Expert: Wayne Tapia - 8/12/2008

Question
Hi. I'm 56 and have 2 big old Trans Audio speakers for my turntable, radio, CD player in the living room on a bookshelf.  I want to replace them with smaller speakers that take up less space on the shelves, that's inexpensive, but that will work as well. We have a huge TV with good sound, so my husband is a bit spoiled, but I'm the one who listens to music, and I'm a classically-trained musician (we're notorious for settling for mediocre quality sound; I listen mostly in my car anyway). What would you recommend, as good value for the money, with adequate sound?

I have an iPod with songs on it that I use in my car; I don't know if that's a consideration; any suggestions with an eye toward upgrading the whole mess in the future?  

What's the general price range for acceptability, and what products would you suggest checking out?  Buy online or in person?

Thanks for any help!

Answer
What I do is disregard any preconceived notions about speakers, burn a CD with songs I'm VERY familiar with, and go hit the speaker shops. Once you settle on a comfortable $$$ range, start side by side testing.

DON'T let the salesmen push you around - they are typically all on commission, and most likely will try to dazzle / baffle you with a bunch of pseudo-scientific nonsense on why the more expensive speakers "sound better".

You know your ears, and you know what you like to hear - trust them. Another thing to watch out for is to not get misled into buying expensive speaker cable. There are certain brands that will suck your bank account dry in a hurry for what some $0.57 per foot speaker cable can do just as well.