I don’t use the word "adore" or "love" when talking about stereo equipment. I like some pieces alot and others I don’t. Sorry those words are used for more precious and human things.
What Gear is Universally Adored?
I’m always on the lookout for gear that seems to be universally and widely adored. Such gear in my experience is difficult to go wrong with, despite the fact that we all have unique variables in our rooms, systems and tastes. My experience with such products seems to be consistent with what the consensus is. As I said these examples I believe are rare. My first encounter with this was when I had read near unanimous glowing adoration for the Gryphon Diablo 300 amp. Up to that point in my search I was ready to quit HiFi because the gear I was testing with home demos, including separates, wasn’t doing it for me. But after reading all the praise and an endorsement of the Diablo 300 at that price point from @jays_audio_lab , I went to demo the Diablo. To be honest I didn’t fall in love with it until the first moment I turned it on in my system in my space. But I totally love this amp I feel differently about it than any audio component I’ve ever owned, even expensive ones. I had the same experience with the Innuos PhoenixUSB and PhoenixNET devices, which are USB reclockers and network isolators, respectively. The PhoenixUSB in particular has seemingly almost unanimous praise and I see why (although one could argue it makes sense to step up to the top streamer from Innuos which includes the tech in one box, at least for the USB reclocker.
So, my question is, what other gear do we universally adore? I’m not talking about things we each adore - please don’t list those. I have very premium Nordost speaker cables that I love but I know not everyone loves these. That’s an example of what not to list in this thread.
To Start:
- Gryphon Diablo 300 Integrated amplifier
- Innuos PhoenixUSB USB Reclocker (I know some say it makes sense to step up to the top level Innuos streamer that includes this tech in one box, but that doesn’t stop everyone who has it from loving it. I love it as well)
- Herbie’s Audio Anti-Vibration footers. Bought these for my speakers and my experience is in line with all who have reported great things. I don’t have experience with other more pricey options.
- Chord M Scaler upsampler (I think? I struggle to find more than a handful that don’t like this device. I’ve not heard or used it. Yet.)
- Chord Dave DAC (haven’t heard myself)
What else belongs on this list???? Why I love such products is that our collective consistency of positive experience is greater. Meaning, you can be more assured (but certainly not entirely sure) of how you will feel about the product in your own system. Products called out should have unanimous pro reviews and most importantly must have lots of positive buzz in forums with little to no negative comments.
Also - it’s okay and even a good thing if Amir at Audiosciencereview says the product sucks balls.
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@2psyop , feel free to insert “like” if you so choose, and participate in the discussion. That is fine by me! And I as noted I am not looking for gear that you personally “like”, but rather, things you are aware of that the community universally “likes”. But thanks for reading my way-too-long post. Not sure this thread will go anywhere as it may be too open ended, but thought I’d try… |
I had both a DAVE and an M-Scaler and I sold them both. Something about the Chord sound just doesn't do it for me, so I guess it's not 'universal'! @yogiboy - you should see some of the McIntosh threads - some people just hate the brand and consider it totally overpriced for what it is. No opinion here, as I've not heard any, |
Interesting post nyev. For me, McIntosh preamps and power amplifiers, also Michell Engineering GyroDec TT with an SME IV or V tonearm. But, who can forget Tim de Paravicini designed Luxman C1000/M6000 combination, shear beauty IMHO, no idea what this combination sounds like, would love to own it though. As for speakers, who can forget the stunning looks and SQ of Gale GS401A speakers, here is what they look like: |
Thanks for the input! At the risk of derailing the thread, after having home demo’d McIntosh separates (c2600 and MC452 at the time) I personally would not count McIntosh in that group. I know it’s a beloved (or “well liked” if you prefer) brand by many, but that’s just my opinion which I know others share as is also referenced above. There are many who absolutely despise this brand (I don’t!). I was actually surprised as going into the home demos of several amps I expected to walk away buying the McIntosh stuff. I actually wanted to like it. My assessment was purely based on the merits of how much I liked or disliked the sound. Won’t get into it further as I know this is many people’s favourite brand (and also the brand many love to hate). But don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying McIntosh is bad, just that it doesn’t belong in this category considering that there are a large number of folks who specifically are not fans. Myself included. Also @2psyop , thanks for you input as well. Not sure of Magico can go on the list - if you search these forums you will see many love the sound and many don’t. Many find Magico dry, analytical, not musical enough. As I mentioned these products are very rare. It is very seldom that a product rises above everyone’s individual systems and tastes, with the community collectively aligning their praise of the product, with little to no naysayers. But it happens. And when it does, I pay attention! Regarding the M Scaler comments above, yes maybe it doesn’t belong on the list, if we are talking about using it with top end DACs. Same with the Innuos PhoenixUSB - it’s not required for top end streamers. But as far as I know everyone likes them when used with lesser DACs and streamers. |
