Is it important to long demo or own HIGH END gear to have a fair accurate view about it?

@mapman thats fair. Needs to be more affordable. 

@noromance great points. It’s so much in this world to buy now. Even to try now. But a lot of it can be costly. By nature the music coming out of it has to touch our souls 

@mikelavigne great perspective. High end is not always price.  It’s build quality. It attention to detail.  It really can be a company really taking the craft to another level. I have had gear that hangs with stuff 2,3 times its price because of the tech and R&D behind it.  

@jacobsdad2000 you also make a great point about misinformation. That’s why it’s important to hear it for yourself 

@ernstmach i can understand your points.  Having it in your own environment is important.  Spending quality time with it is important as well. 20 years in this I understand that 100% 

@carlsbad2 you hit the nail on the head.  I spent about 12 years in a row trying every cable I could so I could learn as much as possible about the sound. What makes the good, bad or average. I probably tried over 40 brands in those years. So I speak from experience.  So when some dimwit tells me they don’t make a difference and I’m imagining things and the come with some psycho science babble about not hearing differences I raise my brow! You are talking to a guy who actually sat and listened to brand  and after brand for 12 years straight. I have the experience personal experience with cables. So when it comes to cables as well as high end audio I have tried a lot in my home.  I’ve had extended demos 2-3 months at a time with higher end gear so though I’m not an expert. I know a little bit. 

@mapman you make great points. Rooms are important.  Also it’s important to research the gear you buy to death. That is smart and that’s what I do. Everything I bought. I bought based on research and actual performance that fits my environment. 

@dayglow yes room is important.  

@ghdprentice great point.  You need time with really good gear in a good room set up properly so you can gauge what is actually possible. The more gear you hear the better. It allows you decide where the diminishing returns are. 

@knotscott exactly that’s why guys trying to do quick switching a/b comparisons are a joke. Long demos are needed. 

@mitch2 man you are right in the money.  I worked collections attorney for an audio company about 15 years ago. For 5-7 years because the owner was an audiophile. I would get 2,3,4 month demos with great gear while he was selling it and purchasing other stuff. It allowed me to try out of my league equipment in my own home environment. Which eventually led to me being able to afford the gear and hearing more gear. I have heard all of the higher priced gear out here. Some at shows or in shop. Also in home environments. But most importantly I gained experience in knowing what is good and bad or just ok. It wasn’t always based on price either. I speak on it because I own it.  Have owned it or had long demos of it. In my additional job as a dealer now. I get to hear Greta gear through our partners. I don’t randomly give my opinion with no knowledge like I see some do here. 

@rooze I definitely understand your points. I can’t stand when someone who hasn’t heard something says definitely that it does noy sound different or can make a difference in your system. 

I mispoke earlier. I haven’t heard all of the higher priced gear. I have heard most of it.  Correction. 

@jacobsdad2000 when I first started in the hobby I said I would never spend x amount of dollars. Well I’m spent  x amount of over the last 2-3 years but I did so after I gained about 15 years of knowledge and experience. I didn’t choose on price. I chose on sound.  My Dac and amp cost more than my speakers but I have a unique great sounding speaker at the price i got it that fits the system perfect. It’s about sound and synergy. 

@onhwy61 i did it initially to learn the difference between them. Once I got really good equipment I wanted to see what the cables could do to affect sound. I wanted to know as much as possible about them. I’m kind of OCD when it comes to sound. I just wanted to educate myself on being able to tell differences. Like anything else research research research. Try as much as you can. Me and 2 of my audiophile buddies went in this journey together. One did speakers. One did amps. I did cables. For 12 years we put system after system together. It was the best of times. Great wknd listening sessions. Unfortunately one of the guys died. He was a great music buddy and a wealth of audiophile knowledge. The music would get so good sometimes he would zone out. It was funny! But the best of times. That’s what it is all about. Being closer to the music. 

@tomic601 a few years ago during this journey the owner of a company o worked with swapped out gear 2 to 3 times a year which led to about 5 or 6 years of long extended 2 to 3 month demos with gear.  I haven’t ears as many turntables as digital but that combined with knowing a dealer named Dave Baskin who had ALS and was literally on a mission to hear as many systems as he could put together and he put together many because he had the resources. These experiences has alllowed me to run through a lot of gear on long demos. I been blessed. 

@tomic601 turntables are a whole other monster. $$. I haven’t heard the number of turntables as opposed to digital. I have heard some turntables but not the really expensive ones. My turntable knowledge is limited 

@tomic601 yes. I would get the gear after the owner had it for 6 months of heavy listening. I would typically keep it for about 3 months 4 months at a time. Listening everyday after work and on weekends. Sometimes just letting it run at night. @jafant long demos are key to getting a real feeling gear. I took a dealer my INFIGO METHOD 4 AND METHOD 6 stuff today for a 2 month demo while I listen to a Pilium Integrated and a Soulution 746 cd transport. Gonna let it run for the next 72 hours. Before I do any critical listening.  

@tomic601 and @jafant we INFIGO will be partnering with Stenheim and Their Ref 2 or Ref 3at the Dallas Audio show in mid March . Should sound sublime. 

@jafant long time no talk to my friend. Well I’m letting the pilium integrated and soulution 746 cd player  get some hours on each in my system before I start grading with each. Will listen for a week and then play with power cords a little on each component. This will be interesting. The Pilium is 230 pounds. Took 2 guys to carry it in.  The Soulution 746 cd player has its own power supply. I owned the 540 previous before I purchased the INFIGO AUDIO METHOD 4 DAC. My dac has a very open airy sound with great space and decay. Will see how this pairing of the Pilium and Soulution 746 works out. 

@mahgister i understand your point. But with that being said. I mean highly engineered equipment that sells at higher price points because of the alleged build quality and technology etc. 

@jafant i tried the soulution 746 pulium integrated combo.  Both are great pieces. But as a combo very analogue sounding a bit on the cozy side. I just swapped the soulution out and I’m trying an esoteric N-01XD dac so far it’s a better match. Little more lively but still smooth.  

@mahgister happy new year. Thank you for your conversation and viewpoints. Enjoy the music. 

@jafant I traded that in so that I can could by the Infigo Method 4 Dac. I work with Infigo Audio. I bought the Method 4 because Hans used to work with the inventor of the Ess Sabre Dac chip and when he developed this Dac. I heard it and was amazed. It’s the best dac I’ve heard ever. It’s expensive but he really built it well. He elimated distortion by building  mini heat sinks between the individual dac chip. He even has a program the measures the distortion in the second and third harmonics and can adjust the chip accordingly. It does all of this while sounding musical and giving a huge soundstage. I heard this dac and had to have it so I sold the soulution. I’m only demoing stuff now because a dealer has my dac and amp because he is considering taking in our line after hearing great things about it. I’m listening to the esoteric and so far it’s pretty good. I like my dac better but this esoteric has nice detail and musicality. Gonna let it run for another week.