I've never been one trying to reproduce the concert hall with a home system. Outside of orchestra/classical and acoustic (non or very low amplified) in the right setting, my system sounds way better than any general concert. I'm more into trying to reproduce what the mastering engineer hears at his/her desk and let the character of my equipment and environment "color" that sound to my liking.
Has anyone made the jump to $uper High end and were disappointed?
I'm talking $50,000 and higher amps, speakers, cablesetc. I know there is excellent sounding gear from $100 to infinity (much is system dependent, room, etc). However, just curious if someone made the leap and deep down realize the "expected" sound quality jump was not as much as the price jump. Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to make that jump. However, looking at another forum's thread about price point of diminishing returns got me wondering if anyone had buyers remorse. It's not easy to just "flip" a super high priced component.
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@aberyclark , you've certainly sparked a debate! I am not a golden ear but here are some observations. I inherited a NAD 7250 PE and didn't like it for a new system I was setting up in the basement. Got a Rotel Rx-1052. Huge improvement in side by side. Eventually started looking for a better integrated because, after all, it was just a Rotel, and a receiver at that. I got a loaner Creek Classic 5250SE, which was reviewed very, very well. Should have blown the Rotel away. It did not as far as I could hear. There were differences, sure, but I had to listen hard and on some material I still preferred the Rotel, which I would still highly recommend. So I brought the Creek to my dealer and we compared it to a Belles Aria ($1500, if I recall). I thought the Creek held it's own very well. I certainly wouldn't spend $1100 for the difference, although the two guys from the dealer could hear a profound difference. I'm sure they are golden ears. I still trust their advice....mostly. Then I got a Primare I32 class D integrated. $3,000 list; I paid $1,000 - about twice as much as I'd ever paid for any component up to that time. That sweet thing was an improvement over the Creek and Rotel that was not even arguable. I bought it, happily. Conclusion, price doesn't always make a difference; but sometimes it really does! The area, other than speakers where I think differences in SQ are not imaginary is phono cartridges. Even I can hear the difference between a Denon DL-301 III and a Hana EL and a Dynavector 10x5. Which is best? It depends on the mood I am in and what I'm playing. |
Definitely, I believe, the higher the priced component, the higher the expectations. I believe it because I’ve been there. That said, there is usually rationale to the pricing, usually ends up with better components and build... if the price difference is relatively large. Say $1000 amp vs a $50000 amp, for sure the $1000 does not have the parts that even come close to the $50000 amp. That said, I doubt the difference between something $20,000 and something $35,000 is not as vast as two amps $1,000 and $15,000. I called Boulder Amps once, I was inquiring about the history of my 2060 (which I was purchasing at that time) as they have logged down the history of most of their equipment (turns out that Alon Wolf owned my 2060 prior).... anyway, I alerted them that there was a Boulder 1060 amp for sale for $10,000 on audiogon (retail is $25,000). The engineer said, "Wow, that’s less than the parts cost from the supplier." I proceeded to ask him what is the part cost for an amp - he says typically around 33% of what they are asking retail. FWIW. |
Notable quotes "The Ford Model T is the last car you will ever own." - Henry Ford "The iPhone is the last mobile device you will ever own." - Steve Jobs "This is the last Audio Research preamp you will ever own." - whoever "The Hubble Space Telescope is the last space telescope you’ll ever need." - NASA bigwig "The Space Shuttle is the last reusable manned space vehicle you’ll ever need." Different NASA bigwig who was also quotes as saying, "The Space Shuttle is perfectly safe due to NASA's strict program of quality control and triple redundancy." |
It's been fun reading some of the comments - only I think 2 people have answered the OP with actual examples (Thank you @joey_v ) I have "ventured" into a land far higher-end that I thought. In fact...I was in the camp of what some might consider the 'curmudgeon' approach where just about anything in the high 4 digits was a virtual ripoff, and 5 digits was DEFINITELY a ripoff. I took a 'break' from the hobby for about 10-15 years (I left it with some dabbling in SET's and high efficiency single-drivers stuff. Honestly, sucked the life out of music for me, in my experience-there is a lot to consider in those types of systems.) Enter some find audiophile friends who have 5$,$$$ to $$$,$$$ invested, and well invested. What I heard brought the joy back (and, ultimately, the hobby back to me). 