Hey RICH Audiophiles

@freediver. Seattle is tough, takes forever in traffic. Limited selection , high prices, and not so great setups. I drove in to audition speakers. Setup was so bad I hated the speakers and amp. Ended up with the same model speakers and couldn't be happier. There was a rather active audio group there, might be worth connecting with them

There are no poor audiophiles, there are however poor individuals audiophile systems which makes them wise audiophiles.

FANTASTIC!
 I had no idea the comments would be so entertaining when I posted this I was simply venting after a wasted 6 hours trying to demo a few speakers in the Seattle area..
 

I don't want a rich person to see my life. They'll be so jealous of how great I have it and I don't want the pressure of fighting off their interest

Oh no! I’ve been SPEAKER SHAMED by Kaitty which in the context of this thread doesn’t make any sense, but desperate responses rarely do.

If time did not exist man would have to create it.

When you're retired and happy, time is meaningless....

my only alarm clock is wireless......

astewart8944
So that's frustrating! Sorry for the double posting of basically nothing. I meant to positively acknowledge schubert's wise quote.

so that wasn't schubert's quote. He was just renting it.
8^0

Hey, Wolf, glad to hear you finally got rid of your low end speakers and got some solid mid fi speakers. I bet you think you died and went to heaven. 

Expensive stereo parts are heavy and difficult to move. The best component made is a friend to enjoy your system with no matter the price. It would be better to invite people over to share the sound and experience it together. To share opinions much like this site but face to face or should I say ear to ear. 

"To be rich is not to have a chest full of gold coins at home. To be rich is to not have an alarm clock at home."

(from...)

alltrinnov

To be rich is to enjoy and appreciate what you have. I live way below my means and seek out activities and items that are of value to me.

+1. Bigtime.

News flash: The ever re-posting Kaitty has lost his ability to detect irony. I suggest that he request that the orderlies put him closer to a window for some air, and remove the dromedary based children's books from his reach. He can thank me later.

wolf_garcia4,528 posts01-26-2019 3:04amI think a system costing hundreds of thousands of dollars can still sound great.

>>>>>Maybe. It might also sound like horse manure. You certainly can’t tell by just looking at it. Camel, eye of needle.

To be rich is to enjoy and appreciate what you have.  I live way below my means and seek out activities and items that are of value to me.  One of my cars is a Mazdaspeed MX-5 which is basically a Miata on factory steroids.  It's not nearly as fast as an exotic car but on curvy public roads I'd rate it 90% as fun to drive.  The insurance and maintenance costs are low and I don't worry about where I'm going to park it whenever I go anywhere.  I could boost the performance big time with aftermarket modifications but often that results in reliability issues.  There are modders who can tweak my Oppo UDP-205 but I don't want to trade a minor improvement for a potential future catastrophic failure.  I don't concern myself that there is something better out there, I just smile and enjoy what I have - and share the fun with friends and family.

I think a system costing hundreds of thousands of dollars can still sound great. Also, I'd rather mention how relatively inexpensive my fabulous sounding system is as that makes me seem real smart. Win win.

the affordable low end has never sounded better....

get a rega a denon Or ortofon a nice sprout or nad or Rogue, a bluesound streamer and a pair of Maggies or Vandersteen, buy some concert tickets and a case of wine at Costco and a used Boxster...

James Dean did not live ( or die ) as well.

rich is always relative

signing out...

I have seen home after expensive home without a set-up consisting
of separate audio components. They spoil the decor and their home theatre room has in-wall speakers. Perhaps orchestra conductors with liberal recording contracts buy top-of-the-line audio... 
They (billionaires) DO HAVE wristwatches that cost $600,000 dollars. A McLaren or
Lamborghini could set you back $2 Million or more. Yeah, they're nice, but completely useless (0-60 in 3.5 seconds). They're so fast that you just let the computer operate the transmission. I learned to drive a stick so I could "drive" my Honda/Toyota. It felt wonderful to be in control.
They park their yachts at Monaco and drink $2000/glasses of wine. As for music for entertainment-
Mozart or Gaga? Music is an art form, not a fashion statement. I think.
As long as your toilet seat is made of gold what difference does it make anymore? 
OTOH, I feel "most" high end audio should not cost prices that seem ludicrous. 
A manufacturer of (for ex.) a speaker should admit a certain product is more of a "prototype" then a commercial offering, unless you "really"
have to have it. Not to have a reviewer brag about how great it is in a specially designed room with dozens of other components making them work the way they do. I remember seeing a demo of the (beautiful) B&W Reference"Snails" with 4 Krell mono-amps/speaker, custom Krell crossovers, custom wire, custom preamps, etc. The sound was very clean and grain-free, but not the same "wow" response I got the1st time I heard the B&W 801 Matrix speakers ($5000/pair) at a dealer. And those "Snails" are not (I guess) "so amazing" anymore. So 0-60 in 3.5 seconds
should be a guide to this hobby as well. 
(BTW Rich People- 8K OLED TV sets are coming out. OH, sorry, you already know... 

