 2 x 18 watts, for €800 from an enthusiast. A few weeks ago, I picked up an Audiolab M-DAC+ for €250 as a temporary preamp and a permanent DAC. The DAC supposedly had an issue that could be fixed by switching the filter. That small effort was worth it for the reduced price. So far, no sign of the issue, so it’s been an absolute steal!
My old KEF RDM2 speakers sound fantastic, but upgrading my speakers is the next step in my journey. I’ve got my eye on the KEF LS50 Meta.
Ive been a musician for years and I beleve audiophiles are certifiably insane.
Its always funny to me how easily butthurt they get too.
They certainly are some strange little critters.
As a guy who owns somewhere in the vicinity of eighty turntables and bunches of vinyl; and as someone who has a RUclips channel devoted to vinyl records . . .
Man, I absolutely agree with you.
Agreed.
Snake oil is thriving in the hifi world.
This is what the internet was invented for. Banger content. Thanks for making this test/review.
I think your review is applicable for 95% of people, and the most honest. Re 'audiophiles', it's like wine experts who mistakenly prefer boxed wine. They hear what they think they're supposed to hear, because the equipment is more expensive, so it must sound better.
I think the wine expert analogy is right on, but different than what you lay out. As someone becomes more expert in wine, they can taste and appreciate small differences the rest of us just don't sense. they are real but subtle. Personally, I've become more discerning of some of those, but have discovered that a $300 bottle of wine (got one as a gift) still doesn't taste that much better to me than a well-chosen $25 bottle. I probably could not distinguish them in blind tasting. I do believe there really are differences, but below my level of discernment... so I stick to $25 or less.
This assumes that the price is an indicator of quality. It is not.
IMO the analogy is spot on. I’ve never had an expensive wine that actually tastes significantly different or better than another wine from the same place. IE a 200 dollar Meursault doesn’t taste better than a 20 dollar Bourgogne. There might be some subtle differences, but not better. No, you don’t need a golden tongue to tell what tastes good. I really don’t think what you’ve even buying most of the time is tastier wine. The Meursault club at my local wine shop is an exclusive group.
The same applies to audio IMO. You don’t need golden ears to hear that all amplifiers, when not in distortion, sound identical. The people that claim you are too simple to tell the difference have a vested interest in selling. Audio reviewers will give you a disclaimer about subjective nature of this all. If you started mixing in used equipment especially to this conversation as price is a significant factor and varies wildly. People will also pay for brand recognition as it is usually tied to value retention.
14:40 ... this might sound a little odd but given the price it's worth a try.
It sounds like you're sitting right in an excitation point for a standing wave. Simply try moving your desk a couple of feet in any direction and see what happens. If you can find the null point you might have a totally free solution to a nasty problem.
Your account brings to mind people who say that they prefer instant coffee to coffee brewed with freshly ground Sumatra beans or prefer the cheap wine they regularly drink to Napa Cabernet. If you (and your friend) cannot tell one system from another your powers of auditory discrimination are limited. You can prefer your speakers (Polk is good company and makes decent cheap speakers.) but 30 years of experience has taught me that high quality speakers play music very differently.
But that's a bit like telling a blind person an expensive tv looks better than a cheap one🙂
@@lvi3818 All depends on the model too. Low end Polk stuff is cheap, but 30 years ago Polk were a pretty high end name is it seems like they didn't forget how to make decent kit. Their Reserve line is very difficult to beat for even twice their price unless you are building your own speaker.
Interesting. I remember when you first did the video on the Polks. You were so convincing that I went and got the exact same setup , except I got a Sansui receiver. Though I had one issue in that the speakers were too large for my desk. So they ended up on stands for the TV. I eventually replaced them with Klispch speakers for the computer and still run the Polks on the TV. Very accurate IMO, and great job!
Hifi isn’t about giving you what you think sounds good, it’s about accuracy, but you need to set them up properly, none of them are desk speakers.
One hundred percent! There are so many monitor speakers I would have suggested over any of these. This has to be the silliest videos I’ve ever seen.
exactly!
so, it's not about what you think sounds good, it's what some nerd on the internet tells you sounds good? did i get that right?
I watch high fi videos all day and the experts will say accurate speakers are boring.
A-B testing is good.
Setting up speakers and the listening position in this way is not.
Having certain tracks that offer specific instruments, frequencies or voices and comparing those tracks (if they are recorded well) is great.
