All these 'high end' reviews make me depressed!

G'day all, of late I've been reading online reviews of mega buck 'high end' audio gear and all are glowing in their praise. For the price they better be!

Are they really 'that' good and clearly superior to anything cheaper? Are they deliberately 'voiced' to sound impressive? Frankly all these reviews make me depressed as I consider my simple and relatively inexpensive DIY gear of a very high standard! The very notion of 'high end' makes me squeamish. In many cases I think 'high end' is an illusion!

Good quality exists at every price point and I really question any 'real' sonic differences between supposed 'high end' and 'lesser' gear. 'Caveat Emptor' always applies or as an old friend of mine would say, 'fools and their money are easily parted'. Maybe any difference is solely 'in the head' of the purchaser. Regards, Felix.

 

Haven't you gone down this path before, Felix?

Yes, there is a HUGE difference between the performance of expensive equipment and less expensive equipment, no doubt about it. To delude yourself in thinking that it doesn't is just silly.

But if what you have is getting the basics right, just enjoy it and don't feel pointless 'gear envy' for things that are beyond your means.

Ultimately it's about the music and not the gear.

 

G'day, yes I probably have! However I can't necessarily agree with your following statement especially when one knows their way around a circuit design and its construction (as I do).

Some people are just impressed by 'appearance' and sheer complexity! In all honesty that can mean 'nothing'. I have seen that for myself. Regards, Felix.

 

Certainly there's a lot of baloney out there, but have you heard a true high-end system?

 

A well cut record played on a $400 Rega sounds miles better than a badly mastered album on a $150,000 turntable. Your best bet is always to buy the best sounding media / records / software. Garbage in = garbage out.

I have access to some very high end equipment that makes my $12,000 investment sound puny by comparison, I've done that test for myself. But, to be honest, if I really needed a $300,000 stereo rig I would own one already!

 

Go to some shops and/or shows and listen to some expensive gear that has reportedly been matched. When I listen and consider what people in general like, it seems there are camps, which may very well be representative of different ears/brains. I think different listeners value different things, including the aesthetics of the visual presentation of gear. Some people prefer the look of circuits and boards. Others want an expressive housing, which adds a different sort of value. I note that even people with expensive systems also keep lesser systems for specific tasks and rooms. I guess if you have the money to have a largish dedicated room, budget gear may not be able to work.

 

I think this is a complex issue Felix. On one hand there are of course equipments that really belong to the best sounding there are, and are expensive. On the other hand 'high end' is just something that is made up per se, and cannot garantee anything regarding SQ, of course, even if it´s very expensive. We might not like some of it at all. I know I don´t.

For small rooms I see 'the best there are' reasonably affordable, for very large rooms much more difficult and pricey. Also, maybe the most important, what do we like, even if we know there are better things in the world, we can be quite pleased anyway. How much connection is there between loving listening to music, and SQ per se, most likely not anything presentable.

 

Sorry to say so mate, but the difference can be staggering.

The reason I'm always tweaking is to get that little bit further up that tall tree, and nearer some that i have heard. And I have not heard all that many serious systems.

No reason to get depressed whether it is true or not, we all do what we can to do the best with a system.

Edit: I'm one that is not impressed by looks, It's performance that I look for, and frankly I think some really great gear looks butt ugly!

 

Several, some have been excellent, others truly woeful and not worth the prices on the respective tickets.

 

Felix, I have just the antidepressant for you! A Hagerman Clarinet. And no you don't need mega bucks to get mega sound, just look at the Van Alstine Ultravalve.

 

G'day all, well over the years I have heard my share of high end gear (as set up in listening rooms in hi fi salons and such), and whilst they were 'impressive' sounding, they were clearly 'voiced' and did not necessarily sound like the 'real thing', and that is always my reference. Regards, Felix.

 

A well put together system of modest price will comfortably outperform an expensive system that's been slung together. So no, it's nothing like as simple as grabbing a bunch of high priced hifi and just assuming it's better. Likewise the assertion that it is better simply because it's more expensive. Buy smart, do the research and you'll turn in audio gold at sensible money (buying used is one way of getting there).

 

I agree with the others that it is not easy either, and a system still needs to be well thought out, otherwise at any price it can fail....relatively.

 

A system cannot sound like the 'real thing' they are worlds apart, even the best. Just think of speakers that could sound like the 'real thing', it is in no way remotely possible.

 

Some can come close, as close as realistic expectations allow.

Edit: I recall well when I first auditioned the ML-1's I have at the makers factory and showroom, for a time I was left alone in the listening room, listening not to the ML-1's, but a much larger speaker with active bass. A really nice recording of Blues/Jazz was playing and with my eyes closed it was so so like having that four piece band (maybe it was a 5 piece band, was years ago) on a small stage two foot higher than the rooms floor level and every player was positioned as I would imagine.

I so wanted to own those speakers, mind you I would have needed an equally large treated room and the rest of the equipment to reproduce what I heard that night. I also could not have afforded them even though for what they did they were a real bargain.

The kicker is that he was not totally happy with them, and has gone onto other speakers, still better than these ones I have, very noticeably better. He is a perfectionist when it comes to speaker manufacturing.

 

I'm going to my first audio show in a few weeks (Axpona), and I can't wait to hear all those mega-buck systems. I fully expect to hear set-ups that smoke mine, but that's part of the fun. I feel like this hobby arouses insecurities more than others for some reason, especially considering even modest audiophile systems seem outrageous by civilian standards. Enjoy the music, audiophiles, someone's always going to have a better amp.

 

I don´t agree, not remotely close. Just listen to a voice that is recorded, and let the same person speak standing between the speakers, and shift to the recorded voice and you see what I mean, not even close.

 

G'day all, ok then allow me to phrase the question another way. What is the 'point' of high end, and what type of sound quality does it purport to achieve? Regards, Felix.

 

Here we go!

 

The point is a totally subjective one, totally. What is the point of drinking dear Whiskey? It´s a hobby Felix, in the scheme of things what does that mean.

 

Mate, you can disagree all you like, I know what I have heard.

 

This is what I heard that made me a believer, missan, in case you didn't see my edit.

 

If you're asking what it "purports" to achieve, read the reviews and the product information. We all know what hi end purports to achieve. Not sure what you're getting at.

 

Would be interesting to know what speakers that were.

Edit: I see You posted about the speakers. But You do understand they are very colored?

 

G'day all, I'm honestly not trying to stir, but what annoys me is seeing people being mislead and/or essentially ripped off.

My technical background was in telecommunications maintenance, an area where equipment had to be of high quality and more so, 'work' properly. Each to their own, of course but personally I'd rather have gear competently designed and constructed as a priority.

I'm all for high quality too, but I don't see the point of going beyond good op amps, WIMA capacitors, metal film resistors and low noise regulated power supplies, and by the way none of my DIY gear is a work of art, in fact most of it is pretty ugly, but it all works very well! Regards, Felix.