A woman goes in to Harrods of London and is looking to buy loads of furniture for the QE2, the salesman says 'what boat do you come from'? the lady with a deadpan look replies, 'sir, a boat is something we get into then the ship is sinking'.........

@dobnbav

Well I have a have a main system which cost over $50K. I used to have $50K speakers and even more expensive amps. So you want to hear my answer? If you can’t afford it stop asking. If you are serious then get on a plane or hit the road in your car and go to dealers who have the equipment you want. I also used to own a very high end shop in NYC.

Safe guess that a sparkling personality and a huge pile of humility have something to do with why he no longer owns a "high-end shop" in NYC.   

dobnbav said, "Now go buy a boat and find out what a real money pit is!" Gee, I have a nice audio system and a boat.........gulp!

I'm unemployed and unemployable. I am not suave, I am not sophisticated, I do not look like Pierce Brosnan. My ears tell me I am rich in sound though. My lady and my family love me. That's all that counts. Cheers!

Man, i have to read about that in here,,,,,,""No more sitting in traffic,wasting gas & polluting the environment"""  Class D
amp guy ,yes.    look at the price to rent a supercar
 what I'm only saying is go to the store a listen 
let's get that right 
 

Well heeled people tend not to buy stereo systems - they buy flashy cars, hugely expensive watches, boats, the wines with the highest ratings etc.

You don't get peer points for having anything as geeky and esoteric as a truly well developed audio system - but you do for video so they are much more likely to install snazzy home theatre systems with subwoofers capable of reproducing the explosion of Krakatoa.

The very small segment of society that are interested in high end audio and also are financially able to indulge that hobby are the only ones that build a system like that.

In my experience most nouveau rich are short on attention span and on patience with detail, both of which are an advantage....almost a requirement for our hobby.

@jag, agree how ridiculous .
@dobnbav flaunt your money, let everybody know how rich you are & how many toys you have you wont let a girlfriend play with. Arrogant people like you are.......you know what you are

My point was, in general, the super wealthy aren’t the ones buying “exorbitantly high priced systems”. Super wealthy audiophiles who do happen to buy super high end dont typically need to tweak. They get what they want and dont fuss around.

Again, your version of rich and the real version of rich are possibly disconnected. 

@ghasley
I think you just made my point better than I did.

@1extreme 

Your post is not accurate. You assume so much and like many times in life, the assumptions are drawn from incomplete data or incorrect assumptions. Your version of rich may not be a completely accurate picture.

Super successful people, in general, are not satisfied with mediocre anything but if it has no value or utility, then they move on without a second thought. Time to this group is precious and those I know who fall into this category are not remotely interested in a cable shootout or posting on a web forum and they will not waste their time debating what is or isn’t an audiophile, they simply buy experiences. They underwrite symphonies, opera, jazz venues, festivals, universities, cancer research and hospitals. They heli-ski rather than take a lift because the lift doesn’t go where they want to go. The money value of time is equally as important as the time value of money.

I recently was invited to dine in the home of a very successful gentleman. His setup was modest (Definitive bookshelves, a hidden away mass market amp Im sure playing satellite fed music from his cable tv provider). I kow he liked music and asked him about his setup and he said its just for background, conversational listening. He said he hadnt heard too many systems that recreated anything resembling real so he was satisfied that to hear the real thing they would just go to concerts and venues to hear live. People in his tax bracket have many homes, many systems and very little free time.

So, I guess my point is I wouldnt worry too much about why the wealthy choose what they choose. Like everyone else in the world, they are shaped by their experiences.

whart1,

 I do not know him specifically but I have heard of the shop. We only do mechanical work here, although the Roadster is here for a full reassembly. It came to us pretty much as a shell along with about a dozen unlabeled boxes along with 2 engines!