4 years ago, I 'jumped back in' with some used items, and a new VPI Scout. The system was a refurbed APT Holman pre, Audire Forte amp; North Creek Music System speakers (and the Scout, with a 2MRed...then went to Dyna 20X2). It sounded really good. However - I (maybe like the OP) wanted to see what this other 'place' was - and I had some extra cash, also something I never had before. So...here we go..about 2 years ago the upgrade-itis bit hard: Purchased gently used, over the course of 1 year: Jeff Rowland Synergy IIi, Jeff Rowland 501 mono's, VPI Aries 2 with JMW10 (two arms for Dyna 20x2 and Ortofon Quintet Mono). Silent Running Audio platform, and Tannoy Monitor Gold 12's (which I have had for years, just not used) in a custom enclosure, with crossovers by Reference Fidelity Components (UK). I have now been 'testing the waters' a bit with interconnects. I have some Cardas in the system now (Using all balanced was a revelation to me, btw.) I also installed a dedicated 6kva isolation transformer for the audio system power lines. HERE's THE BIGGEST THING: A DEDICATED ROOM. FINALLY. :) I haven't even begun to scratch the surface with acoustics yet, aside from speaker placement and some first reflection points. But my next big action will be a full acoustic work up, so as to get a plan together. Was it all worth it? Yes...Did I have buyers remorse at some point? Yes: that moment when the sound changes so much (a) you wonder what you broke (b) did it get better? (c) YES IT DID! HOLY COW - my background noise got so quiet, I wasn't used to that.... wierd.... Honestly speaking, I had to re-train my ears bit from some harsh treble which I'd come to expect (and maybe even look for?) to a non-fatiguing, smooth sound that was so natural. I doubt the journey is done for me - but maybe my "near hi end" system will morph again. We'll see. |
@boneman thanks for the mention i will say that you are right about the room, it is the most difficult piece to attain and perfect. My room is nowhere close but it is dedicated and I have no waf to deal with. Maybe I can perfect the dimensions and room construct with the next house if I am so lucky. But yes, I have a symmetric 18x15x9 room with slanted ceilings and no odd cubbies or halls. I have the absorption down pat and just need to work on diffusion. The experience in my main room is far more of an "event" than any of my 2 lesser systems. The Sonus Faber Olympica 3 system in my family room is a pale facsimile in comparison. |
from a thread, on another forum... on damping materials - a post I made today: What it comes down to (took many years to zero in on the true issues at hand) is that a interestingly high number of designers and most electronics people have zero (or near zero) information on how the ear actually works, and how this correlates to electronics. Doing it right, requires that a quite wide swath of data be understood and brought to bear on the problem. Then to design and build along those lines. and then..get it out to the public. ....At which point, one would just be seen as another prophet screaming on a stage among a thousand other prophets screaming on their stages, all in the same room. Truth or correctness in these areas has but one voice in a room of a thousand voices. Pretty darned difficult to see it, is the end result. The fact that each person has different results in a scenario that should be uniformly clear, brings this point home, quite effectively. That is, if people look at the whole scenario with enough clarity in thought. There is an order to this thing, this issue... this industry wide fundamental issue, but it can be difficult to see. ~~~~~~~~~ Basically, we’ve become so inured to the complexity, the sheer Gordian knot-like characteristics of the issues... that we’ve settled on the idea that the differences are the norm and nothing is really truly correct. When in fact, this is not true. I detest anything factualized and thus dogmatized (as both create and maintian circular dead ends), but there is a way out- a more corrected path in this audio issue. I did propose the basics of a path out of this particular dark woods and I did it in what is essentially a room full of audio designers. The blowtorch thread on DIYaudio. I’ve been waiting for a few years to see if it bears fruit. |
I gave the OP a bit more thought, and reflected on what I wrote a 'few' posts back - - the original question, summarized, was "have you been disappointed by the high end" - or another way to read it is 'was the dollars worth it'. So...buried in my life history post, a few back, I mentioned a journey into low-power, high efficiency. This was in late 90's ('98-'99). That was no where near high-end $$$$$, but it did cost me some money. It sucked. I tried - and it was like a carrot-on-a-stick and I was the camel. Bass was problematic in my room, mids got over powering. I never found a horn that (I could afford) I liked - and Fostex drivers were OK, but lets revist that bass issue. Oh - lets roll some tubes now. It's an interconnect thing. Ugh. Maybe I'm not putting enough money into it (but my pocketbook is bleeding - oh, maybe I have no business even trying this if my pocketbook isn't deep enough). Hah. So - was that venture worth it? Nope. |
I think one thing that plays a key role (no matter what audio $$ level) is each new addition (or improvement) may highlight some other weakness that did not stand out before. Even if very minor. That is where "tweaking" with things like cables, room treatments, power cords, etc may come in. I purchased my new Nuforce amp a couple months ago. The bass and the clarity was there. However, just a smidge harsh on upper frequencies. I purchased a new tube Pre amp and the harshness is gone and I have silky smooth mids. I was not expecting, when I purchased the Nuforce amp, to pay an additional $3500 for a tube pre. It's a constant give and take |
