I thought for years that high-end audio as a hobby was dieing a slow, painful death. I entered the hobby 28 years ago working at a place called Standard Sales, where they had what was considered a high-end audio room. I was a kid working in the warehouse, helping the guys move some equipment around the room, when a customer brought in an album; Stanley Clarkes School Days. Never heard of Stanley Clarke, and never heard of ESS, but when they played that album through the ESS AMT-1Bs, my face fell to the floor, and I was hooked.
Years later I had put together one wicked system: Altec Model 19s, SAE 400wpc amp, Crown pre-amp, Soundcraftsman EQ, Mitsubishi turntable (the killer vertical model), Teac reel-to-reel, etc., etc. What an amazing system it was. Then I subscribed to Stereophile, and got pulled in further, but farther away. I started reading the glowing reviews, and ultimately sold off all of my equipment so I could upgrade, blinded by a passion for the hobby, while ignoring that every component reviewed was audio nirvana. I was mesmerized by words like immediacy, palpable, airy, and fast. Well, after spending thousands of dollars on enough speakers, amplifiers, turntables, etc. to start a store, I left the hobby disgusted, because I was unable to recreate the magic of my original system without spending $80K (I bought a house instead).
I personally think this review process is an attempt to keep folks engaged in the hobby, while justifying the current astronomical prices for equipment. As many of you know, I recently reentered the hobby after a 15 year hiatus, driven by a business need, which prompted me to sell my loudspeakers to get the latest and greatest. Reading the commercial reviews, I still see that there is no such thing as a bad review. Everything is still audio nirvana, $10K/pair speakers still compete with models twice their price (isnt that nice that I only have to spend $10K, and not $20K?), and 40 floor-standing, two-way speakers, with a 6.5 woofer and 1 tweeter, still have a palpable midrange, all for the bargain price of $18K per pair. Good grief
Years later I had put together one wicked system: Altec Model 19s, SAE 400wpc amp, Crown pre-amp, Soundcraftsman EQ, Mitsubishi turntable (the killer vertical model), Teac reel-to-reel, etc., etc. What an amazing system it was. Then I subscribed to Stereophile, and got pulled in further, but farther away. I started reading the glowing reviews, and ultimately sold off all of my equipment so I could upgrade, blinded by a passion for the hobby, while ignoring that every component reviewed was audio nirvana. I was mesmerized by words like immediacy, palpable, airy, and fast. Well, after spending thousands of dollars on enough speakers, amplifiers, turntables, etc. to start a store, I left the hobby disgusted, because I was unable to recreate the magic of my original system without spending $80K (I bought a house instead).
I personally think this review process is an attempt to keep folks engaged in the hobby, while justifying the current astronomical prices for equipment. As many of you know, I recently reentered the hobby after a 15 year hiatus, driven by a business need, which prompted me to sell my loudspeakers to get the latest and greatest. Reading the commercial reviews, I still see that there is no such thing as a bad review. Everything is still audio nirvana, $10K/pair speakers still compete with models twice their price (isnt that nice that I only have to spend $10K, and not $20K?), and 40 floor-standing, two-way speakers, with a 6.5 woofer and 1 tweeter, still have a palpable midrange, all for the bargain price of $18K per pair. Good grief