Just living with them day to day setup like this doing whatever… well lets just day im not surprised they dont sound that much different.
Basic things to note in placement are distances apart for stereo imaging and depth of the soundstage, if they are ported and if so, front or rear (because that affects how close to a wall you should have them),
the room in general as well- seriously. True hifi nuts have acoustically treated rooms. Personally, if the speakers are in the affordable range (aka fractions of what a normal family car costs) the speakers should also be listerned to in a space where such a family would live daily for a sense of realism and normality. One wouldnt sit so close to speakers, especially if they arent desktop monitor speakers
Im quite new to the hifi hobby but have been pleasanly surprised at how much small changes can make. Knowing some nerdy features about a particular speaker or even driver design might also inform all of the above factors (and more). As an example, some speakers only realy wake up if you smack them into action with a more powerful amp, others donwell with delicate encouragement. Then AB testing doesnt really seem like a fair comparison.
What i do have to agree on in a strong way is the law of diminishing returns: the more younpay the smaller the incremental improvements are and the more specific the application becomes as well (not all speakers and amps do well with classical music). Even more compelling is the fact that cheaper / older / secondhand speakers and amps may be a lot better value for money if you dont need professional grade sound reproduction.
Bottom line is do your favorite artists and music genres give you tue feels on your system in your space? Then you have a winning combo. When we moved, my awesome hifi combo sounded blander than cardboard boxes they came in.
I want to be there, be moved and hear all they intended me to - then the hifi itself evaporates and im just left getting goosebumps in an invisible mist made purely out of an artist’s drive to convert their hearts and minds into sounds.
worked in audio for 25 years, the amount of times we blindtested "audiophiles" and they couldnt guess expensive speakers over cheap speakers....lots of people think things sound good because of what they cost
I think the key takeaway in this video is you’re looking for what you “prefer” and not what objectively and technically sounds better. Using Spotify isn’t really conducive to these kinds of tests.
no, just listen to some FM radio will do the job.
While I agree that using Spotify is lousy for evaluating the quality of sound from a system, exactly how does one "objectively and technically" determine which sounds better? Do measurements alone determine what sounds the best? Shouldn't the subjective impression be the final arbiter?
Tidel or sacd is the way to go .
@@bentonpix Well, I do agree when it comes to determining what sounds "best" as that could be very subjective when it comes to which qualities determine what is "best", and which qualities are above others. However, determining what sounds "better" objectively is also relative to what are being compared. Some things can be measured, some things can be described. Some speakers can be good at detail retrieval, while some can be good in sound staging. It's all relative. It's important to know how they are objectively, then choose which ones fit our subjective preferences.
Yes it is, without question, same sound source. I can assume your favorite is not on top, that is clear
I’m Just starting out! Sounds like I am exactly where you were at the beginning. Scored Pioneer SPBS22LR bookshelves (by Andrew Jones) for 40 bucks and got a Wiim Amp for $240 (“black friday”) … all in $300 with cables and am giddy with the result! Excited and anxious 😅 for the slippery slope to come
Btw awesome vid, I’m tuning in to all those same channels already myself … you got a sub 👍🏼
If you are "just a beginner" please let me give you a little advice that I hope will save you a ton of fret and disappointment...
Do NOT even consider going down the "cables and accessories" rabbit hole. It's just a complete waste of your money. In a nutshell, these guys are selling solutions to problems that nobody actually has. If you can't confirm the big claims from sources outside the audiophile community, rest assured they are lying to you.
I love hearing non audiophiles do test like this. I watch all the same audiophile channels and wonder how much of a difference there really is. Very interesting!
Absolutely loved this, and i was not disappointed by the comments!
Great test, i applaud you for doing it A/B with a switch. That right there is something all the audio reviewers should be doing.
Now lets hear it from all the audiofile snobs and know -it-alls how this review is unvalid and not done proper! 😅
Man, I wish I was deaf like this guy.🤣
BTW can you imagine when this guy finds out about near field monitors?😅
I can't imagine it because as a grown adult I don't really fall for placebo scams.
@@oBCHANoThis was just a bad video. Each of these three speakers are designed to be used as far fields, not from a foot and a half away.
@@donsimpsonshead8809we tested everything at a distance as well.
He was able to figure out his room ringing at 100 hz so i don't think he's deaf. I think he's honest with what he is hearing and understands visual bias which audiophiles seem to struggle with.