That’s because you have to get the entire set-up at the same time and then leave it alone until you are ready to go to an even higher level, instead of endlessly tinkering with it. Yes, difficult and very expensive. But we are talking super high end. We are obsessed with gear audiophiles because we are poor and lazy. |
For 45 years as an Audiophile I'd buy a piece, tweak, change, replace, and repeat. I DID have a period of about 15 years where I didn't change a thing, just sat back and enjoyed the music. Then, to get to the OPS question: I literally "hocked the house." Went to a shop picked out speakers, a matching amp, pre-amp, turntable, cartridge, DAC/CD player, and miscellaneous interconnects/cables. In all the system cost nearly 10X my old system. Now nearly 2 years later, system is getting a bit boring / taken-for-granted. Do I wish I didn't hock-the-house, or bought a few new cars instead yeah sometimes.......... |
I wonder why someone hasn't repeated the long overdue motto that should hopefully end all the high-end bashing: "You can hear everything you can measure but you can't measure everything you hear". Good quality speakers are important but so is every part of the chain. Amps are incredibly important. Pre-amps are the absolute heart of a system. High quality source material is fundamental to great sound. And all the cabling is imperative to making it all work together. Finally, the room is absolutely instrumental in allowing it all to work. Good sound is not hard to find at reasonable prices. Very good sound can start to get pricey. Exceptional, almost soul stirring and truly transformational sound takes a tremendous amount of dedicated time, a lot of money, usually a dedicated listening room and even a lot of pure luck... but when that all comes together ideally it is SO MUCH BETTER than anything less than a live performance, there simply is NO comparison. It is a spellbinding experience that truly quenches an inner thirst you never realized was so parched. As much as I'd like to say that "Plenty good enough" purchased via " good value" sounding equipment is all most people need... all I can say is "What you don't know you're missing.. you won't miss". But for those fortunate enough to successfully get through all of the above hoops/hurdles and contortions, music played through such a system will be the tall cool glass of your favorite beverage at the end of your daily jaunt in the desert. And well worth ALL the work. Happy Lissn'n |
I found that it's much easier to build a satisfying $25k system or even a $100k system. Those systems necessarily have the lower resolution that covers up a lot of faults in the recordings and the systems. I wasn't really ready for the jump to the lower stratosphere where every component change revealed a flaw/weakness in my system that necessitated another commensurate component change. For example, earlier this year, I unexpectedly was "forced" to upgrade my front end since I love CDs and EMM said that it was likely their last spinner, which revealed my speakers lack of clarity and further reinforced the fact that their top end was exceedingly bright. So I decided to upgrade the speakers which confirmed my beliefs about my previous speakers but revealed that not only were my 300W monoblocs insufficient to properly drive my speakers (never thought I would say that) but more importantly made even clearer a whitish tinge in the treble. I figured that was just part of high resolution until I was auditioning a set of replacement amps that can properly drive my speakers (and pretty much any speaker I can think of) and shockingly it went away (which was a bonus - there were many other factors that made me bite the very expensive bullet on the amps). So, waiting on the new amps and crossing my fingers that I'll be where I need to be since the discretionary budget is tapped. |
Come on fellas, if you spent 50 grand on a stereo system and we're not happy, would YOU admit it? Think about it. Whoever out there does is the God of Honesty and don't think there is one. Sitting here banging out some Hank Mobley, "Uh Huh" through the Quad 989s, Wolcott amp and Lamm pre. Life is good. Great thread. GJI |
The $1 Million super system at CES 2001, which I’m pretty sure was comprised of monster Wisdom Audio speakers and a bunch of huge Plinius amplifiers sitting on a stage of the appropriate proportions, sounded, well, not..too..good. I hate to judge before all the facts are in, but I’m pretty sure throwing money, even massive amounts of it, at the problem is not the answer. I was supposed to go listen to the Million Dollar System, which had generated considerable buzz that day 🐝 with a couple of guys but I made the mistake of sticking around at two big rooms I was supporting hoping for a miracle. Which reminds me. In the 80s they had a CES in Washington DC area and I attended a big demo of the Audio Research electronics driving the monster Infinity Reference speakers, the ones with the outboard stack of woofers for each channel. The source was a big reel to reel. The dude conducting the demo stood on the stage and alerted the audience that they were about to hear sound that was indistinguishable from live music. I cannot recall what the recording was they played but as soon as it came on everyone looked around at each other, incredulous, and raced for the EXIT doors, your humble scribe included. 🏃 🏃 🏃 "A rich man has about as much chance of attaining Audio Nirvana as a camel has of passing through the eye of a needle." - old audiophile axiom |
