The essay by Steven Stone is a good one, but awfully ironic; he has long written reviews for The Absolute Sound, which mainly features coverage of very expensive hi-fi gear. Has Stone been over to Fremer's house? 😉
They know we will pay anything they can think of
Anyone have any idea how long ago Hifi manufacturers discovered we (audiophiles) will pay almost anything chasing our perfect sound? I individualized it because each of us are reaching for our own personal nirvana. You can go to any audio show, see someone point to a piece of equipment and ask the price. Out comes a price you know the rep made up while sitting in his office wondering how much he can ask those sick people to pay. We know advertising, manufacturing, and overhead is relatively expensive but we also know that the asking price should take care of that if he sells maybe 4 or 5 of them all year. Knowing that I have paid quite a bit for equipment over the years that I knew I shouldn't have but did anyway.
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I created my acoustic room with plumber tubes from my basements for 100 Helmholtz resonators... I used mechanical crossfeed to improve the holographic acoustic perception.. I used foldable screens as lenses and diffusors or absorbers or reflectors...And many other improvised devices at very low costs , a few bucks, nothing marketed as tweaks except springs and cheap Schumann generators i modified etc ... I lost my room... I dwelved then in my unloved 200 bucks small speakers i owned from 10 years ago or 12 and put them on computer function for all this time because i never bother to optimize them to begin with ...After the lost of my acoustic room i had no other choice nor any other speakers to work with save the unloved one ... I transformed them with cardboard and straws and isolation and damping and i put them in a small acoustic corner of my basement ... They go now from their unsufficient 85 hertz to 50 hertz which is enough 😁... My best optimization control was wood plates beside each speakers to mechanically decrease crosstalk in near field listening now... My system is so good in near listening i cannot quit the music imaging, timbre and soundstage... This small box system is better than my past headphones, with the exception of my main audiophile system now headphone based... How is the cost of audiophile experience ? Peanuts costs if you learn basic electrical, mechanical, and especially acoustical embeddings controls... By the way i am not an engineerr nor a very talented craftworthy person.... .But many experiments cost nothing and acoustic is fun to learn in its basic...Forget equations, experiment with the simple principles behind the equations and dont bother for perfection... We must learn how to hear using acoustic concepts applied... Audio is like medecine , learn to know your body needs and stay away from doctors if not chirurgically necessary; and learn acoustic basics and stay away from audio marketing.... Many people prefer to pay than to learn because it takes time and they prefer the power of money to knowledge..... Marketers count on this to make money...
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Time to become garage sale junkie driving around in pickup truck in the richest neighborhoods. You can get everything there even cheaper. I’m living example. I’ve forgotten path to hi-end dealer and I forgot an amazon and ebay link all together. How about a couple of B&W N3 for $400 per pair MINT? There's 88 years old dude with around 2b net-worth currently in the coma under the ventilator and he's got MBL speakers and components. His kids are both dumber then Coala bear and his wife has never been out of Rx drugs for the past few decades. Guess What's coming next... me offering 2 grand for entire set and if too low, I'll ad another 500. |
You are creative and we made our luck by staying attentive...Congratulations... Myself i need no more... I know exactly how to upgrade, with what and for the best cost... It is important to communicate these facts to help others not to throw money out of the windows in this difficult times... My speakers modified sound more than good, i will pass for the B&W even it is a deal ... 😊 If someone does not want to quit listening all his music files it is done deal acoustically for me ...I owned 9 headphones, dynamic, electrostatic and planar; i prefer my 200 hundred bucks speakers acoustically well embedded... No company can say and teach simple acoustic truth they will lost half their market.... They prefer to propose costly "upgrades"... By the way with the incoming world crisis, deals as this one will not lack...But who buy audio components in a world crisis ? I use music as a therapy... I listen this right now ( i am not religious by the way ) this sound spectacular on my small modified boxes... and therapeutic as revelatory 😉 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zENXZYhY_vs&t=4s
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@frankmc195 - I'm afraid all significant tax cuts have gone to those much wealthier than I am. |
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