If I want to listen to the highest possible quality music, what should I use?

DCM5150

2016-08-20 21:25:41 UTC

Every piece goes together. From the music source to the amplifier to the speakers. That being said either CD or record is going to give you excellent sound (some people prefer records although most of them prefer them just to to say the only listen to records).

It really comes down to money. The more money you have the better the system you can build with higher quality.

spacemissing

2016-08-21 01:16:17 UTC

Records are nowhere near the best.

In most cases, CDs are good enough,

because few people can hear the difference

between them and higher-resolution formats.

I would stick with CDs for the simple reason that players are Everywhere and affordable.

If you want to try something that is Supposedly better,

there are several from which to choose:

SACD

DVD-A (finding discs and players might be difficult, though)

Pono

various "high res" downloadable formats

Don't expect to hear a difference at all,

and particularly not if you don't have a Very high performance audio system,

by which I mean upwards of $9,000.

The speakers should be about a third of the cost,

so you're looking at about $3,000 or more for

a pair.

You wouldn't have a receiver at the center of this system;

rather, you would have a preamp along with a stereo power amplifier,

or two "monoblock" power amps.

The disc player would represent at least 25% of the cost of the system,

and the preamp and power amp(s) would represent the remainder.

If you wanted a tuner, it would be extra

and should cost about the same as the disc player.

If you are not prepared to spend at least $10,000 for the whole system

including cables and other small bits,

there really is no reason to pursue anything beyond CDs anyway.

2016-08-21 06:42:10 UTC

Your question sounds a little muddled. First you need to consider the system you are going to be listening to the music on regardless of what format the music is in.

I don't think you'll easily find any kind of surround sound system intended solely for playing music and, even if you did, I doubt you'd find any music to play on it. You need to stick to stereo. The heart of the stysten would be a good-quality stereo amplifier. I'd say you want a minimum of 60-80 warrs rms per channel and buy from a reputable maker. You could spend many thousands of £/$ on a good amplifier. A few hundred £/$ should buy you a reasonable one - something capable of producing sound quality far higher than that most young people are used to. If you want to connect a turntable to the amplifier it needs to have a phono input or ypu will need to buy a separate phono pre-amplifier.

Next, you need a pair of good-quality stereo speakers. Each speaker needs to have at least two drivers - one for bass/mid and one for treble. Some speakers are 3-way with bass, mid and treble drivers. The bass driver needs to be a reasonable size. Mine are 7" and I really wouldn't want to go much below that. The power handling capacity of each speaker needs to comfortably exceed the output of the amplifier.

To me, the only realistic options for listening to recorded music are records or CDs. A record deck or a CD player needs to match the quality of the rest of the system. The weakest link in the chain dictates the quality of what you hear.

To me, ypu certainly want a CD player. You might ALSO want a turntable. Some people claim to prefer the sound of records (this is part of the digital vs analogue debate) and, to me, there is certainly a difference in sound between digital and analogue sounds. The problem with records is that the vast majority of modern records will contain music that has been recorded and mastered digitally. You will be getting the exact same sound as would be on CD, just with the likely addition of surface noise, clicks, jumps, wow and flutter (shockingly, you'll also be charged considerably more for an inferior product). Buying old, mint-condition records that contain music recorded on analogue equipment is a different matter. I still have most of my old records but prefer to listen to the CD versions.

Really, there is no limit to how much you pay. Remember that every componant needs to of a similar quality although, of course, you could save up to buy a really expensive amplifier and use poor quality speakers and CD player etc. for the moment, until you can afford to upgrade.

Listening on good-quality headphones is an intimate and enjoyable experience wut it won't have the impact that decent apeakers will have and, obviously, you can't listen with anyone else.

The room that ypu are listening in has an effect too. The two speakers and the listener should form an equilateral triangle. The size and shape of the room and what furnishings are in there effects the sound too.

I can't be certain of this because I'm happy with the system I have but I think that the prices of even mid-range products will be significantly higher than they were in my day because nowadays a lot fewer people are actually interested in good sound-quality.

Nightworks

2016-08-21 02:17:57 UTC

"What should my setup be if I want the highest possible quality music?"

It should be well built, using high quality component parts, from a reputable hi-fi manufacturer.

"Speakers or headphones?"

That is down to personal preference - there are sonic advantages and disadvantages to each.

"What type? Record player?"

Er, if you are thinking about a 'record player' (a cheap, poorly made, all-in-one unit, with lousy sound quality), then you're not really understanding '...extremely high quality...' at all.

"Surround sound?"

Music is recorded in stereo (2- channels) and requires just 2 speakers for playback. Why would you even consider surround sound, when three of the channels won't get used at all?

"Streaming service or buy the CD?"

Some streaming services have sound quality that is close to that of a CD. Most don't.

"My goal is simply to listen to extremely high quality music."

From your clear lack of knowledge, I doubt you have the financial wherewithall to actually achieve what you think you want. I'm guessing that you think you can get the "...highest possible quality music..." by spending just a few hundred dollars, rather than the several thousand that you will really need.

Kevin L

2016-08-22 15:49:30 UTC

Well first thing to understand just like anything else, the best can get extremely expensive, much more expensive then you and most people realize when it comes to state of the art high end audio. I design, setup, and calibrate some of the very best systems in the world and they can easily approach and even exceed the millions.

As for headphone system or music system ? Very good question and plus and minuses to each. Without a doubt designing a high quality headphone system will be alot cheaper, and can provide exceptional sound and performance. You dont have room acoustic issues to deal with, sound goes directly to your ears. But with that said, one of the BIG limitations is its ability to soundstage properly. Soundstage is the systems ability to place instruments in front of you in a way that a 3 dimensional picture does with video. You can hear the placement of each instrument. A good music system properly calibrated can do that and do it well, a headphone system just cant quite do it, even when recorded or decoded in a format that tries to recreate that illusion. Like Biaural recordings, Great idea and does give you feeling of soundstage, A truly state of the art headphone system can cost anywhere from around $2500 on up to over 10k.

On a state of the art music system its truly endless what you can spend, but with that said if it is done carefully you can design a pretty modest price system that sounds pretty good. Its attention to detail in choosing the right speakers and equipment that both drives the speakers well and complements them sonically.

A truly high end system will cost anywhere from $30k to $50K to well in the hundreds of thousands.

So be careful what you ask for when you say you want the best lol, just like cars its just about endless what you can spend. But on the other hand you can cars like Porsche GT3's or GT4;'s and for the money get a feeling of what a super car is.

Your best bet is to go and discover your local independent high end audio video store is all about. They carry many of the best brands in high end audio and the salesmen at these stores typically have many years experience designing, setting up, and calibrating high end audio systems.

Kevin

40 years high end audio video specialist

?

2016-08-21 07:51:41 UTC

Let me ask this........... Can you forgo your next NEW CAR ? Short answer to add to everyone else. The best source available is still nothing. To have " the highest possible quality music" as you say begins with a capable set of gear. Audiophile quality is the term. Youtube shows some drool worthy set ups. Yep, best mortgage the house, figure upward of $20,000.00 US. Just as DCM5150 said ; MONEY MONEY MONEY but that stuff is BEAUTIFUL.