The Stereo Demo

As part of my search for a stereo system I went yesterday to hear 4 different sets of speakers playing my music. It was an amazing experience. For almost two hours I was engulfed by the same music I’ve heard thousands of times before, only I couldn’t believe the way it sounded. It was so much fun I completely forgot about the outside world for the entire demonstration.

Eventually I had to choose between two sets of speakers: The DALI Ikon 6 and the Focal JMlab 716 Chorus. Both considered good speakers but produce entirely different sound. I eventually picked the Focal pair as my favorite because their output for The Prodigy’s music was the way I like it. Specifically, the bass (at the right volume) can make your body vibrate. I actually brought specific bass-loaded tracks to test that :)

To complement the speakers a NAD C355BEE amplifier and a NAD C515BEE CD component were chosen. Cabling is also important – cables made from different materials can be used to tweak the way the music sound… I heard it with my own ears.

By the time the demonstration ended I was ready and willing to buy everything, but following my audiophile friend’s advice I decided to give it a few more days. I doubt I’ll go to another demonstration because I think it will just confuse me – how will I be able to remember what a specific set of speakers sounded like compared to a new set I’ll be listening to? But we’ll see what my friend suggests.