In my little side career of live sound stuff, I use extremely clear sounding multi thousand watt systems for live shows, with basically a mono mix for each side. Is that the "live sound" we all strive for? It shouldn't be…and do home systems reproduce the magic 10th row center of orchestral performances? Uh…maybe sort of, but if the music get's its point across evenly enough to be enjoyable, that's all you can ask for. Think about what a home system is doing, and where it's doing it (8 or ten feet from your earballs), and understand that putting your faith in Audio Salon sales people is in THEIR interest more than yours. Much more. If you're in to this stuff, and have some experience, you may have heard some tiny English monitors driven by a tube amp in the 70s and thought, wow…that's nice. Or a pair of old Altecs or ARs or whatever and been happy as a clam. I've listened at length to the magic of Magicos or whatever in various carefully controlled environments over decades and have always thought, "my home stuff sounds better." Because it does…and it all cost an almost irrelevant amount of cash compared to the pricey stuff because I think that's where the actual magic resides. You just have to work at it to get it there, and dumping big bucks on what Inna imagines is worth it is the actual lazy approach. Kind of like relatively unpopular brilliant musicians in the "folkie" (or acoustic) scene as compared to hyped popular ones…in my experience I've found that the lesser known performers are often simply better, and the good new is there's more of them…but you have to get out there and hear 'em…don't be lazy... |
Good thread, hard to add much to the very good views presented. But here's a question that over 39 years of system building still baffles me. That is what seems to me the impossibility of building a system the way it should be built, i.e. by auditioning any significant purchase in your own system. You can go to shows, read reviews, and other research, but it is just not practicable to home audition most gear (yes, The Cable Company is an exception). So what happens, at least to me, is that you need to meet a dealer you can trust. And even if he is willing to allow home auditions, your choices are still limited to the brands he carries. You can still do well this way in building the system, but have to admit you have no idea how it sounds compared to the great variety of good equipment out there. The point being that in building a system, one's knowledge base is necessarily limited. And I want to Listen, not work (while admiring those who do want to work). Not to mention the forest of directly conflicting claims by numerous respected professionals in the field, most of whom presumably are people of integrity who just have differing views, but nonetheless they provide little reliable ground to stand on. As for the original question, rephrased, "have your high end system purchases remained worth it?", my general response is that, even though I consider myself a value shopper always very mindful of diminishing returns, and am in fact very happy with my system, I have seldom gotten the level of sound quality I expected from any major purchase. Maybe inflated expectations. I agree with those who have cited small tweaks as often exponentially more cost effective than major component changes. And I agree with the many comments about good sound from modestly priced systems, having owned my fair share (how about Infinity 3000 speakers, or any Rogue or NAD product). But to emphasize, the above statement does not contain an implication that I don't enjoy my system--it sounds beautiful, I am glad I've spent the coin and feel I've gotten good value (while acknowledging there may be very different opinions of that). System is Aesthetix Eclipse stereo amp and preamp, Resolution Audio 3.0 CD/DAC, Antipodes DX digital front end (no vinyl, tape or 'phones), Vandersteen Model Seven MkII speakers, and medium-high end Audioquest wires, old RGPC power conditioning with amps plugged into wall, Mapleshade rack with 4" shelves. Maybe new retail total somewhere around $130k (yes, a ridiculous amount of money), I bought majority used or at good discount. Again, despite liking my system very much, I would have thought this level of expenditure would provide better sound, mindblowing sound, actually. Again, maybe unrealistic expectations. But that consideration doesn't matter. What does matter is that I enjoy the system and am glad I've bought it. As you can gather, my response to the original question is that I am delighted at what I've gotten for my money, and disappointed at what I've gotten for my money... I also agree with a previous post who suggested it takes a lot of time and effort to put together an agreeable system, and with another who said that very good sound is unavoidably expensive. And now, with the mercifully increased dark enabled by the end of DST, I am about to turn on the system and enjoy the beautiful music. jimski |
