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http://www.wweek.com/restaurants/201...-coffee-shops/

excerpts:

Portland cafes love the visual aesthetics of turntables and old box speakers, but the sound they're putting out is…bad. The most egregious offenders are the people making a conspicuous display of their auditory sensibilities while neglecting to tend to the most basic elements of listenability.



The word Alpern used was "tragic." Proud Mary appeared to be trying very hard, and yet, because of the poor implementation, it turned into a "horror show."

"You have paired speakers hung up as monitor speakers all over the place," says Alpern. "And then they used the thinnest cable possible—it looked like about 20 gauge—so that's not carrying enough bass energy anyway. Then they're placed all over the place, they're not firing in the right places in terms of the customers' ears. You were sitting against the wall, so you were getting some reflected bass energy—smeared, tubby bass—but I was sitting a few inches away, and I didn't get even that."



Confession time: I am a big fan of Bose. The brand is loathed by audiophiles, but the sad fact is that most Americans cannot properly set up their living-room stereo. (In fact, my own living-room stereo is poorly set up, because my loving wife will not let me move the speakers.)

Bose speakers are designed for the contemporary ignoramus, with direct and reflective elements built into the box. You cannot fuck them up, which is why the average American should just buy them.