At the top of the line is it really all that different?


I'm writing about my experience with the top of the line bespoke gear. Not the insane one-of a kind that I'll never own but the really good stuff that say $50K each will buy.

I have listened to my personal favorite ARC vs. D'Agistino, vs. Bryston vs. Pass vs. the top Macs (no love lost there).  Wilson vs. Sonus, vs. Magico vs. Bryston T-10  vs. Maggies (!) vs. Perlisten. 

So many cables that I can't recall the names. 

I can tell a difference between the voicing of the products at my dealer but the difference is so subtle that in my home they are "nearly" identical. ( I know, I know but I said "nearly") 

I read reviews with all the silly superlatives that make the reviewed item sound heavenly and the "other guys" sound like the AM radio in my '67 Mustang.

I have had my ears checked and my audio sensitivity is "age appropriate" I'm 62.

I have 2 listening rooms- one is a dedicated properly treated room and one is a barn sized great room with anterooms on 3 sides. In my dedicated room I'm all alone with my music which can be really lovely but not often visited vs. the great room with my dogs, kids, and wife. I don't do critical listening there but I love full beautiful sound when the ones I love most are near. 

So, I would really appreciate thoughtful guidance to my quandary- is top end gear crowding at the top of the pyramid with very little difference? Are the glowing reviews colored or even deceptively presented?   Or maybe I'm growing weary of very little cost/benefit improvements as I climb the audio ladder .....please advise. 

 

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Showing 2 responses by deep_333

At the higher end, parameters like resolution, clarity, soundfield nuances, bass impact, extension, etc can start to equalize, which are the same parameters that are immediately noticeable to a listener. Such equalization happens way more quickly with amplifiers, dacs, cables, etc. Subtle nuances don’t matter to most listeners, especially older ones with some hearing degradation.

At that point, you are better off improving the room and expanding your music collection. Or add a subwoofer, which can cause a drastic change...Or better yet, expand into object based multichannel audio/atmos, etc.

 

I believe it was Dali (could be wrong) that did a study where no one could distinguish speakers too much in a well treated room. If you insist on hearing differences that are wallet justifiable, get drastically different types of speaker designs. For example, i was comparing a TAD (concentric driver) and a Pioneer XY-3B (higher end PA horn that can bring down the house!) back to back in the same room for a bit. I could enjoy them for what they were... different presentations...could say the same with a recent Tekton

If i had been comparing the TAD with some higher end concentric driver  like a KEF blade, it could have been a "why bother" moment, if i didn’t have a room that is capable of putting everything under the magnifying glass.....There are so many similar 3 ways or 4 ways which may lead you to a "why bother" moment....magico,...schweikert...Rockport...etc, Meh....

 

 

 

 

It is a very useful skill....learning how to fix recordings...

You're outta luck if you are spinning vinyl. But, it's doable on the digital end if you learn some software and a few tricks.

If some mastering technician got a lil too high before he worked on it, it shouldn't be the reason an artist got doomed forever.

However, after a certain level major limiting factors are recordings and room acoustics. Hard to change the former, right ?