Is it possible for something to be the best?

There is always a best in every category. If you don't believe me, simply as a manufacturer of any product and they'll surely be able to tell you what is best and why : ) Sean
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Sean, if I asked every maker line level pre-amps which is best each one will have a reason why theirs is it.
I didn't start this thread to make a mockery of all the equipment out there or marginalize everyones system. I just wonder if it's possible for anything to really be the best. As an example; SETs measure badly but sound great, at least to their buyers. If both of those statements are true can SETs ever be considered to be the best?
It has been said that pursuing sensation dulls the feelings. Is pursuing the best system actually dulling our ability to enjoy listening to music?

No, there is no "best." It would be undemocratic and elitist to think so!

At the very most there is a "best of the moment" which closely resembles Andy Warhol's comment that "we will all be famous for 15 minutes." Fortunately, for the manufacturerers this is just long enough for us to have spent our money. Unfortunately, when the moment passes you are likely stuck with yesterday's hype and nothing goes stale faster than yesterday's hype.

Time to upgrade!!

Sincerely
I remain,

Twl is right on; no absolute best is possible. Best for your music, in your room, for your taste, at your budget? Yes, you can accompish that - just be prepared to be open minded and do a lot of listening. An important point to remember: each of us hear and perceive music differently, so the best for one person is probably not the best for another. This is undoubtedly why high end audio is such an intriguing hobby; there are so many choices and such differing points of view.

If by chance you do someday find "the best" system, please repost and let us all know what it is so the rest of us can immediately re-mortgage our houses and jump on the bandwagon!

Nrchy, with a moniker like that, i assumed that you wouldn't mind someone throwing a little "chaos" into your thread : )

Honestly though, i have messed around with enough gear to come to the conclusion that there is no "best". It is how each individual component melds together in the system. I have heard "top notch" components assembled into a system that sounded like crap. I've also heard systems composed of "budget" gear that absolutely smoked. As such, i've come to put less faith in reputation / brand names / individual performance and learned to live by trial and error. The only thing that brand names / reputation / individual performance may give you is an idea of what the house sound of that company may be. Whether or not you like it or it is compatible with the rest of your system would be personal. As was mentioned earlier in the thread, that would make it someone's "personal best within the confines of that system in that room". Whether or not someone could duplicate those same results with an identical system in another room with different AC is another story. There can be a "best" under only VERY specific conditions. Sean
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