why a 75 dollar blue ray smokes all 2k CD players and any turntable???

@pjr801,

'Junk In = Junk Out.Its nearly always the case of diminishing returns the further up the audio chain we go.'


Yes, but wasn't that the old 1980s Linn mantra that they nicked from the computer industry (gigo)?

With the advent of digital, distortion levels have been barely measurable.

Aren't mechanical transducers now the only existing parts of the audio chain where we can still measure distortion?

In particular - microphones,  cartridges, and loudspeakers.

@oleschool,

Many of us unfortunately only found out after going around the long way.

You are fortunate to have received such an honest and straightforward response. 

 Thanks for sharing.


"interesting that the world of true audio quality has been grossly mis-represented in the market place. This has mainly been driven by Hi-Fi Press and marketing vogue that perpetuate the myths that what makes a great audio system is some exotic, very expensive speaker cables, a 'high end ' player and some exotic amp.

[There are many vested interests at work]


Its also true that vintage audio products like valve amps and vinyl are creeping back into fashion - more of a symptom of the issue that audio quality has for the most part reached an impasse."

[The full circle end point for many audio veterans]


The main culprit - loudspeakers represent the main ceiling on audio quality and this really has not changed for many decades.

Put simply if you change the speakers to something that really does the sound transduction step (the most compromised part of the audio chain) much better then you begin to see the leap in improvement that is possible.

[Loudspeakers do indeed distort the most - it's been that way for decades]


For the most part the amp (as long as it is solid state and has decent power output) and the cable (as long as it is something a bit thicker than human hair) makes little to no audible difference to audio quality.

[Every attempt to prove otherwise has amusingly, but not unsurprisingly, failed]


The type of CD player does not matter either, as the speakers  introduce a degree of distortion and degradation that commonly outweighs any differences my many orders of magnitude.  

We have had really good reviews by the audio press but they still don't want to admit that the latest exotic looking £2000 CD player really does nothing special but helps sell magazines so perpetuating the scam!

[Magazines need a reason to justify their cover price in addition to posing as boutique catalogues]


Ridiculous really when you can get a BD player for £40 that trumps the CD spec in every aspect!

Don't get me started on vinyl! S"

[Almost everyone now knows about the billion dollar cable scam first initiated by Noel Lee back in the 1970s, and who would want to seriously argue that any BD player has an inferior technology to any CD player?]


Thanks again for posting, it might save someone a lot of money and time in their endeavours to get a satisfactory sound.

@robjerman,

’ +1 djones51 and cd318! Watch out for the mob carrying flaming torches!’


Yes, no doubt! I’d better rush to the tower and lock myself away fully armed alongside those other persistent troublemakers such as that notorious @kenjit.

However since most of this mob have a vested business interest in promoting high - end (ie high-priced boutique gear as opposed to high performance audio equipment) their opinions can hardly be unbiased.

Nothing said in the reply that the OP received has yet been refuted, just spurious counter claims.

The myriad defences to any perceived threat to their business interests may include any of these following deflection tactics:


Everyone’s ears are different. All rooms are different. Buy what you like.

You haven’t heard that particular piece of equipment, I have and I know it’s better so everyone else should buy it too.

It costs a lot more so it must be a lot better. You’d better buy it to be sure.

It’s a subjective and fun hobby - so keep spending.

Blind listening tests are flawed. All of them. They cannot be trusted.
Listen to me instead and buy product X (of which I just happen to luckily have in stock).

We don’t understand the mechanics or psychology of listening so we should not make defining judgements. So once again keep buying, you may get lucky.
Who knows? Who cares? (I don’t).

Look here, Stereopile / Hi-Fi What?? have posted a great review of this product I just happen to sell.
So what are you waiting for, go buy it?

Etc etc

-------

Without wishing to cast grave doubts upon the integrity of those who post here, it’s the experienced enthusiast/ consumer / user reviews and opinions that I’m mostly interested in.

Some professional reviewers do seem to operate as part of the advertising wing of the industry and unfortunately some posters here feel that forums are are a viable (and economic) means of free advertising.

Instead the rest of us can learn, share and learn some more whilst hopefully benefitting ourselves in the savings of time and money. Not to mention avoiding the all too many scams that plague this industry.

For sure these scams/business interests should never be dismissed too lightly. Let’s not forget that Noel Lee (Monster Inc) has managed to establish a near billion dollar company from selling cables.

Thankfully he doesn’t feel the need to post on here just how superior his cables really are.

If he did, we might just ask him to demonstrate it.

Before we all get carried away with just how good a $2k or $3k DAC might be, it might be worth asking what happens to all of this superiority when the lights are turned off and it's compared to a $5 one?

If you fancy a fancy DAC then you should buy it, but buy it for its boutique value.

Just let's not kid ourselves over any perceived sonic advantages.