Reply to post: WTF????

WTF????

I have a pair of HK9000 speakers connected to an old Akai stereo unit (which is occasionally used for radio but nothing else). These sit atop a pair of Celestion UL-8 speakers which form part of the front pair of my 5.1 kit (lounge is too small and badly shaped for 7.1). Most of the rest of the 5 are a matching set of Panasonic speakers from some of their very early HT systems.

Both the HK and Celestion speakers I've had since 91 or 92. Dang I miss the HK! Loved that machine, and would snap one up if I saw one locally.. Anyway...

The amp (part of the coffee table now) is a .. erm.. No sorry cannot see any branding on it. Got it for $5 from a 2nd hand shop many many many many years ago, and I think it was at least a decade old then so must be some 20 years old. Hell, it has DIN plugs for inputs! (and RCA thankfully).

I'm pretty sure all of this kit will run for at least another decade, so long as I don't crank things too high (and that is well above my comfort levels - or the neighbour's neighbours for that matter!). So long as I have some standard 2-wire outputs to connect to (line or headphone level don't matter, audio or common digital also don't matter) this kit will keep going, and the basic audio output has been with us I think over 100 years now. The sound is pretty good - ok very good even if I do say so myself :).. Speaker locations and wires are all measured.

So why change bar equipment failure?

I put my money into speakers first as no matter what other equipment you have if the speakers are crap the sound is crap. I also know there's a lot of very good gear that's cheap, eg my favourite cans are some Phillips ones that cost IIRC $30 brand new, and I have some pretty good ear buds that were the "Necessities" brand from "The Warehouse". The buds are better than most others I've tried and comparable with even the expensive stuff. I also had a play with some expensive Senheiser(sp) cans of the same style as my Philips one's, using what for me is an index/test track (ie I song I know extremely well) - the quality was the same although I think I could find the Senheiser ones comfortable for a few more hours at a time - just fit my ears a little better (but I can happily wear the Philips ones for 5 or 6 hours at a time).

So anyway.. My speakers are where my money goes. For that I want good audio quality and good life span, nothing else matters. In 10 years time I still want to be happy I got those speakers. If you want me to be buying new ones then you need to give me a very compelling reason. Bricking them because they're 5 years old (or just reducing functionality/compatibility) IS a compelling reason - but compelling for me to go with other brands and do all the harm I can to yours.

So glad I stick with what works.