I use KRK Rohit 5’s for my Desk Setup , near field Monitors. I love them and they weren’t to expensive.
The video is a experience sharing. Enjoyed it. From the various comments, I want to generalise as:
Audiophile listens to the audio as a science, non-audiophile listens to music as an art. First is tangible and the second is transparent thru the system.
I'm having the time of my life listening to all the "wise" people telling our host what's wrong with his setup, how he could get better results, how his stuff isn't good enough and on and on and on.
BUT .... how many of these advisors actually took the time to A-B compare, to test and re-test, or even try different things in their own systems? I'm betting almost none of them.
Audiophiles are some truly strange little critters.
Love that you have a clip of Steve Guttenberg! Love him. Also, really enjoy Andrew Robinson's channel. Thanks for this video - good stuff.
I stopped caring about million dollar system, pie-in-the-sky audio reviewed by many. I have thrift shopped most of my gear and am extraordinarily pleased with my component stack. I have a Denon stereo receiver, a Denon CD player, a Fluance RT82, a Kenwood cassette deck, and a WiiM Pro streamer. A pair of JBLs and another pair of Boston Acoustics with a Velodyne sub makes things sound sweet. All for the price of cables on some one-percenters Mcintosh set up.
I lusted for a Macintosh until now!
yeah cheap 7.1 hdmi yamaha reciever I puchiced used for peanuts on craigslist marketplace, advent baby 2s, alto powered tx308s that are supose to be pa speakers but kickass and dirt cheap brand new, and some nicer goodwill jensons for the rears, cheap $90 polk sub, cheap klh center channel I got from a trade, radioshack linear tracking tt I fixed up and a teak cassette and my pc/phone connected to the aux it sounds fabulous and I have several options to use it.
@@bornfree1794 so many better than Macintosh, they're the McDonalds of tube amps
I subscribed to your channel right away. I love your honesty, it is going to save me tons of money! Great video.
Somewhere around the 70's amplifier brands decided to REMOVE tone control knobs, the mantra was, that the BEST amplification was a straight line,so you could hear music exactly the way the sound engineer in the recording studio recorded it ( as if any modern well equipped mixing table has no tone and fase altering knobs) that is like driving a expensive car with a permanently fixed gas and steering wheel, or if it was a camera, a " fixed focus" lens ...you get the point.
Years earlier many amps came even with a treeway tone filter ,bass,MID' TREBLE, capability,that was VERY GOOD for the customer,but very BAD for business, sincy it forces the innocent customer to now start messing with different tuned speakers, witch in the sellers showroom sound MARVELOUS, but in many homes disappoints because the room acoustics and placement is totally different,any way as of the years ' 90 To today, many expensive amplifiers come without tone controls,or ( oh horror, equalizers) so for speakers sellers this is a GREAT way to keep pumping out year after year " improved" versions of their speakers.
the Hifi and certainly the " HIGH-END" AUDIO BUSINES IS filled with many sellers of " snake- oil" today .
Best thing is to do what you did, buy or rent equipment ,and test it out with YOUR MUSIC, IN your room, and don't believe all audio gurus.
I liked your review because of its energy, but I wouldn't call it all encompassing. I've owned the Elac UB52 and currently own the KEF LS 50 Meta. In a typical living room environment, the KEFs are substantially better than the Elac, especially at lower volume. The Cambridge amp you're sending back is much better at driving complex speaker loads in a larger room. Your test didn't stress any of amps in question, and for what you're doing you weren't likely to notice a difference. I do agree with your conclusion about the Wiim amp due to its streaming capability and room EQ. Wiim's room EQ is modeled after Yamaha's original YPAO from the RX-V2600. For what you're doing, I would recommend KEF LSX2-LT which is on sale for $899. (Although, since you own the Polk's and like them, the Wiim is a no-brainer.) The LSX are very similar in design to the LS 50 Meta, includes a full array of streaming services and some degree of room correction (albeit not as complete as the Wiim's). You are correct about room correction being a game changer. Before they went the way of the Dodo bird, I bought from Paradigm a couple of their free-standing Anthem Room Correction modules that will work with any standard two channel system. Another product slated for end-of-life is KEF's EGG Duo. They use an LSX inspired UNI-Q driver, a 25w/pc class-D amp, along with a variety of analog/digital inputs. They also have a sub-woofer output connection. For $299 they're a steal and ideal for a bedroom/den system.
