The Smiley Smile Message Board

Hi,

What speaker systems do you listen to the Beach Boys on?

I seldom post on this forum, but I have been looking for a Bluetooth speaker or wired in the price range of £150-£200, to no avail really as none come close to my standards. If it isn't too much trouble (I know a similar thread was made some years ago) I'd like to ask for some recommendations on a Bluetooth Speaker. I listen almost exclusively to classical music, jazz, the Beach Boys and other classic rock music: the Beatles, the Zombies, the Moody Blues, early Pink Floyd etc. Symphonic rock art if you want to call it that. I'd rather not fork out on vinyl, an amplifier, wired speakers and the whole lot. Sorry to say that they seem inconvenient in many ways.

The bass on the of the bluetooth speaker systems I have ordered after research sound pretty plosive, throbbing and distracting, even though the reviews say they are accurate and balanced. Other bluetooth speakers without too much bass sound thin, tinny and the highs are not smooth.

I'd seriously appreciate some recommendations, if it's okay. I'm looking for a speaker like the Yamaha ones, but with perfect, shining highs, great mids and very little bass for the above-mentioned music, that play rich, orchestral sounds with ease beautifully. I mainly listen to the Beach Boys '66-73.

Many thanks.

COMMENT to PetSmile:  You don't listen to the Beach Boys on a loudspeaker, you listen through the speaker to the music of the Beach Boys.

If you're listening to their music over, on, or because of a speaker system, you've missed the point.

Speakers do not matter. Whether a 4" transistor radio or a $50,000 audiophile system or anything in-between . . . entertainment, enjoyment, and the emotion of the music will be heard.

If it takes some special speaker to enjoy the Beach Boys, why bother?

GOOD LISTENING is up to the listener, not the speaker system. ~Stephen W. Desper

Everything sounds better on my Polk Audios (which I purchased in 1996) - including The Beach Boys ('course they sound better than most others)!  :)

Thanks for both your responses. I relate to your perspective on the matter, Stephen, it does rings with truth, as does the work you helped to realise. I'll stop seeking out the 'perfect' speaker as an audiophile and be satisfied with the adequate one I have.

Kind regards,

PetSmile.

I work with a musician who has a JBL "Xtreme" Bluetooth speaker, the canister style. He uses it to work outside, and it is waterproof and safe to pretty much take anywhere except snorkeling I'd say.

I have put everything from Steely Dan to Beach Boys to modern hyper-boosted and mastered rock tracks through it, and I've found the response and overall texture to be excellent...I honestly didn't expect it to be that balanced but I am a fan of JBL products in general so I'm not surprised.

There *may* be a bit of bass boosting going on, but with this JBL canister it wasn't enough to be as distracting or obvious as a pair of Beats headphones.

It delivers a really nice sound for a portable canister style wireless system, it can be taken outside or in the rain or splashed near a pool or whatever else, and for a retail of around 200 bucks US it seems to be a good deal for any style music.

My Fisher XP-18's circa 1968.  The BB sound amazing on just about any audio setup though.  It's all about the music and not about the equipment. 

I am currently listening to the Big Blue Party wireless speaker from Brookstone. I think it is about $200 USP and I love it.

Although I understand what people are saying about the Beach Boys music, I was also around in the day of the mono car speakers.

Back then my first "stereo" was an old VOM turntable that my dad was going to throw away (16, 33, 45 and 78!). It has no speakers, so I borrowed a cheap pair of car speakers from a buddy and threw it together with some speaker wire. The bass was a little better than my old Dodge Dart and once I was old enough to work, I bought a Soundesign stereo with real pair of speakers. I could hear a little difference with each improvement. After that, I added a graphic equalizer and that helped mold my sound. By the time I made it to the Alpine stereos (back then with huge speakers, no less) music really started to feel as if was happening live. When you closed your eyes, the instruments felt like they were right in the room with you.

Again, the Beach Boys always sound great, but there were subtle changes to the sound which helped bring nuances the music that I did not notice in the past. Either low's that were not as audible on my old crummy speakers back then or parts that just seem to jump out more with the EQ. At that time the stereos had treble, bass, balance. I really miss the balance controls on most digital music settings.

I was really surprised at how small the Big Blue Party speaker vs. how good the music sounded. I lot of people are blown away when they come over and hear the BBP around the fire pit, horseshoe pit or pool. The cool thing is that you can go to any Brookstone store and tried the Big Blue before you buy.