I do claim to be part of the first group, although, as an engineer I still take great interest in the technology part as well.
If you are interested in the technology, there's one truth to remember: Good measurements doesn't necessarily mean good sound.
So... what do an audiophile do? Well, he's probably reading one or a number of Hi-Fi magazines, dropping by his local store(s) semi-regularly, surfing the net and talking about Hi-Fi with those who will listen; but this is not the important parts (even though they are fun too!) - the important thing is s/he listens to music.
Well, so do you? Then perhaps you're an audiophile too, or you misunderstand the
word 'listen'. In this context it doesn't equal having some music on. I mean
doing nothing else but listening. That is, with your concentration on the music.
Not just listening to it, but listening for things in it. Music isn't just one
big chunk of sound put together, it's made up of so many individual parts and
if you don't concentrate, you will not hear half of them. And if your stereo
isn't good enough, it will swallow the other half....
No, I'm not joking. When was the last time you discovered an instrument in your
favourite music you never heard before? If you don't already own a very good
(=expensive) stereo system, I can promise you there are lots of them left to
find.
You're intrigued enough to want to try? Ok... Find a place to sit down that just as far away from both speakers. Preferrably they'll be angled as much towards you from their sides... If not... try shifting them. Then make sure you won't be distracted for a while, turn the lights down - that will help your concentration, put on some music on at a volume so that an instrument sounds about as loud as it would if someone played it in your room. sit down, make yourself comfortable, close your eyes if you want - and listen to the music... Pick out a single instrument and listen just to that for a while... find that instruments aren't placed just "in" the speakers or straight in front, they are (supposed to be!) spread out inbetween as well.
Was this interesting? Did you find what I told you? Or didn't you get a stable "soundscape"? Did you just hear the sound coming from two loudspeakers? Well, that is something that is common with speakers that aren't good enough (I'm sorry for you). You could try moving them, turn them to face you more, or less... It could do the trick. Otherwise it's just to admit - these speakers aren't HiFi. But before you fret, it's nothing unusual. Most of the speakers in the world are as bad as this...
What to do? Go buy a better pair? Yes, that is part of the solution. But there
are more pieces to the puzzle... It's just like computers... We are talking SISU-equipment
(Shit In = Shit Out *grin*). It's a fact that the sound changes the most in the
speakers, but no matter how good they are they cannot fix something that's already
damaged...
As a newcomer to the HiFi-scene, there's a lot of confusing new words to learn and some dealers are less than straight with you. Always remember that their products aren't as good as _they_ claim, but better than their competitiors claim... *grin* Try to read magazines so you start understanding the words. Have a big look around the web, there are many explainatory sites about hifi. ( here's a quick'n'dirty attempt of explaining some of the techincal terms) Don't go just looking at the things, ask to listen to them, take brochures, go to a library and look for reviews in hifi-magazines. Compare, try to form your own opinion about things. But... I won't leave you all on your own, I'll give you some guidelines. But I stress that this is _my_ opinions and that you needn't (perhaps shouldn't?) agree in full.
1) Take a long thought about the maxumum amount of money you would/could spend on a _full_ system. Not the amount you are willing to pay for a single item, but for the complete system. It will give you a hint on how long you need to wait and a clue to which part to replace first. I would recommend that you try to reconcile yourself with a figure of 10,000SEK (US $1,250). You can push the figure down a little (say 30% down), but below that it stops being HiFi and you are back where you started.
2) How much on each component? And which components? Well, when I say a "full
system", I mean a (single CD) CD-player, amplifier and loudspeakers. No cassettes,
no radio...
The CD-players today are very good even at low prices, they have improved a lot
over the past 5 years, so you shouldn't place the bulk of your money here. (If
we are talking much more expensive, it's a little different, because then we end
up in the "you can't fix a damaged signal" area and the CD-player has to be very good)
The amplifier must be able to handle the loudspeakers, so it needs a little muscle
to sound good. So, put a little more money on the amplifier.
The loudspeakers are the biggest source for changing/destroying the sound, so the bulk
of the money should be invested here.