My current rig is total value of around $50K. My first real high end system was around $5K. I can honestly say that all components I have upgraded over the past 12 years until now have been improvements over their previous versions. This includes speakers, amp, preamp and turntable. Of these upgrades the ones that had this biggest impact were speakers, turntable and phono preamp, in that order. For now I am sticking with what I have, as I am very happy with its performance. I do get curious about other gear quite often, but when I consider the cost to go up the line I decide it's not worth it (at least where I am at right now). I cannot imagine ever owning a system that eclipses $100K, but I do dream about it. I think at that point it becomes more about status than about dramatic improvement. A lot of people care just as much about what their gear looks like as the performance. My guess is my system gives me 90% of what a $250K system would, but it definitely doesn't look as cool or exotic. Ultra high end is sexy stuff. I get why it is so attractive to so many. The feeling it gives you when you look at it is definitely a big part of the equation. |
Read whitecamaross’ thread, " My Long List of Amplifiers and My Personal Review of Each!" He swaps expensive gear like the rest of us change clothes and has his mind blown by his new gear on a regular basis. His cost is on a generally, but not always, upward trend. I think part of his frequent amazement is the new factor. What sounds amazing to us at first often becomes only ok after we’ve gotten used to it. I think for most of us the way to go is to have a system we like, but is not the ultimate, and a Tidal subscription, and get our kicks discovering new music instead of buying new gear. On Tidal I listen to a lot of music I would never buy and find a lot of stuff that I enjoy. Maybe not forever, but it's definitely good for a few listens. |
I think the only thing I would regret paying for, if I had unlimited money, and spent it on audio equipment, would be music servers. I cannot conceive of a way for a computer system with ethernet and USB to cost over $10,000. Probably not over $5000. That tech goes out of date so fast, and seems like it is really off-the-shelf. I don’t believe the people selling it have the know-how or the technology to justify the price. They don’t have the skill to produce systems that can cost that much. But I don’t have the money, so I just don’t know. Everything else, I would imagine is a joy to own. And I don’t imagine anyone that owns it would say otherwise. I wish I did. My current everything, with tubes and cables is over 10k so I'm a guppy in a big ocean. But I’m also an IT professional, so I know computers and data transfer. |
Very good cd players can be had used for not too much. As for computer listening, my current super high-end gear consists of $200 Grado headphones. Thinking about adding $300 Oppo dac/headphone amp plus $100 Audioquest cable. Later maybe a jump to Grado RS1 or some HiFi Man phones and better dac/amp. But I have no intention to spend much on this stuff. |
I’ve heard numerous times “your system is only as good as the weakest link” in many of the high $ systems, the material ( music) one listens to is actually the weakest length. Over at Computer Audiophile, people debate the merits of $5000 usb cables. In reality, general industrial grade data cables were used to transfer the master recording data to the cd pressing equipment. The same cables used on all these hi rez music streaming systems using general industrial server hard drives. Most recording studios are wired to keep out noise more so than audiophile quality. Thus, most studios are wired with Beldon/ Canare level wiring. Plus, using general data cables and hard drives ( although Glymph caters to the audio/ video industry, i would not consider them audiophile since same drives are used as in any orher system) At he end of the day......better sound is better sound....just something I’ve thought about |
@aberyclark Good point. I have a MoFi CD edition of Billy Joel's Turnstiles (1976) and a BluSpec CD edition of the same exact album. The BluSpec one happens to sound great across the board, no issues at all. The MoFi by comparison happens to sounds terrible, rather muffled and veiled both in tone and dynamic shadings. Possibly ok sounding in its own right, but in comparison with the BluSpec on my system it is noticeably lacking in a couple ways. Despite the fact that the BluSpec makes no claim about this disc being sourced from the master recording and the MoFi version does. So, does that mean that MoFi on this release just had unfortunate access to crappy mastering equipment? I'm inclined to think not (I could be wrong), and I know that a lot of their other releases in their catalog can sound quite good. But, why would a mastering not made from the master tape sound plainly better than from one that is? (And here I'm throwing out the possibility, in this case anyway, that the original master tape has deteriorated due to age, as a factor - both sound fine in that regard). Does this rilly mean that lots of bad mastering equipment is still out there in use (all those terrible sounding remasters that we come across all the time), or is it more of a case of bad mastering techniques rather than equipment? I'd say that you're right and that maybe we don't need $5k USB cables, but that maybe the music industry should stop long enough to take a harder look at what kind of cables they are connecting their mastering equipment with. Something at that end seems to be off somewhere. Just a thought. Cheers, John |
