The Insane World of High End Audio! Is it All a Scam?

@invalid thank you for proving my point. 200 units in a global market is minuscule. Roughly 1 per country.

@deep_333 re effort, that's all good and well, but how does it sound? Provide data on blind tests, and then we have a basis for discussion. 

@kerrybh re Lambos, it certainly leaves an impression, and it ain't favorable. I'd rather talk to someone with a meticulously restored Model T. Respect! 

I maintain: focus on silly high priced items is to the detriment of the hobby. I recently provided some guidance to a young friend (30s) who was interested in a TT. Budget: $500. Very interested, very much into music, love their Klipsch speakers. After much discussion and talking about pros and cons of features, they settled on an $200 AT-LPW30BKR. That's reality.

How do you get to the bottom of it with cheapaudiomen such as Randy, Mahgister, etc?

I picked Randy not because i approve all of what he said...

I could have pick Jay video reviewing 400 high end top amplifiers in a room empty of any acoustics devices parametrized to serve his choice of gear. When we buy gear we must evaluate it in optimal acoustics conditions designed for the gear we have bought...

If not we will enter in an upgrade cycle because of our incapacity to put the system at his potential peak level... Price has nothing to do with the way to put any system in his optimal settings, it is valid for any system, acoustics principles dont change with price...

My point was about the only scam in audio: Acoustics knowledge put under the rug to sell gear... Costlier gear or cheap gear, that makes no difference for my point...

People focus on Randy character instead of seeing the essential : Jay and Randy at the opposite end of the price stick commit the SAME SIN : Acoustics is ignored completely to sell upgrades...

Acoustics is not about panels it is about hearing parameters and behaviour, complex devices as Helmholtz resonators of various design, very specific concept to create soundfield in our room : ASW (Apparent Source Width) refers to the perceived spatial extent of a sound source and LV (listener envelopment) this factor is highly desirable to set in place correctly because we felt encompassed by the soundfield and included in it. Etc many others concepts exist with which we can play in experiments...

Applying Helmholtz resonators principle as an exemple i just modified the vent hole of my new small active speakers.

(unbeknownst to all Vent hole in small speakers are badly designed for cost saving and esthetical reason, sound quality is secondary here for the company; who would buy a hideous vent hole design with one,2 or 3 feet of tubes of different size  outside the small box which cost more ?)

Then these low cost speakers of mine once modified (  which were unanimously well reviewed) i just bought were transformed from mediocre in my opinion to good (acceptable)... Thanks Helmholtz...

The scam in audio is not related to the price we paid for a piece of gear but to our own acoustics ignorance about the way to use the gear( at any price)...

Acoustics do not resume by buying GIK panels ...

The OCD MIKEY GUY IS ANNOYONG as all heck. Looks down on All kinds of quality gear, such as marantz, Macintosh, Yamaha, etc...only raves about the boutique crap he sells, and Noone ever heard of, of which costs crazy amounts of dough. Loves to plug those slabs of Rock speakers, idk, fisher & fisher, never heard of them, nor do I care to. I doubt high end audio is a scam, but there are certainly a lot of jerks and snobs in this hobby or whatever you want to call it, maybe a disease. Now about acoustics...I don't use a single thing. I treat the room by stuffing it with all sorts of different fabrics/upholstery/furnishings etc.... It sounds good to me, and I can care less if it does not to someone else. 

Now about acoustics...I don’t use a single thing. I treat the room by stuffing it with all sorts of different fabrics/upholstery/furnishings etc.... It sounds good to me, and I can care less if it does not to someone else.

Perfect for you as my room is perfect for me...

Congratulations..

But your feeling does not invalidate my experience with acoustics nor science itself...

Acoustics is the only way to put any system at any price at his working peak potential once we had control over mechanical &electrical problems...

Changing a piece of gear instead of making the system we already own work at his optimal level, before the necessary or unnecessary upgrading will not do much, or as well as we imagine...

No one can know if his room is optimal to serve his system acoustically BEFORE experimenting with all aspect of acoustics... our feeling that all is right has nothing to do with objective experience in changing conditions and changing acoustics parameters..

It is hard to do. We must study, We must have time for many experiments to learn (most of people work and dont have the luxury of time) We must have a room to do it(most people has no dedicated room ).

But the truth must be tell for the sake of it and for the benefit of all...It cost me nothing to do it, it is the good news...

Like 'cheapman' said, people by Rolex because they want a Rolex not necessarily because it is a 'precision time piece'. 

But have you ever read a review where the author states that 60% of the cost of an audio amplifier is the fancy chassis?

That's the dilemma we have.