All of this started when I purchased the lsx and hated the sound but was amazed by the imaging and I decided to step up and buy the real thing. The lsx didn’t have enough bass to pair with my sub imo
@@FStoppers I think that's interesting that you disliked the sound. I would say the lack of bass was likely a configuration issue. The LSXs are designed more for near-field listening, whereas the LS50s are for a traditional living room. BTW, if you want to keep your original Sony, but get the benefits of the Wiim amp, then buy the Wiim Pro Plus. You'll get all the streaming capabilities, plus room correction for $220.
Agree with the general sentiment in this video. Many youtube audio channels are essentially shop fronts for manufacturers to buy extended advertising from the "audiophile" channels. For the vast majority of users who just want better sound than average, lower end or even used equipment is absolutely fine. You can get 90% of the quality of a high end system for 10-20% of the price if you know where to look. It's only worth spending the fortune if your ears can actually tell the difference
Glad you did this video, because even i get tempted with stuff.
This is such an exasperating way of testing speakers. The LS50s are not for desktops (or bookshelves). Ironically you captured a pic of audiophile reviewer John Darko, and he pointed out that the LS50s are simply too big to use on a desktop. He recommended the Kef LSX powered speakers, which are much smaller and more appropriate. Andrew Robinson recommends the Kanto powered brand for your use case. The Elac and Kef's should be listened too from a distance,
It’s also a bit surprising that, despite watching all those videos, he didn’t know these speakers are designed to be listened to on stands at the very least.
He trashes all of these reviewers but each and every one of them has videos with options for low cost systems. None of them would ever use these three speakers from a foot and a half away. It’s a ridiculous video.
@@dropthehammer1360who actually own LS50 knows that is has a destop (table) mode selector on the back pannel
@@trungnc5487 I haven’t owned a pair myself but I have never heard of such a switch.
Great video, you definitely went deep on the research. But I do have to say, the speakers should be level-matched using pink noise and professionally calibrated measurement microphone before any A/B testing. The loudness being even 2-3 decibels off will cause people to almost always prefer the louder one. And in the Polk vs KEF comparison, the tweeter level of the KEF speakers was much higher than the Polks which like you said causes a massive difference.
I'm not saying the KEF should have been massively better though, speaker design has been solved for decades. Any well built reasonably flat speaker with good design practices will sound excellent. Room correction and positioning is much much more important.
I volumed matched with my ears and I did probably 30 AB tests so if I was off one way or the other, I'm sure it went the other way 50% of the time.
you're not crazy. Polk are good speakers. The KEFs are hyped speakers. They spent a lot of money on creating the hype. KEFs LS50 are muddy. The room environment is the biggest factor in speaker quality, not the speaker.
KEFs LS50 are not meant to be desktop speakers, they are meant to be placed at least 3 meters away from you.
Owned ls50wii and totally agree to you.
Myself killed my ls50wii with purpose (50% of the sound reason, 50% of connection matter which supper unstable even wifi so strong both 2.5 and 5G).
Cost $3000, sound not as good as my projector LG HU85LS except my projector can not produce low note), all so not sound as good as my Technic AZ70 inear both tonality, detail level.
I’ve been a Polk fan for over 40 years. Still have pair of Polk 10’s that I bought used in 1982. Still sound amazing!
I have to say this, i love watching the same audio channels that you binge on. I can't help but notice that many of those guys seem to be in love with the design of some of those gear and how it looks in their space. I have two sets of PSB speakers and the Klipsch the FIVES i got for my sons computer since they are self powered. I think that these guys are in love with these names so much that they convince themselves that the sound coming from them, is a sound from HEAVEN. I think for me to spend the money on audio gear that i could buy a used car for is insane. I mean , how much more detail in highs or mid-range am i going to hear if i buy a five thousand dollars speaker. I still use a pair of Pioneer bookshelf i bought for $89.00 years ago when Andrew Jones was the Designer. I'm happy that these guys have that kind of income because of their channel to blow that kind of money on FURNITURE STYLE AUDIO FOR THEIR LIVING ROOMS, BUT COME ON GET A GRIP.
I enjoyed your video very much and you were spot on with speaker placement making all the difference.
