Audio Hype!!


Well I have to be honest,I love high end equipment and all the fun tweaking,and trading,and trying out new stuff. However, it has much hype behind it because I think that we all understand by now that--we are never totally happy with any one piece of gear. By hype I mean we read great reviews of some cable and the miracles that it is suppose to create,but we know deep down(if you have any experiance in this hobby)that it never stands up to our expectations once we use it for some period of time--that is just an example but I believe this holds true to all equipment--and then we sell and try the next flavor of the week which is normally just a side step VS. an upgrade of the last piece we owned. Its a vicious cycle does it ever end?(I know that question is like asking why the earth exists and there is no answer)However, my question is have we just created this illusion of what we wish 99% of the products out their should do, while at the same time damaging our checkbooks to prove the illusion wrong?
matrix

Showing 2 responses by mes

In the best of worlds we could audition gear we're interested in in our homes, A/B'ing against the piece we're looking to upgrade. Then, paying at or near MSRP would be at least palatable, given the piece will probably live with us for some time to come. Unfortunately not only is this rarely possible, after reading reviews/ others opinions about some piece of gear, then briefly listening and perhaps talking oneself into "it's as good as my preconcieved idea" an impulse buy ensues. Then after living with it for a while, well..... At least sites such as this allow us audio malcontents a place to recoup some of our $$ and to try new gear without losing the farm. And I personally have found this particular site to be extremely educational.It's an expensive hobby, and high markups go with the territory. Paying professional athletes millions is possible because we buy tickets to the games and watch the commercials in between innings/periods/quarters. Audio prices will remain inflated as long as we buy and listen. Now, if you will wxcuse me, I'm going to put a bid in on that titanium treated, zircon encrusted spent uranium exposed toothpick that's supposed to rid ones tube traps from the effects of jitter resonating from my new Magnawatt Deluxe Mark XI window reflectonators. If I can just get him down to $1100......
I think the DIY guys are passionate about what they do, I have a close friend who makes his own gear which sounds very good. Something created from you own plans/hands always sounds better to you. My kids are better looking, smarter etc than yours. But like Jacks, I've been to the shows and heard many DIY systems, and well..... If something sounds better to you, and you have the recources to obtain it, great. If you have the time to DIY and you love it, great. To each his own. Personally, what with time constraints and all, if I've got a few spare hours of free time, I'd rather listen. And instead of picking up the soldering iron, I'll tee it up.