OK, some explanations from the Thread initiator!!!
I guess I am being somewhat critized here for my immensely personnal biases. Fair enough. This thread is intended for the Audiogoner with the following profile. And in my book this means (again, highly subjective of course)
1. The Audiophile with between 3 to 5 years and more in this crazy hobby.
2. Someone who owned anywhere from 6 to 12 diferent amplifiers - tube or solid-state, and a few different preamps.
3. Decent-quality digital front-ends and cables.
4. A definitive allergy to any Air Supply or George Michael music in tape, cd, SACD or DVD form ( let's include FM on this one ok? )
3. Someone who would find it hard to choose between spending a year on a desert island with Jennifer Lopez and getting a pair of Valhalla interconnects on loan for a week, just to try them out.
Joking aside, my perception of value in audio gear is not without some experience, although I am not an ''experienced'' audiophile compared to most out there, and certainly not a ''wheeler dealer'' on the buy-sell-buy merry-go-round, although have done a few dealings myself, but purchased and sold my amps due to the ''insatisfaction'' bug that seems to develop with audiophiles - you know - getting good stuff but still searching for flaws ?
Just for the record, here is a partial list of past equipement owned in the last 10 years.
Sonic Frontiers Power 1 with Line 1
Sonic Frontiers Power 2 with line 1 and also line 2
Sim audio I-5 first generation
Sima audio I-5 latest generation (now that's a dumb mistake didn't learn my lesson the first time...)
Magnum Dynalab MD-208 ( sorry, but the Stereophile class''A'' rating is a complete joke )
Cary 572 monoblocks with Cary preamp
McCormack DNA-125
Electrocompaniet EC-3
Audiomat Arpège
Naim Nait2
Naim preamp and amp combo
Now, these are not state-of-the-art by any stretch of the imagination, but I did have state-of-the-art speakers to evaluate these amps. I was very lucky to own a magnificient pair of Verity Audio Parsifal speakers for a period of 3 years. Now that's a $ 15,000 (retail)speaker that, beleive me, makes great music but above all can reveal the naked truth of the amps I had the pleasure to own. I no longer own them, as I have Sonus Faber speakers (Grand Piano Home). Not in the same league of course, but having lived with the Verity speaker for these years gave me some training in separating speakers that sounded musical from the ones that sounded just spectacular for a brief moment. The Sonus Faber line is up there in musicality in my opinion, and one could do much worst for a whole lot more money. They just don't do as much as the megabuck speakers do and have few flaws. I do invite you to read my review posted here on the Verity Audio Parsifal, a truely amazing speaker.
So, in closing, everything is still highly subjective and personnal, I just did not want people to think that this thread was initiated without giving it some thought....
Cheers everyone!
I guess I am being somewhat critized here for my immensely personnal biases. Fair enough. This thread is intended for the Audiogoner with the following profile. And in my book this means (again, highly subjective of course)
1. The Audiophile with between 3 to 5 years and more in this crazy hobby.
2. Someone who owned anywhere from 6 to 12 diferent amplifiers - tube or solid-state, and a few different preamps.
3. Decent-quality digital front-ends and cables.
4. A definitive allergy to any Air Supply or George Michael music in tape, cd, SACD or DVD form ( let's include FM on this one ok? )
3. Someone who would find it hard to choose between spending a year on a desert island with Jennifer Lopez and getting a pair of Valhalla interconnects on loan for a week, just to try them out.
Joking aside, my perception of value in audio gear is not without some experience, although I am not an ''experienced'' audiophile compared to most out there, and certainly not a ''wheeler dealer'' on the buy-sell-buy merry-go-round, although have done a few dealings myself, but purchased and sold my amps due to the ''insatisfaction'' bug that seems to develop with audiophiles - you know - getting good stuff but still searching for flaws ?
Just for the record, here is a partial list of past equipement owned in the last 10 years.
Sonic Frontiers Power 1 with Line 1
Sonic Frontiers Power 2 with line 1 and also line 2
Sim audio I-5 first generation
Sima audio I-5 latest generation (now that's a dumb mistake didn't learn my lesson the first time...)
Magnum Dynalab MD-208 ( sorry, but the Stereophile class''A'' rating is a complete joke )
Cary 572 monoblocks with Cary preamp
McCormack DNA-125
Electrocompaniet EC-3
Audiomat Arpège
Naim Nait2
Naim preamp and amp combo
Now, these are not state-of-the-art by any stretch of the imagination, but I did have state-of-the-art speakers to evaluate these amps. I was very lucky to own a magnificient pair of Verity Audio Parsifal speakers for a period of 3 years. Now that's a $ 15,000 (retail)speaker that, beleive me, makes great music but above all can reveal the naked truth of the amps I had the pleasure to own. I no longer own them, as I have Sonus Faber speakers (Grand Piano Home). Not in the same league of course, but having lived with the Verity speaker for these years gave me some training in separating speakers that sounded musical from the ones that sounded just spectacular for a brief moment. The Sonus Faber line is up there in musicality in my opinion, and one could do much worst for a whole lot more money. They just don't do as much as the megabuck speakers do and have few flaws. I do invite you to read my review posted here on the Verity Audio Parsifal, a truely amazing speaker.
So, in closing, everything is still highly subjective and personnal, I just did not want people to think that this thread was initiated without giving it some thought....
Cheers everyone!