@twoleftears , I agree with you, but I also did concede the caveat that “most” agree with very few naysayers. My Gryphon Diablo 300 integrated is like that, and it’s why I was looking into Gryphon in the first place. I think there is a very, very small number of folks who have posted that they found it a bit “dark” for their tastes. These few people are not wrong, the sound does slightly lean that way, but most including me seem to like it. Even these people who say it’s a bit dark often say great things about it but just that it doesn’t mesh with their tastes. It’s quite hard to find these comments amongst the sea of praise… Again, these products are very, very rare because we ARE a picky bunch, all with our own unique systems. I feel I am pickier than most (it’s been a struggle to find gear that I actually like), but I imagine we each feel that way about ourselves. I’ve had many experiences where I was wondering how a particular reviewer of a piece could possibly be hearing what they wrote about. |
@dweller I have to admit Nagra is not a brand I’m familiar with. A quick Google search suggests they have a long and storied history. I will definitely look into them. Thanks! |
My Nagra stack was acquired as used gear, but I like it, and the Haus-Boss likes the Feng Shui look. it is not a whole lot better than some other gear, but it is very good and dates back to around/before the Apollo moon program. |
Ah… no, I don’t think so @jjss49 if people want to blindly get gear that is more likely to be enjoyed, then the gear that is adored is more of a safe bet. Whether that is ARC, etc. doesn’t matter… we know that it is pretty likely to tick the boxes. it is the consequence of being subjectively good, that they ended up in the adored category. And here is a good example from @djones51 :
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I think there is a spectrum: -Gear that is “universally” adored. Note the quotes, as no gear is truly universally adored. -Gear that is liked by some and not by others -Gear that is polarizing - loved by some and despised by others (many speakers would fall into this category I think, like say Magico) -Gear that is universally despised. Actually this category may not exist because this gear would simply be taken off the market. Of course the likelihood of liking something is higher if it’s in the first category. The community was raving about the Diablo 300, and as soon as I heard in in my own system (after auditioning in-store as they have a no home demo policy), after being disappointed by many prior home auditions, I realized the community totally nailed it. It made me interested in whether other products are out there that are as widely compelling across a spectrum of people. I know I keep going on about the Diablo but it’s the thing that got me wondering about other revered products that may be out there. |
Lol…. Just to double down on my vote for Herbie’s anti vibe products. Just installed Herbie’s Tenderfeet under my gear and Giant Fat Dots under my wooden shelf (I had sliding spike decouplers under my speakers prior to this). These products do everything that the community raves about. As stated - the biggest improvement for the least dollars spent. My fully Herbified system has totally levelled up. Music is now impossible to not get into. I know there are many other more expensive vibration control products and I can’t speak to any of them. All I can say I’d that I agree with the swaths of audiophiles that swear by Herbie’s. There’s no doubt: Herbie’s is Universally Adored! |
holmz, your english seems good, no second language issues, so why argue the point?... ’universally’ means just that... i adore arc audio note c-j vandersteen rel magnepan and all the rest of the industry stalwarts, many many do, but to think absolutely everyone does, every time, is foolish one can buy a piece from these brands and have a decent chance they will work well in a system, but there is no guarantee... they can mismatch in a system just as any other... |
how long a component has been in production unchanged is probably a good way to define "adored." In which case, Denon's DL-103, the BBC's LS3/5a, Koetsu's Rosewood Signature, the Ohm Walch and F speakers, Klipsch "legacy" speakers, KEF's LS50, Audio Note (Japan)'s Ongaku amp, are just a few examples |
i agree others worth including are - spendor classic speakers - harbeths small and large - linn sondek table - for analog users, zerostat and cf record brush - naim xs series integrated - audio research 4/8x 6550/kt120/kt150 tube amps - air tight atm 1/2 tube amps - vandy 2/3 ce and sigs - cj 6dj8 based linestages and so on... largely adored, enduringly beloved by most
