The Snob Appeal Premium
I have learned that speakers are a typical victim of "Designer Label Syndrome". Supposedly an $8 billion a year market (hard to believe) speakers are fairly simple beasts with little substantive improvements over the last 50 years. Ever since Paul Klipsch ( a character in his own right) read the Bell Labs 1934 papers and revolutionized speaker technology there have been few similar revolutionary improvements to the speaker. So- if you are an enterprising manufacturer of speakers (which are relatively cheap to build) how do you extract more and more money from the consumer ? Answer: Synthetic demand driven by cachet' ! Like a pair of Louis Vuitton sneakers @ $650 a pair vs. New Balance runners @ 60/pr. It's snobby bragging rights stuff I'm describing here- perceived vs. actual value in a product.
Here's an anecdotal example:
I recently set out to build a high end mid-fi system (ARC preamp, power amp, Dac 9) for a large room "main house" (not a listening room) system. The goal was big, full, rich sound in a room full of furniture, chow dogs, kids and untreatable other things like 20 foot ceilings, multiple openings such as a balcony to the upstairs bedrooms, etc. Basically an audiophile's nightmare.
I auditioned a number of speakers- Perlistens supported by JL Fathom subs, B&W Signatures, Bryston Model Ts, Vienna Acoustics Mahlers and Bethovens. IMO all of these are somewhat similar towers (except the Perlistens). The price point was not as important as the sound- given the limitations of the application.
In the shopping for new or used I found a number of odd prices. The most unusual finding was a brand new set of Model Ts here in Audiogon advertised for $4K with a 20 year factory warranty. The dealer had one slide around of his hand truck and it put white paint smears on a corner of the Boston Cherry cabinet. Hmmm- 4 grand vs. 12 grand for a small fixable cosmetic flaw? I bought them. They sound fantastic. Some elbow grease and a furniture marker pen made the flaw vanish.
I asked the dealer (Paul Kraft in Easton PA- great guy BTW) why the Audiogon Blue Book for a Model T was so low. His answer was "snob appeal". Apparently there is a big bragging rights premium paid for having the UFO looking B&W Signatures vs what the snobs call the Bryston Model Ts "Axioms in a fancy suit". I later learned that there are some prominent reviewers who refuse to listen to A/B speaker comparisons behind a silk curtain unless they know what brand is being scrutinized. To me that means "payola".
Do the Model Ts sound better to me than the Mahlers, Bethovens, B&Ws? No. But they don't sound worse either (in my application). Do the above sound $8,000-$14,000 better than the Brystons in the listening rooms of the dealers? IMO NO WAY. To be fair price/value does color my perception much like a bottle of $40 Rumbauer Zin tastes better to me than $200 Silver Oak expense account wine.
I'm guessing this post will anger brand snobs and garner snarky comments because their taste in sound is different than mine. Although this missive is really about personal perceptions of value v. sound I found my education on pricing fascinating and I feel great about finding amazing value in the brand new Model T's that needed 30 minutes of TLC to be at home in my family room.
Moral of the story: Try em before you buy em, and look for value. It's fun and rewarding with no buyers remorse.
To me, you are the essence of a true audiophile. Someone that is passionate about sound quality / music and makes concessions in other parts of their life to achieve the best possible sound for you. I had a cheap used Datson 1200 car for fifteen years (20 - 35), and bought the cheapest TP, but bought a new a cutting edge Threshold amplifier (costing over 5 times what my car costs). No snobbery, just passion. |
I'd be very interested in your impressions, even if brief, of the speakers on that impressive list! Cheers. |
ghdprentice, I totally get it... also have driven some real turds ..... when I had a young family I was very fiscally responsible to make sure they had everything they needed. Always put them first .... now they are adults and ask for nothing. But.... I love quality gear. I am fortunate to have just taken in a pair of Sonus Faber monitors. They sound fantastic. They are 20 + years old , but you would never know it. Look and sound amazing. When.I listen to speakers of this calibre it validates the old saying " you get what you pay for " I was going to sell these but it is nice being able to rotate speakers. I am having a pair of Omegas built so I am using these for the time being . The goal of my bedroom system was : not to break the bank , compact , good sound, convenient I took a chance and bought a new Cyrus i7XR that was on closeout. I’m staring at it right now and am amazed how good this little shoe box sized amp sounds. I am definitely keeping this one. Built in DAC , phono, remote, AV mode and a bunch of other great and unique features. It’s in my main listening room right now. Plays nice with my Forte too...
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YG acoustics Carmel 2, YG acoustics Hailey 2.2, YG Sonja 2.2 YG is very flat, need a ton of power and kind of a huge studio monitor but never harsh. Vivid Kaya 25 & 45, Vivid Giya G1 and G2 vivid are like open baffle speakers bolted on different size subs and blended better than you can blend with subs. Sideways bass drivers don’t mess with room as much and dig down deeper than advertised frequency response. Easy to drive 6 ohm loads. Dynamikks Athos 10 (best bang per buck) They are concentric Horns around a midrange. Great highs and magical mids. Bass dies at about 35 htz. They need subs. Magico A5 & Magico S5…A5 is a bit bright and lacks a little bass but is not thin. The S5 has a we bit more bass and a shittier midrange. Kharma Exquisite Midi 3.0 boomy bass perfect mids and highs but a disappointing mess that’s not controlled down low. Wilson Alexx V, Wilson Alexia V, Wilson Sash DAW Alexia-V and Alexx-V solid build, colored midrange but nice and warm…tons of bass and depending on set up can be boomy obnoxious to glorious. Highs are adequate but not enough sparkle. The Vivids crush them like grapefruits. Raidho TD 3.8, Raidho D3 amazing speakers but Td3.8 a bit boomy. The older D3 is better and has better control.
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Thank you very much @pennfootball71 I've been curious about the YG speakers (not in the market) and will finally hear some soon at a friend's place. I'm familiar with the Vivid Audio speakers sound. "Vivid" they are! I auditioned the Magico A3 and found it somewhat disapointing. Disappeared nicely, was pretty boxless and detailed, but sort of boring and dynamically limp, with slightly over-ripe bass. Your Kharma remarks mirror what I heard when I auditioned Kharma speakers. They were dark, rich, relaxed, grain-free, but overblown in the bass. I also found some Raidho stand mounted monitors to be a bit too colored, scooped in the mids and a bit obnoxious in the bass. I've always wanted to hear Borreson speakers and your impressions are a surprise! Strangely, Wilson speakers have managed to hide from me for years and years. I just never encounter them anywhere! |
