# Does anybody listen to music through big ass speakers anymore? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 9, 2008, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689 "2008-05-09T12:41:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2008, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/21 "2008-05-09T20:01:13Z")
When I was in electronics school, our consensus was that the best material to build speaker cabinets out of was _concrete_. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/22 "2008-05-09T20:03:57Z")
And why do the Google adserver give me ā€œLearn Why Men Leave Womenā€, ā€œWhy Wonā€™t He Commit?ā€ and ā€œAsian Girls For Marriageā€ on this thread? Actually, I think the third ad is a kind of answer for the first twoā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2008, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/23 "2008-05-09T21:50:44Z")
Still using a pair of Marantz 6-G that I got in high school. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/24 "2008-05-10T03:10:11Z")
My home theater system is rather primitive by modern standards. - Amp: NAD (canā€™t think of the model number), two channel, from the late 1980s. 400+ watts, I think. - CD player: NAD, same vintage as the amp - Speakers: Big honkin Dahlquists, made in Canada sometime in the early 1990s. - Cassette deck: SAE, looks like it came out of a recording studio in the mid-1980s. - Tuner: Carver - DVD player: cheap Magnavox, probably plays CDs as well as the NAD ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/25 "2008-05-10T13:48:22Z")
Iā€™m on big-ass speaker hiatus until Iā€™m confident my little girls wonā€™t spill smoothie down the grille or otherwise lay waste to them. These days I make do with my studio monitors in my basement studio/HT, bookshelf B&Ws and a sub in kid zone 1 and a cheapie RCA home theater in kid zone 2. Actually the girls have invaded my basement sanctuary but the monitors are set up so they canā€™t do any damage. Unless they throw something. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/26 "2008-05-10T14:59:15Z")
[QUOTE=mack] Iā€™m on big-ass speaker hiatus until Iā€™m confident my little girls wonā€™t spill smoothie down the grille or otherwise lay waste to them. [/QUOTE] Unfortunately my speakers donā€™t have grilles so Iā€™ll have to do something about it when our baby-in-the-making getā€™s large enough to poke holes in the cones. Professional studio monitors, Dynaudio acoustics, the basses arenā€™t that large, but they do move air. Iā€™ve never taken my amp up past ā€œ3.ā€ Designed to be used also in post recording, theyā€™re shielded, while isnā€™t a concern in the plasma world. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/27 "2008-05-11T00:12:25Z")
I have a pair of big-ass Tannoy speakers, circa 1990. For a long time they were stood on corner shelves mounted high up in the corners of my room. One was directly above my head when I was in bed, and I was always slightly worried that my amateur shelf-fixing would lead to 15 pounds of black-ash-effect loudspeaker caving my skull in the middle of the night. Theyā€™re up in the attic now, but I kind of miss them. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/28 "2008-05-11T01:21:56Z")
I canā€™t help but be reminded of [Judge Reinhold](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19CvEO3Riy0) in _Ruthless People_. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/29 "2008-05-11T01:29:36Z")
Iā€™m still using some old Pioneer speakers from the early 90s. I think the woofers are 15". Itā€™s all about movinā€™ air-thereā€™s no substitute for square inches. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/30 "2008-05-11T02:19:42Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] I canā€™t help but be reminded of [Judge Reinhold](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19CvEO3Riy0) in _Ruthless People_. [/QUOTE] I was thinking more of Seth Green in _The Italian Job_. > [@](#): > > Itā€™s a big stereo. Speakers so loud, they blow womenā€™s clothes off! ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/31 "2008-05-11T05:09:09Z")
My speakers are five and a half feet tall. [Here are another ownerā€™s pictures](http://podcast.ceegee.org/amazing.html). A 5 foot ribbon and 4 12" woofers per side. Is that big-ass enough? ---
**Author:** ![wheelie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b4bc9f/32.png) [@wheelie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheelie)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/32 "2008-05-11T23:43:14Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > A 5 foot ribbon and 4 12" woofers per side. I knew you were talking about Carver Amazings before I moused over your link. šŸ†’ I donā€™t know if they qualify as ā€˜big-assā€™ speakers, but Iā€™ve got a pair of Polk [RTI8](http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/floorstanding/rti8/) towers (fed by a Carver amp) in my home theater setup, along with a [CSI3](http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/center/csi3/) center channel speaker. The towers came with a [PSW-10](http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/subwoofers/psw10/) powered sub and Iā€™m planning on buying a pair of [RTI6](http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/bookshelf/rti6/) bookshelfs for surrounds with some of my stimulus package money (would someone please explain how stimulating Chinaā€™s economy is supposed to help the U.S.?). ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/33 "2008-05-12T00:11:52Z")
Iā€™ve been salivating over a pair of used Klipsch Heresyā€™s for a while now, since up until this point, Iā€™m only partially deaf. Those fuckers weigh a TON with the folded horns and allā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/34 "2008-05-12T03:48:26Z")