The real question is why do rich audiophiles buy exorbitantly high priced systems when there are so many less expensive options to achieving equal or even better sound? Wealthy / successful people are usually focused on end state results, not tweeking or enjoying the incremental upgrade steps. I don't consider them audiophiles any more than I would consider a street beggar a concert violinist just because someone gave him  a Stratovarius.

@jerry_gt3rs - do you know Cheech, from Rennwerke in Elmsford NY? A madman, to be sure, but he knows the older cars and did meticulous work (more mechanics, not body restoration as I recall). He had some serious cars in that shop.

FWIW, I happen to own a Porsche only repair facility so I know of what I speak. At the moment we are working on a few interesting ones. 

1960 356 rRadster
1997 993 Turbo S
1995 Techart yellow trouble
1988 959 Komfort
1972 911S
1971 911T
2015 Supercup factory race car
1996 993 cab
2007 997 Turbo
2001 996 Turbo

I must admit I favor the older air cooled stuff for myself, but the newer "real" water cooled stuff makes sense for most. 

Anyone in the Boston area is more that welcome to stop by and visit the shop, or stop by the house and listen to some music!

20K speakers! what a joke.  that's like 10 seasons worth of tickets to the Symphony at Disney Hall.  now that's high end.  

Stay in your lane is a wise advice. Otherwise, going to audio show to give yourself a treat from time to time.  This is really a dangerous hobby :-)

Buy used gear and or DIY what you can and you will have a rich guy system most likely with better sound. Rich guys pay someone to select gear and setup systems the ones I hear I can tell the sellers made good $ off these types and stuck them with just OK sound. After all it goes not were it sounds best but looks best.

My 1st 911, a sub 20,000 mile preowned 1984 Carrera Targa. It had been owned by the chief engine builder/engineer for the Chaparral Can Am and then Indy Car race team. I was told he took the entire drivetrain apart when he took delivery new and went over every part in order to "improve". Improve he did! It was so smooth and easy all the way to redline, which was about 500rpm higher after his touch. It wailed like a Ferrari. When I moved to another town and took it to the Porsche dealer there for some routine service, the entire service team and some of the management were waiting. It was only then that I came to understand how special that car was. The Fuchs wheels has a personalize engraving the the original owner inside each rim.  It was explained to me that that particular 911 was built special and to the tightest tolerances they had ever seen.  It was a street Porsche built by their racing team.  I'll never forget that car...sold it to fund grad school...I dont recall if I met the buyer or not but it sold to the first caller full pop, then onto a trailer.

Great idea!  I’ll send you my Tannoy Kingdom Royal speakers which weigh 250 lbs each!  And my 4 VAC amps and my VAC preamp and my Clearaudio turntable, and my atomic clock and my cement stands.  Should I also send yo my vinyl and CD collection?!

What’s your address?!

+1 Wolf_Garcia, on all counts.

Best regards,
-- Al
(Owner, 2014 Cayman S & 2017 Macan S)

  @glupson. All the time
please stop by when next in Seattle or Southern California!

mr_m will be by soon

@whart wishing I had bought a few or even one of the 356 that came my way, even the coupes... I can remember like it was yesterday the first time I saw one in quaint little downtown Seal Beach... the perfect California car...

Hurley as instructor omg a tower of talent

@wolf_garcia so right you are, besides the bevy of 911 at one time we owned a Boxster S in the lil creek bottom one lane roads in rural Missouri, I can tell you it as an amazing scalpel of a car with the Cayman being all the better....

I've loved 911s for years, still do, and then drove a Cayman GT4. One of the great bargains in the "go fast" car world, uses a 911 motor in a mid engine little car, and gets everything right. Lower cost high end audio gear takes a while to assemble, but rewards you anyway...buy some used things, and ignore most advice until you check things out for yourself as there is a lot of nonsense hurled around here.

I will lend my set up to poor people asap.

Are you talking about a very specialized Airbnb?  Someone rent's out a place that has a fine system that is available for use.  That would be the only way top gear can be reasonably auditioned because such gear must be properly integrated into a system and that system must be fine tuned to the particular room, something that can take many months to accomplish.  Yeah, the only problem is that a reasonable price would be many thousands per day to rent a place housing such a system.

It seems that most would not be willing to rent some equipment to others. How many would welcome someone to come over and hear their equipment?