Finally, a view I can agree with...

steveinaz

Hi-end/mid-fi, and pretend hi-end:
http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/1194awsi2/

"Components primarily designed to meet the needs of audiophiles and music-lovers are worthy of the appellation "high-end," no matter what they cost."

About time somebody said it. Audio snobs take note.

Jstas

He said it in like 1994.

Still relevant though.

markmarc

Even more relevant now if you ask me. I just wish JA had written more on the subject, it seemed too short.

Early B.

steveinaz wrote: »

"Components primarily designed to meet the needs of audiophiles and music-lovers are worthy of the appellation "high-end," no matter what they cost."

Sounds similar to my mantra -- "Price don't mean a damn thing in audio..."

At some point many of us have upgraded by downsizing (price-wise). Hell, I've done that three times in the past couple of months. Lower cost, better sound.

In fact, I'll go so far as to say -- "If an audio component costs more than you can actually afford, there's probably a better unit somewhere out there at half the price. You just gotta know where to look."

MacLeod

I think that to a point, you get what you pay for. A $100 speaker will almost always sound worse than a $300 speaker.

However I do believe that there is a point where youre not really getting any more performance for your dollar. Take the Focal Grande Utopias for $100,000 a pair! Could a speaker really sound $100,000 good?

beardog03

yes !






well maybe 37 grand !



High end to me means it`s solid built with all the quality I expect from my gear.....

not the price tag

hearingimpared

High end to me means that the designer listens or has someone with musical abilities to listen to the gear designed and manufactured to make sure that the tone produced is as close to the instruments or vocals as can be. Of course high quality falls in there too.

There are quite a few out there that do that and they DO NOT charge exhorbitant amounts of muula for the gear.

Gaara

It depends how you use the words as well. I was under the impression that high-end was synonymous with high cost, as in the high end of the price spectrum.

High-fi does not necessarily need to be expensive, but high-end by definition is. I guess my interpretation is flawed.

steveinaz

While it is true (and common sense) that better components cost more to assemble/build, there is a lot of very expensive stuff out there that just cannot justify it's price. In my opinion there are 2 elements that make something hi-fi; 1) Specifications [does the item have the electronic capability to accurately reproduce music without audible distortion] 2) Tonal character [does it suffer from any anomolies that make it sound unnatural]. Barring any obvious problems, number "2" is reserved strictly for subjectivity between listeners.

With todays technology, both of these requirements can easily be satisfied without putting a second mortgage on the house.

MGPK

What gets me about people buying high-end audio gear is the ignorance involved when it comes to connecting the components together. After spending their hard earned money for these components, they believe there are some deficiencies to these components and then spend almost as much money on cables believing that it will bring some sort of perfect aural harmony without understanding neutrality.

Then, after discussing with fellow audiophiles regarding cables to solicit differing opinions, they will try soooo many different type of cables only to say that they do make a difference and they do if you want to color the sound of your system. After trying various brands, they lose track of what the system should sound like and then become very confused as to what to buy, they become like rats in a maze trying to choose their own direction.

People should focus on more relevant issues such as: the merits of the products they purchased and if they do want to optimize the system they have, focus on your room acoustics and learn about the science of audio and friggin enjoy your system for what it's worth and lose the OCD regarding tweaks.