Garfish, I Must side with Skull on this, What I love about audiophiles is they are all so full of themselves... Yet they listen to reviewers as if they are gods, simply because their opinions are published in these jokes called Audio magazines.. I know a lot of these reviewers and most are idiots.. Bob Harley, Don Saltzman, J. Valin are exceptions, along with some of things H.P. says. And I restate (some) These guys are reviewing equipment, and reporting to the public the results, based on how the component meshs with their own systems (and rooms), colorations!! They might have a dull room, muddy amps rolled speaker wire, etc. listen to a lyra Parnassis cartridge and declare it neutral, and it's a bright, thin, etched, piece of junk! I love all these Hi-Fi terms like Fast, Clean, shimmering,etc. When was the last time you listened to live unamplified music, heard a real sound, and said to yourself: wow! listen to how fast that was? It's a joke! I have a very expensive system, and have modified a lot of the the gear myself along with building stuff, I have put together systems for $5,000 to $10,000 that kill a lot of $200,000 dollar ones. Most audiophiles have lost track of what really counts, the music, We as a group (Because of magazines like Sterophile) are starting to get back into specifications! It's sad, because we were the one to tell everyone that they didn't matter.. They still don't, I don't believe we know what or how to measure what counts. All that matters is our ears.. But we listen to these reviewers, and are influenced by the specs, and don't listen to our own ears.. "They most know more than me, they're in a magazine"!! It's just not true. it's a matter of circumstance, and who they know! Most are leaches trying to get free equipment. People out there believe what they are saying, doubt there own ears.. and their own values become skewed. Because of this I've only met a handfull of audiophiles across the country that can HEAR!! You must build on equipment based on neutrality, one piece at a time. accepting a pieces minor colorations,and knowing this, use them to compliment your system, and room, as a hole. This way you can keep your perspective when judging a new piece. Reviewers don't do this. It's sounds great in their system so it's nirvana! Most of the Digital-Transistor guys out there, (I'm presuming you are one) Have 3 CD's out of a thousand that they can enjoy. They are constantly trying new cables and accessories, are impressed by some Hi-Fi artifact they get from them, grow weary of the trick, then later take them out. They are on a endless quest.. Seaching for something that they have forgotten about, all they know is they are not happy. It's not fun anymore. They don't melt in their chairs and listen to record after record.. into the night They are lost! What they are searching for is... THE MUSIC.. the emotion.. They've gone through a maze and can't find their way back... There is a not for profit Web Site coming out that will deal with these issues and hopefully try to guide us back in the right direction. After all we are a small brotherhood! If It continues on it's present coarse I think this industry is doomed, If it were not for home theater (yuk), most of the dealers would aready be gone. People are getting frustrated and quiting the hobby. Lets hope we can get back on track.. Manufacturers are out of control with their ego driven price structures, "oh they are charging that much, my stuff's way better, I'll charge more".They will price themselve out of existance.. I just hope we can all survive this.. P.S. I belive that if a system is selected, and set up correctly it will play all types of music in a realistic, and satisfying manner.. There should be no need specify Opera. It would need to do space, convey emotion, go low in the bass, have enough detail to suggest space, have a big soundstage, also requiring a big room!! Image wide and front to back.. And do layered depth. Wouldn't you want all these anyway..