This is why we have open-box deals. I really don't get this video, this is not how you listen or review. (Just my opinions)
@@jordcoerse if you want speakers to sit on your desk to do video edits and watch computer content, how would you recommend setting them up? This seems like the exact setup for Lee’s end goal. -P
I'm just like you. I have multiple sets of speakers I enjoy, yet I'm watching guys like Paul from PS Audio and the other guys you've mentioned on a regular. I have no intention of upgrading my gear, but I guess watching them soothes that gear acquisition syndrome itch.
I'm seeing more and more "audiophiles" realize that marketing made a fool of them. Good on you for being honest with yourself. I've learned the same thing with positioning. My $75 bookshelf speakers set in the right spot sound way batter than my $1500 speakers in the wrong spot. Location and direction are WAY more important than any other spec, and then the next most important spec is the room they're in. No need to spend $1500, just spend an hour getting your room right and finding the right speaker location.
Bookshelf speakers are usually easy to drive. Amplifiers will not be different if they can easily drive the speaker loads (unless they have noise problems etc, which modern amps should not have, regardless of price)
Your Polk speakers are broken in. It would only be fair if all speakers are broken in.
Man, this is an excellent review. I really wish you would have bought a pair of the Sony SSCS5's, as I've seen tons of reviews on that bookshelf and for the $125 or $75 on sale, they are an absolute steal, and would have loved to hear what others think they sound like compared to those coveted KEF LS50's. Regardless, this was an excellent comparrison. Thank you for posting!
I wish he did too. I’m thinking about upgrading my Sonys to the kef q150’s. I heard they are 90% as good as the ls50’s also mentioned in the video.
I’ll probably stop chasing after the better sound after that.
I have a couple pairs of the Polk bookshelf and tower speakers and love them!
next time I need advice on camera gear I will ask an audio engineer or a baker or a gardener
If they compare compared precisely back to back over the course of weeks and multiple bakers all choose the images out of the cheapest camera I’d love to see it.
ok someone's angry. If you didn't want his advise why did you watch. Anyway, do you not agree that speaker placement and room are the biggest factor in audio sound quality?
@@MaxFeken sure. Put a transistor radio anywhere in any room you like.
@@johnbecker1996 OK troll
@@johnbecker1996 Sony receiver plus good stereo speakers/sub is not transistor radio but thanks
I bought the Polk Audio TSi100 on Sep 14, 2022, not once, but twice. I have a pair that lives on my desk and I absolutely love them, which is why I bought a 2nd set Sep 23, 2022, still sealed in the box just in case mine ever quit working. They are phenomenal speakers.
Points to ponder:
- tweeters should ideally be at ear level or pointed at ear level
- speakers need distance from walls to "breathe" or they'll become muddy
- speakers placed correctly should provide a large and deep soundstage
- whatever sounds best to YOU is all that matters.
You should do audio reviews. OK, I bought the Polk STI 100's new from Safe and Sound audio approx one year ago. I know they're older models but this must've been new old stock they had. They were around $150.00. I A I'd them with Polks brand new model that cost a lot more. I definitely preferred everything about the STI 100's. I bought them for my daughter and she loves them! Her HSU sub is dying, so i just bought her a new refurbished, by Polk, an PSW 108 Polk subwoofer with the class AB amp. I bet that's the same one you have there.
After I give this to her for Christmas, I'll tell her to watch your video.
Btw, I found out about these Polk speakers through Cheap Audio Man.
You should do audio reviews. Did I already say that?
It’s weird that you didn’t even bother with powered speakers. That’s the solution that works better for almost all people’s needs.
I actually did. All of this started after I purchased the KEF LSX and hated the way they sounded but was mesmarized by their imaging. Also, after this test, I never want to go back to speakers that don't have room correction and I don't know how to do that with powered speakers.
@@FStoppers Powered speakers like studio monitors have level controls built into the back panels of them. They sound great, check out Genelec, Kali Audio, JBL LSR Series, Yamaha. If you have a Guitar Center near you or if you go to B&H you can try them out, but of course the placement isn't optimal.
@@FStoppers There are actually many powered speakers with built-in room correction support. Basically the speakers have a DSP processor integrated that runs the room correction. Genelec is the best in the world but they are insanely expensive. iLoud MTM is a much cheaper alternative, they sell a bundle with the speakers and a calibrated measurement microphone which will provide much better results than iPhone too.
I have 1985 Polk speakers, cheapest Sony amp and a Klipsh sw10 sub found at a thrift store for thirty bucks. I always thought it sounded great l. Great vidio I can stop worrying that I am missing something big. Saved me money too!