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@holmz - totally agree with you about 'World Series', when the only teams that can compete are US and Canadian, and for a long time, only US. I'm a Yank and I always thought that name was ridiculous. The World Cup, on the other hand, involves the whole world. |
Great nominations! Keep them coming. And even a good speaker nomination (Rockport speakers from @ronboco ). It does seem there is an unusually high number of folks praising Rockport (yes a few naysayers, but an impressively small number considering it’s a speaker, arguably the most subjective and personalized element in a system). Not to take away from the other speaker nominations. It’s just I’m familiar with the threads praising Rockport’s musicality with only one or two examples of a “meh” response.. |
@bigsecret I actually don’t think we can ever say “you can’t go wrong with component X”, I don’t think that’s ever a reality. I think we could say “You are not likely to go wrong with component X.”, but only for a precious few components that have overwhelmingly positive community praise substantiating it. |
No gear is “universally adored”. For that to be true, everyone would have to dig it. Name any example, and someone, somewhere out there hates it, and won’t mind saying so. I think @ghdprentice has it right. Some stuff is legendary. |
Well, I guess "universally admired" is a rather relative term, because many of the items I’m seeing listed are not admired by me because I haven’t even heard of them let alone actually HEARD them... though other people are free to admire them, of course, but that's not universal then, is it. Plus from what I can tell on this and other "audiophile" forums, there’s a wide range of opinion on what’s admirable. Personally, I particularly admire accessible lower-cost gear that nevertheless provides the purchaser with reliable, excellent and enjoyable everyday household use. I don’t particularly admire pieces enshrined in a hidden museum room nor higher priced items that don’t advance much over a lower-priced counterpart... sure, the 7-10k speakers that I heard recently when I went out auditioning sounded great, but really not much better, particularly in the mid and high frequencies, than speakers that I already own that I have less than 1k in... so, I can’t really admire a piece that costs 10x as much and offers MAYBE 10% "better" performance, if that, to my ears. I admire the engineering creativity that goes into excellent lower-cost gear, because throw enough money at something and sure you can get "great" given you have a competent engineering team but the real trick is maintain budget AND get results, particularly results in usable household form. But then, even "lower-cost" and "excellent" and even "enjoyable" and "budget" are relative terms too, aren’t they? |
I can think of a few. The items in bold are the ones I own today.
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@dvddesigner , thanks, and don’t mean to pick on you but I’ve set the bar higher than some of these brands (I’m not saying they are not great brands). It’s pretty easy to find examples online of those who dislike McIntosh and Wilson (I for one really like Wilson, I recently auditioned the Sasha DAW’s). I’m seeking those very rare products where there is a LOT of community buzz in favour of a product, and only one or two who aren’t really fans. I keep going back to the Gryphon Diablo 300. If you do a search on that you will see what I mean. Search for McIntosh and sure there is a lot of praise, but also a lot of people who really, really don’t like this brand. Same with Wilson to some extent (but I don’t get why!). Transparent is a great example, although I was more interested in specific gear/models than brands. And, I’m still sore over their refusal to loan me demo Opus cords when Audioquest and Shunyata both MADE me demos of their top of the line power cords (I went Audioquest Dragon in the end but Shunyata was close for sure). |
@nyev.... Re 9/23 2:11 am ....Great idea, the neighbors will approve... Don't forget to silicone spray or wax the framing, it helps with 'bounce' and 'squeekback'.... "Universally loved"....? Well, what you just alluded to, for the majority anyway. Audio anything? 🙄 I suspect 'maybe' the screws that hold things together. It's hard enough to get a quorum over the color of daylight....;) |
On your list where it mentions the Chord Dave and m-scaler, they seem to fall in the marmite camp of love or hate. A better fit would be their Qutest product - it's cheap and cheerful with the base elements of the more expensive products, and nobody seems to have a bad word to say about it, if you Google 'Qutest Reviews' they are universally glowing. That helped me decide to buy one. |
curtdr +1 Some of the above above brands are not so " adorable" when they crap out. obscure brands = small sample size = low hate factor Popular brands = large sample size = higher hate factor Also ( some) audiophiles just like to stir the pot and have opinions on stuff they have never listened too. It is also quite presumptuous to say something someone else owns is no good But what you have is.
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@tom23 , you are right - maybe Chord Dave and M Scaler don’t fall into this grouping. What DACs in the range of Dave have overwhelming praise from the community, and hardly any that don’t like it? Maybe there aren’t any? |