What price hi-fi?

Every expensive purchase will cause some "buyers guilt", especially if you hear the "nagging", from the spouse or living-in girlfriend. "I can't believe you spent 1200, for CD player, what was wrong with your last CD player...Why do you need so many CD's?! You don't even listen the one you just bought...!!! Ohhh GOD!! Also when you buy something $$, you question: "..could i have bought BETTER unit. for same $$??" I say, if you already made your mind, and have funds, Buy it! If you don't? You'll regret it more! I am enjoying my Karik, and can hardly wait to get Numerik, and i am prepared to go "into the battle" but thgis time AFTER the purchase! Regards!

Ben, I hear you! Unfortunately I have come to the conclusion that NO there is no value system other that your own ears, your budget, what you have access to hear and finally your nerves if you don't have the opportunity to hear, but can afford based on the latest raves. To me digital upgrading is the hardest. I can find absolutely no concensus. I have heard nothing but raves concerning the Bel Canto and was hell bound and bent to get one until.....I called up a dealer who dealt in the MSB III unit to ask HIS impressions of the MSB compared to the Bel Canto if he had heard it. So what do you think happens next? Yes indeed he was quite familiar with the Bel Canto and noted it was better than the MSB III but not as good as PRODUCT X, he raved about Product X and told me it was the best DAC unit under 4K and it cost LESS than the Bel Canto! What to do. He gave me a 30 day trial period to boot. There was one caveat, the unit would take 100 hours to break in, "it is metallic sounding out of the box". Well indeed it was metallic sounding out of the box. I received the unit on the 8th of this month and until last night FINALLY the ringing in the high frequencies, especially piano that made it unlistenable to me, ceased. It is still under evaluation but does have certain unmistakable virtues. High resolution, low noise and incredible dynamics. If tonally it can prove itself, I will probably keep it and only wish I could have heard the Bel Canto to compare it to. If you wait a bit, like a week or so, I will reveal my final decision on this thread about Product X. If I don’t keep Product X, I am seriously thinking about going with an Assemblage Jitterbug on my Ultralink which I CAN live with quite happily and forget about this digital business for a while. Hope this helps! Will

The "value" system I try to use: 1. Try before you buy. If you can't, make sure there is a good resale market for what you are buying. Many times the interaction of other stuff in your system may not work with the new piece. 2. I try to get my wife and/or daughter to listen and tell me if they hear an improvement. If yes, then I know I am on to something. If they can't tell, then I re-think. 3. I talk to audiophile friends. Sometimes they can "talk me back off from the ledge, before I jump". If you have no friends, you're spending too much time on this stuff. 4. If you still like the sound of something, even after it has been superceded by something better (this will usually happen immediately after your home trial is over) or you then find it has been panned by the audio press, then it really is a good purchase. 5. You will never get it right all of the time. That is why there is a good market for used equipment. A sense of humor will help compensate for all of the money you will seem to have wasted. 6. I am always skeptical about equipment that requires a break in period of more than 24 hours. If you like a lush, warmer sound, try the Bel Canto dac. It does sound different than other dacs, so buying w/o a right of return is risky. The Bel Canto looks very unassuming. My wife never asked how much it cost.

Joe- You have nailed it for me. I can't imagine how a digital device especially has taken this long to break in. So far this unit has not really hit my hot button which isn't a good sign for ultimate enjoyment. Furthermore the Bel Canto sounds more like the sound I'm looking for in MY system. Thanks for you input Joe. Will

if ewe can't get a money-back guarantee w/at least a 30-day audition period - *don't buy it*! unless, of course, it's used, & ewe know that ewe can turn it around for a minimal loss. regarding break-in - if a unit needs an extended break-in - yust leave it on all the time! put your cd on *repeat* when ya go to bed, or aren't there actually listening... regards, doug