It's not easy to give a formula, but paying twice as much for the amplifier than
for the CD-player is a good rule of thumb. Also paying twice(minimum) as much for the
amplifier... Given 10,000 SEK this yields approx. 1,500 for CD-player, 3,000 for amplifier
and 6,000 for speakers. For me... this seems a little too little on the speakers,
though... so I'd compromise the amplifier a little, perhaps finding a good one
for 2,000 and putting 1,000 more on the speakers... If I had to compromise...
I would rather break the 10,000 barrier...
Since I myself have a setup for five times that amount, I obviously don't think 10,000 is enough. So, how much do I think is "good enough"... Well, today a CD-player at 2,500 is very good. Also a amplifiers above 3,000. The problem is the loudspeakers. They don't get really good until you get up in the range 8,000-10,000... (when you approach 15,000 in loudspeakers - then is the time to go up in (first) amplifier and then CD-player quality) So... say 10,000+3,000+2,500 = 15,500 ($2,000) (plus cables) is definitely 'good enough'. Are you scared now? *teasing* (The 1-2-4 rule for 15,500 says : 2,200, 4,400 and 8,900)
3)What to buy? This is a stupid question... Hearing is very individual, so you must find out what kind of sound you prefer. I can only give you recommendations from my ears and experiences...
Buying CD-players... is very difficult... because if you listen to them - their sound will get filtered through the amplifier and speakers the store will happen to hook it up to... And they can "eliminate" some things and "enhance" others... I haven't done it myself, but listening to them through high-quality headphones seems an interesting approach.. Why not borrow a pair and bring with you round to all stores? (My tip for headphones: Sennheiser)
Brands? Well, this is very difficult - because I'd give you recommendations based on the kind of sonic reproduction I enjoy. You have to listen and try to find out in what category you are... A good dealer (find one you feel you can talk to) can perhaps let you hear the different between a warm and a cold (sometimes referred to as "musical" vs. "analytic"). Just... don't buy a multiple CD changer... buy a single CD player... It's important, there are no HiFi changers that I know of!
Buying amplifiers are also tricky... Some speakers are "mean" and require the amplifier to push much harder... Some amplifiers aren't up to this. I have two brands for you that will: NAD and Harman/Kardon. I know they aren't the answer to life, universe and everything, but they have been the entrypoint into HiFi for many, many people... They are not too expensive (skip the smallest model, though) and they are stronger that they are rated to. If you buy a little bigger model, you can also double its power later (NAD)...
Loudspeakers are the very item to split people into different taste categories... If you can do without the lowest bass, you can save money (or gain quality) by buying a small speaker. These _work_ in the bookshelves, but they should actually be put on stands and placed just like bigger speakers. If you live crowded, you can have two smalls speakers and a sub-woofer tucked away someplace convenient. But please, get a subwoofer with it's own (built-in) amplifier! And then of course, there's the normal, medium sized or big floorstanding speaker. And I can only tell you what I like... But at least I can tell you that these brands are quality brands... NHT, Snell, Dynaudio, Audiovector. For those of you wanting to spend ridicolous amount of money: Magnepan, JMlabs Utopia series, VonSchweikert, or like me - Canton Digitals...
When you go listening to loudspeakers... Don't start from the smallest models. Skip them, and also skip the ridicolously expensive ( apart from once or twice to create yourself a reference of what sound can be ). And ask to have the sound switched from one pair to another (the shorter time inbetween the better, sonic memory is rather short lived - be aware of it if you go from one store to another). And... don't get impressed with a lot of bass, or a clear top... It has to be all together... Listen to different kinds of music. It should sound natural, not necessarily impressive. It should be hard to pinpoint it's faults. If it's easy to pinpoint something it's good at, perhaps it's too much of that... or too little of the rest. And... take your time... visit all stores, listen, talk and look at everything... Heck, take a trip to the next town, or call around and check what brands they have... Don't buy too quickly... And borrow a pair into your own home... What sounds good in the store might not work in your room... (It can also be the opposite, so do tell the storeowner what was wrong and he might be able to guess what _will_ work there...)