Audio has been an interest and hobby of mine for more than 40 years, sometimes bordering on passion and mania - you know, the audiophle disease. Over the past several days, I have learned some new facts and relearned an old truism about my hobby.
Taking the advice of an AudioCircle member, I sought and found a Pioneer SX980 receiver made over 30 years ago. This member was of the view, apparently along with others, that equipment of this vintage can make particularly good headphone amplifiers. Trading an old unsed piece of equipment I was able pay about $250 for an SX980 in very good condition. And it is, in fact, excellent as a headphone amp making my Audeze LCD2 headphones sound better than the other headphone amps I had been using.
Once I had it in my sound room, where I run my PMC MB2i speakers using 7BSST2 amps, a BP26, a BDA1, and BDP1, I thought, what the hell, I'll set up a second system with the SX980 using unused Tangent TM3 bookshelf speakers. They sounded good to my ear, but needed some tuning, which I did with yet another unused piece, a Z-Systems RDQ digital equalizer, placed between the BDP and BDA. and this, too worked well.
But all this simply activated the audiophile itch in me, which is this: when I hear something good, I'm anxious to make it better.
So I bought new speakers. First, Polk Audio RTi 1A bookshelf speakers, which were rated highly by Stereophile and sounded better than the alternatives where I demoed them. Cost: $280. These speakers were better than the Tangents, and need far less equalizing.
But the itch needed more scratching, so I decided to up the ante, buying B&W 685 stand-mount speakers at $800 (Canadian price). Didn't want to spend money on stands, so I bought 24" wooden barstools - $40.
After breaking the 685s in, and placing unused Nordost Pulsar Points under them, they sound even better than the Polks with no equalizing needed.
Then, of course, I had to A-B them. Using the same sources (BDP-BDA) I compared the 685s and the SX980 with the MB2is with the 7BSST2s. Not surprisingly, the PMCs sound quite a bit better overall; however, I belive some people who prefer a brighter and clearer upper mid range and high end just might prefer the 685/SX980. The sound between the two combinations arguably might be called different rather than better or worse.
The 685/SX980 combination cost a shade under $1100, including the bar stools (little more than the price of my LCD2s and far less than the Sennheiser HD800s I owned until recently). The MB2i/7BSST2s if bought today would cost about $35,000.
So this interesting experience confirmed a lesson I learned long ago. As you pay more for audio equipment seeking to get better sound, the performance is disproportional to the money spent. Do I regret buying my MB2is and Bryston? Absolutely not. No buyer's remose for me. It's my hobby, I enjoy the increased performance although to get it meant digging deep in my pocket.
On the other hand, this experience resulted in new lessons:
1. Vintage equipment can be quite good, and even a downright bargain.
2. Old receivers, in one odd way, are better than modern ones in this respect: They are simple to set up and easier to use. Everything is knobs and buttons, which do not require searching about for the nested menu you want. And if it is near at hand, which is required in lieu of a remote, it has a satsifying tactile feel to it, expecially in the weighted tuner knob.
3. There have been incredible improvements in small speakers. I don't have my old speakers by which to make any comparisons, but if the memory of my ageing ears is correct, these B&W 685s (and maybe even the Polks) are better than any speakers I had before getting my first PMCs (IB1). These included EPI quads, Misson 753 and 757 (?) as well as outstanding Hales Revelation IIIs.
Taken together, this has been a week full of fun, surprises, bargains, and unexpected lessons.
Dave
