How to tell if it is a good sound?

[kobestonecold]

Trust your ear right? Anyway, what do i need to look for? Can someone please explain? A website with instruction would be nice. :T

[jack667]

Emotion. That's what you need to listen for.

[Briz vegas]

Read a little, but try and listen to as much different gear as you can.

Join a hifi club. We have an excellent one in Brisbane.

http://www.qldaudioclub.org.au/

Otherwise spend as much time as you can at different dealers listening to different gear. You will soon learn that there are lots of different flavours out there and often each will have its strenghts and weaknesses.

I hear other peoples systems regularly, from Watt Puppies down to $500 dollar home made open baffle designs. The two I just mentioned both sounded excellent. You need to listen to alot of systems to get an ear for what is genuinely good (for you), and you need to spend some time too. Some gear impresses for 15 minutes but would drive you crazy if you owned it and listed for an hour or two every day.

[amdan]

Trust your ear right? Anyway, what do i need to look for? Can someone please explain? A website with instruction would be nice. :T

Unless you are willing to spend a lot of time and money, I seriously suggest that you don't find out what good sound is. Don't listen to lots of systems etc. Go to a local dealer that you can trust and have a listen to a system within your budget and if you like it buy it.
On the other hand if you are looking for a hobby that you can obsess about and spend a fortune on look no further!

[Briz vegas]

Unless you are willing to spend a lot of time and money, I seriously suggest that you don't find out what good sound is. Don't listen to lots of systems etc. Go to a local dealer that you can trust and have a listen to a system within your budget and if you like it buy it.
On the other hand if you are looking for a hobby that you can obsess about and spend a fortune on look no further!

DIY is that way around the money issue. Those $500 DIY jobs sounded great to me and most of the other guys in the room.

Time is another matter - if you enjoy recorded music it is worth putting in time to pick the right gear for you, and building it if that is the path you decide to take.

[akhter]

Listen to the same (hopefully well produced) CD in different systems. You'll figure out the rest

[george_k]

A website with instruction would be nice.

Here's something even better:

http://www.chesky.com/core/details.cfm?productcode=UD095

Picked up my copy from Amazon, best 20 bucks I've ever spent!

[Russ L]

Make the dealer demonstrate the equipment using high quality interconnects and speaker cables. Often, the dealers use the $1 / ft cable and you won't be able to tell if the equipment sounds good. Better yet. Demo all components with the same cables. Or the ones you intend to buy. :T -Russ

[WI Rotel]

Here's something even better:

http://www.chesky.com/core/details.cfm?productcode=UD095

Picked up my copy from Amazon, best 20 bucks I've ever spent!

Also consider:

http://www.chesky.com/core/details.cfm?productcode=CHDVD272&productcategoryid=2

[Russ L]

Trust your ear right? Anyway, what do i need to look for? Can someone please explain? A website with instruction would be nice. :T

Does a kickdrum sound like a kickdrum? Does a cymbal sound like a cymbal? Does the vocalist sound like they are standing in front of you? Are all the instruments in their right places in the soundstage? Or are they bunched together and indistinct? Taking into account that the person mastering the Cd might emphasize some instruments over others. And might make an instrument move around for effect. Can you hear the pick strum over the strings on an acoustic guitar? Can you hear the fingers move on the frets of the guitar? Do the notes have strong attack and proper decay? I could go on...but basically... Do the instruments sound realistic? But remember that the mastering may deliberately change the sounds and locations of instruments on some recordings. Hope that helps. Regards, Russ

[RobP]

One big deciding factor for me is if the system can allow the emotion of the music to come across to you, pull you in and make you forget about the system. That, to me, is a great way to measure the performance of a great system.

[WI Rotel]

Every time I sit in front of my XT's in surround or stereo and it seems like I'm in the middle of a performance, with each instrument in its place with no part of the spectrum over or underemphasized, its all good. Every instrument sounds like it sounds in real life not more not less, not a reproduction of the real thing but the real thing.

[Joey_V]

My thing is whether or not a system can image right, because I feel imaging and soundstaging is what separates a fake rendition of a live event from the actual event.

Then I look for timbre and realism.

Then I look for whether I can "feel" the music, is there palpability?

Then, lastly, I listen for emotion - for the x-factor - whether a system is musical enough to draw me into the music... probably the most important long term aspect of a system and will probably determine how much it's going to be played over the coming years.

That's how I do it every time.

Oh, and check the price. Sometimes, things get out of hand real quick, real fast.