This digital industry doesn't care about audiophiles, generally speaking, so they will use $1 one hundred feet digital cables, no problem. And they are right, most digiheads will think it sounds good on their devices. I did hear an opinion that $1k Purist Audio USB cable is really something. I also heard that top of the line Audioquest is excellent. If that $5k cable is even better than why not $5k ? Better than the same amount for a couple of rare records with nothing to talk about music. |
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@inna The above is only my own personal take. Why not a $5k USB cable? Hey, if anyone is inclined, I'd say go for it...but for me, considering where I happen to be with it all at the moment, it's just a question of having different priorities, I guess....but, I know you're right, the industry isn't listening to us audiophiles. |
Wow I never thought I would be agreeing with Goeff Kait but I am!And excellent post wolf-Garcia, Bang on. I kind of giggled when I read the posts of people who have bought an expensive so-and-so and, oh my gosh it revealed the flaws in the other part of the chain! That could happen with any priced components it's called synergy and it means it wasn't there with the new component. Doesn't mean you have to buy a more expensive other piece to compensate. Like wolf I go to shows and listen to multi hundred thousand dollar rooms and my stuff at home sounds way better. I might have 20k in. And I honestly think that I could take 5K and put together a system that sounds within a hair of my current one. Good sound does not have to cost a lot of money! And again, I have heard loads of very expensive set ups to bass this opinion on. |
"The Jeff is Jeffrey Fritz Editor-in-Chief of SoundStage. After several years he’s looking to downgrade from a seriously expensive system. . . . The fact that he’s concluded that the ultra expensive system isn’t worth it, sure makes me think!" This is a false characterization. http://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/features-menu/opinion-menu/739-jeffs-getting-a-new-stereo-s... Jeff did not conclude this at all. He made clear that he was downsizing his system for family obligation reasons, and that that gave him an excuse to focus on a higher value for money point on the cost curve -- to see what fraction of the sound quality of his big system he could achieve for a small fraction of the price of that big system. PS: I give Jeff a lot of credit for rejecting the long term equipment "loan" regime in which many reviewers indulge. |
And they are right, most digiheads will think it sounds good on their devices. I did hear an opinion that $1k Purist Audio USB cable is really something. IIRC, USB cables need to have a characteristic impedance of 110 ohms to prevent reflections in the cable that can cause errors. Jim Aud (of Purist Audio) was telling me recently at RMAF that he had to use some really pricey test equipment to make sure his cables met that spec. This was in the context of hearing about a cable that was preventing the DAC from getting a lock (which was happening because it was not the right characteristic impedance). Most recording studios are wired to keep out noise more so than audiophile quality. Thus, most studios are wired with Beldon/ Canare level wiring. Plus, using general data cables and hard drives ( although Glymph caters to the audio/ video industry, i would not consider them audiophile since same drives are used as in any orher system)The thing you want to keep in mind here is that in the studio, most of the equipment operates balanced and supports the balanced standard. The raison d'etre of balanced line is to eliminate cable artifacts and allow long lengths as a result. So they are very much audiophile, in fact sort of uber-audiphile, since most high buck single-ended cables have far more artifact. In a nutshell there really isn't much of a standard for single-ended cables, and the direct result of that is the way they are built can affect their sound. Over the years audiophiles have grown used to that fact and the need to audition the cables in their system. With it has come the hubris that the engineers in studios are clueless about cables. While that is sometimes true, its a bit of apples and oranges. |
Tomcy6 I will use some items I have actually personally purchased. First off would be a pair of altec 604E speakers for 1200 then would be a pair of atmosphere M 60 mono blocks for 1800 Then a pair of Phillips 12 inch sub drivers for 300Built some boxes for 100Sumo Polaris amp to power those 200 dahlquist dq lp1 crossover 150(needed a pot replaced) Bottlehead beepre preamp for 1500 ayre qb9 dac for 800(used original version pcm only) Keen eye will notice I've gone over 5K but I am talking Canadian pesos so I should still be under 5K USD. I went digital because if I went with my analog rig I would be way over. The 604s are key as they are perfect for the otl's at 16 ohms. The otl's are a step up over everything I've ever heard and I've heard a lot! |