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Thoughts from THE Show, is $29k the new $10k?

Had another enjoyabe brief one day visit to THE Show, Newport Beach last weekend. Great to see so many fellow hobbiests, and great gear. Went in search of speakers; here is a brief and disjointed summary of my impressions:
Many vendors were focusing on the $25-32k range; with most for sale around $29k as an entry point to 'quality'.
Rockport showed their new entry, $29k speaker in the Atrium. Had great balance; was warm, detailed, and engaging. First show presence for dealer; nice guy. My first experience with Rockport; was very impressed.
Eficion: at the Hilton; wow; for $16k I think it gives Wilson a run for its money with the Sophia; its AMT ribbon tweeter had great crystal highs, and its large woofer filled the room with satisfying bass, I enjoyed it.
BMC: nice gear; their $32k speakers had dipole arrangement; with both front and rear firing speakers; very engaging, huge sound stage, and great low end response. Paired up nicely with their amp/dac
YG: brought my own CD; so I was familiar with what was possible; initialy liked their sound;but in the end found it a bit 'dry', and brittle; and not totally enjoyable, this was at at least three different rooms showing their speakers.
Wilson Shasha's in the Brooks-Barden room; always a treat; enjoyed their room treatments, and professionalism, nice analog set up. Warm, detailed, lovely, and engaging.
Ventures: wow, very expensive; and very large...but totally engaging; great integration, warm, detailed, expansive sound stage, great bass, huge open subtle nuance on female voices...
Ayon: liked their Lumen White's better last year, than their own speaker line this year, but great amps and dac.
Found the KEF blades a bit disappointing, surprised at how large they are in person.
Enjoyed the TAD speakers again this year, well balanced, integrated very well.
There was a 'curved' line array speaker; I forget its name that also was quite good, interesting design, but filled the room with great sound; no glare.
The Veloce gear, with its battery source was extremely 'quiet' and detailed, and enjoyable.
Surprised how many room utilized the Synergistic Research ART treatments...hard to tell how it improved things; but can't argue with the results.
Too much to see and listen to in one brief day. Curious to hear from other members their take....I know you don't need to spend so much to get quality sound, but so many vendors showing off their $29k speakers made me want to chuckle; and take out a home loan...also thought the digital and computer audio was getting very close now to the analog rigs.
Love having this showcase in our backyard on the west coast; and will contiue to support and attend. Kudos to Bob Levi; and his team at LA/OC audio society; another great job; and Tierney Sutton singing on Friday night was an extra special treat.
mribob

Showing 7 responses by whart

whart's avatar
whart
3,096 posts
 
Or, the companies focus their efforts on the upper price ranges, where they can make more money, and offer the true 'entry level' line as 'trickle down' technology, perhaps sharing design attributes, but manufactured in places with cheap labor, e.g. the Acme Line by Brand X.
I think there will always be more modestly priced stuff available at a more grass roots level that is still serious enough to listen to and not mass market consumer product disposable junk. But, we will tell our grandkids that back in our day, you could buy a first rate preamp or loudspeaker for a few thousand dollars, and they will feign interest while watching the latest holo-video on their virtual screen retina implants.
whart's avatar
whart
3,096 posts
 
Ricred1 is, at the Brits say, 'spot on.' There has long been a market for very expensive equipment new, by the standards of the day, and this equipment passes down to lesser mortals as the flavor of the month makes those pieces 'obsolete.' Granted, in some or in many cases, the 'mkii' will be better, but sometimes, I'm not sure that is true or not true in all respects for all purposes (e.g. I am thinking here of my purchase many years ago of the ARC SP-10mk ii, which was superceded by a different sounding SP-11). And, unlike the car business, which is very tough to penetrate on a cottage industry level, we do have loads of small manufacturers, inventor-driven companies, that offer value for the dollar. The very raison d'etre of this site is the trade in 'used' hi-end equipment. Thanks for the reminder, Ricred1.
(And if you want to see real depreciation, look at modern high end cars which, with few exceptions, plummet in value the moment they drive off the lot).
whart's avatar
whart
3,096 posts
 
Map- I wasn't necessarily implying that the 'latest thing' was always overpriced, but as you said, depreciation sets in fast, particularly when the latest version or model comes out, or when the folks on the knife edge change view and decide that a certain type of component doesn't offer the "best" approach. There are of course, 'cult' items that retain or increase in value, but those are probably the exception.
whart's avatar
whart
3,096 posts
 
What we are seeing in the hi-fi business is a microcosm of the retail business at large- luxury goods makers are directing their products to big ticket items, and that sector has the ability to buy stuff at the stratosphere of price. As a business model it may be hard to fault, given the alternative. I understand that China was a viable market for equipment of a size and price that would otherwise be unmarketable elsewhere in the world. Of course that may change as the world economy slows or remains in turmoil, but hi fi is not unique in this respect. If you had the choice between making a $10,000 product and selling 100 units or a $100,000 unit and selling ten of them, I have little doubt what choice would be made. Not defending the industry, but like any business, they will go where the market is. Of course, there is still real world entry level, but much of it is designed in one place (Europe or America) and built where the labor is cheap, to get to a price point. And, while I have no first hand experience with, for example, relatively inexpensive tube electronics coming out of China, for example, my impression is that it is pretty good stuff, at least competitive, even if it doesn't have the panache, or the 'overbuilt' quality of say, an ARC faceplate on the front.
whart's avatar
whart
3,096 posts
 
My high frequency hearing has substantially diminished with age (I'm close to 60), but my sensibility about what makes good musical sound is more attuned than ever. I spend alot of time hearing real music and have always been very critical of midrange reproduction, having lived with the old Quad for decades. So, when i hear 'spectacular' hi-fi systems, often made up of over the top, "best of category" at a given moment in time, they often don't sound like music systems, they sound like exaggerated hi-fi: impressive, but not musically satisfying, at least in show and or dealer environments. This may be partly a function of wanting to attract listeners in a 'sales' environment (shows are ultimately about moving product) and partly a function of equipment choices that are not necessarily ideal as a 'system.'
That may mean that some of the pricey newest latest and greatest can sound way better when properly set up in a home with the right associated equipment. I think I am a pretty quick study in terms of getting a sense of what a piece of equipment sounds like, but without being able to eliminate all the variables in a strange system and strange room, I can't make a meaningful assessment of a specific piece of equipment.
whart's avatar
whart
3,096 posts
 
Maybe we should start another thread on this, Wolf-Garcia. That highly touted Shelby Lynne record (at least the audiophile pressing) was recorded by Al Schmidt and produced by Phil Ramone. Neither of those guys is a youngster.
whart's avatar
whart
3,096 posts
 
There is a free iPad app from Siemens that makes you delineate similar
sounding sibilant squacks against background noise. I have a tough time
with that one. Not frequency test, per se. There are a bunch of those
available on line.
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