I think the 5.1 Dolby surround sound packages with the itty bitty speakers and subwoofer are the way to go these days. In college though, every did have the receiver/CD player/amp pumping through two massive speakers and a big subwoofer. That shit was like furniture. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/35 "2008-05-12T16:05:53Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] I think the 5.1 Dolby surround sound packages with the itty bitty speakers and subwoofer are the way to go these days. [/QUOTE] Yeah, those HTIB (Home Theater In a Box) things are usually good enough for people raised on lossy MP3 files. But, for the rest of us that grew up listening to uncompressed analog sources, not so much. I just have to giggle when they refer to a wee little box with a 2" diameter port as a ā€œsubwooferā€ especially when the whole thing is smaller than the amplifier that drives my sub. ---
**Author:** ![greatshakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@greatshakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greatshakes)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/36 "2008-05-14T13:55:25Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] When I was in college, pre-iPod (or PC, or cell phone), the hot technology must-have was a component stereo system, comprised of a receiver/amplifier, a turntable and two or more big ass floor speakers, with woofers of at least twelve inches. I had a roommate with a Marantz 4400 quadraphonic receiver, a Beogram turntable and four Bose 901 speakers that could nearly lift the roof of the house when ZZ Top was cranked up to 11. [/QUOTE] 11? Why not just make 10 louder? thank you, thank you šŸ˜›šŸ˜› ---
**Author:** ![Engineer\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9fc29f/32.png) [@Engineer\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engineer_Dude)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/37 "2008-05-14T14:29:46Z")
Most people donā€™t want to hear what comes through my big ass-speaker. My 7.1 home theater, on the other hand, has two somewhat big (8") left and right Bose speakers. The other 5 are little bookshelf speakers. Some of the bass goes to the two Bose speakers, but most goes to the subwoofer. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/38 "2008-05-14T18:20:38Z")
Theyā€™re definitely out there for the true audiophiles, if theyā€™re willing to pay the price. I got my father a pair of [these](http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4103958&JRSource=nsa&nsa=1) for Christmas this year. It was the best reviewed, readily available floorstanding speaker I could find in the less than $1000 per range. They were to go with the [previous yearā€™s gift](http://www.amazon.com/Technics-TEC-SL-1200MK2PK-BLACK-TURNTABLE/dp/B00003005A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1210789135&sr=1-2), which proved to be too much for his old ones. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/39 "2008-05-15T12:36:27Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] Does anybody listen to music like that anymore? [/QUOTE] Gosh yes, itā€™s the only way to fry. [QUOTE=Kilvertā€™s Pagan] Iā€™ve been salivating over a pair of used Klipsch Heresyā€™s for a while now, since up until this point, Iā€™m only partially deaf. Those fuckers weigh a TON with the folded horns and allā€¦ [/QUOTE] A college buddy had those or their equivalent which, along with the old manā€™s Klipschorns, initiated my decision 12 years ago to get the [Klipsch Chorus ll](http://www.klipsch.com/products/discontinued/details/chorus-ii.aspx), which Iā€™ve since built the rest of my system around. Yeah, at near 90 pounds each I donā€™t move 'em around much. For over a decade now Iā€™ve pushed them to the limit with extensive rock, jazz and H.E. demands and theyā€™ve consistently blown me away with their performance. Iā€™ve given the small speaker systems a demo and they do nothing for me. Itā€™s not just that my wife has pulled into the detached garage in her car with the windows up, air and stereo running and has been able to identify what song I was pulverizing the walls with in our house. Itā€™s that these speakers do it so purely, so effortlessly, that the sound is so rich. They insure music will be the religious experience it was intended to be. ---
**Author:** ![unspun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b9bd4f/32.png) [@unspun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unspun)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689/40 "2008-05-17T14:58:06Z")
I grew up with a big pair of Sonys, they were definitely furniture, and for a long time I felt like a lot of guys here, that these new-fangled little-bitties canā€™t be as good, but Iā€™ve since concluded the best would actually be a combination. I remember the first time I heard a friendā€™s new PC speaker set, that was one of the early generation Cambridge satellite sets, and was really impressed with the punch it delivered. Later I got my own mid-range Logitech 5.1 system and was more than happy with it. The sub is a big difference. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anybody-listen-to-music-through-big-ass-speakers-anymore/448689.md?page=3)