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??? What Is The MOST Expensive System You Ever Heard ??? What Was Your Opinion ???

So yesterday I stopped by the dealer who sold me my Harbeth speakers..I was invited into the "BIG System" room where he had finally got everything set up & dialed in on the nearly 1 MILLION $ MBL system(price after tax,delivery & set up)..
Everything,& I mean EVERYTHING,from the thick cables,to the amps & pre to the turntable to the 6’ tall speakers was FREAKING HUGE!
As I settled into the sweet spot he dropped the needle on a freshly wet cleaned & vacuumed heavy pressing of "Kind of Blue" the VERY first sound that greeted me was a horrible THUMP as the needle hit the groove!
I spent the next 10 minutes or so listening intently..Never in my life did I imagine imaging & staging like those big MBL Omni directional speakers threw out!Every single inch of that room where the recording was made was laid out in micro detail,you could hear feet shuffling around & tell as horns were swung up & down or side to side..As far as those aspects of the demo were concerned it was very impressive..However I didn’t hear that anything unique about the natural warmth & "more"organic tone always spewed about vinyl,plus the tics & pops from the record were pretty annoying & thinking about what I heard as I made the nearly 2 hour drive home I didn’t recall ever having that melt into the presentation feeling of relaxation I value when listening to music..On the contrary,I did recall a constant barrage of individual aspects of the performance that were highly noticeable but IMO there was never a unification of what I heard & sometimes the performance came off as a little mechanical & hard...
When I got home & settled in,I qued up the SACD copy of the same album on my Elite multi disc player..The imaging & staging of my meager little system shouldn’t even be called imaging & staging compared to that MBL system..Micro detail was pretty much non existent when compared as well..But the music was relaxing,it didn’t beg to be dissected & analyzed,only enjoyed..Oh & 1 VERY important difference was that while the tape hiss of the original recording was clearly present & evident,there was absolutely no THUMP when the song started & ZERO pops or tics from that needle following roughly cut grooves in vinyl!
All in all,the experience makes me appreciate what I have even more..

freediver
erik_squires
16,129 posts
 

I’ve heard a lot of expensive systems at shows and most of them left me feeling meh. Among them the original, snail shell B&W Nautiulus driven by stacks of Krell amplifiers and crossovers.

In terms of exceptionally good sounding and too rich for my blood was the top of the line Vandersteen speakers driven by their own amplifier and a CAT preamp.

I’ve heard the CAT in a different environment at Magico and was also really impressed by it. I wish I could have one for a long term review.

Also, and not necessarily very expensive was the Snell A/III driven by Tandberg amps.  Wow.  Among the very best systems designed for a living room.  The Tandberg amps may not be as smooth by today's standards but they did justice to the Snell's bass cabinet in a way few other amps could do then.

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,306 posts
 

Most expensive probably close to 7 digits. No thanks. Too big and too expensive to ever work in my house. Bigger but not necessary better. Maybe if I lived in a mansion…….

big_greg
6,646 posts
 

Big difference between hearing a big expensive system in a hotel ballroom at a show versus a well designed dedicated room. I’ve been in some nice rooms at dealers, but they are rarely optimal as they are often moving different pieces through or having multiple combinations of speakers, amps, sources, etc.

A modestly priced system in a good room can sound better than components costing twice as much or more and a great system in a great room can be an incredible experience that leaves you breathless. It all matters.

I didn't ask how much the most expensive system I've heard cost, it was probably over $1 million, including the custom built room.  I've never heard anything close to it before or since.

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,306 posts
 

The best system I ever heard was all mbl and the cost was not horrible by high end standards. But the thing that helped  make it the best was the showroom set up just right for those. Would take a lot of custom work to do that at home.

 

northman
253 posts
 

Other than in dealer showrooms or audio shows, the most expensive system I've heard was a bit north of $500k. It was in the living room of a wealthy scion, and I spent a couple hours listening. The only specific I remember is Ypsilon Hyperion monos. The imaging, details, soundstage were all remarkable. But I found the whole thing distracting, including his well-intentioned enthusiasm, and I have to admit that I'm very slow to figure out whether I like the sound of a system. It takes me days and sometimes weeks to know how I like something -- even in my own room. Anyway, I didn't leave envious of his system ... but I did covet his art collection...

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