Latest Absolute Sound

devilboy: you have some good points.  I am fortunate to live in Denver and have access to an international show like RMAF each October.  

Your comments got me thinking about my process to find gear.  I do admit that I often read about a piece of gear in TAS and then begin my independent search which includes searching the Audiogon forums for said product or class of product.  I then Google "review" of said products as another source of information.  I am often able to find a consensus of people who will say positive things about an item and more importantly describe characteristics I am looking for in something.  Just today I am searching for a "bang for the buck" rack.  I searched Audiogon and was able to find a number of brands I had never even heard of or seen advertised for that matter.  I then reviewed their websites and then found independent reviews.  I was very excited about Symposium racks until I read a few people thought it made their system sound "bright".  That is a characteristic I am trying to avoid so I moved on in my search.  The point is there is no shortage of information and opinions about most anything.  The challenge today is to determine what is truly "independent" and muddle through the vast amounts of information.  I am very pleased I found Audiogon as it has proved to be an invaluable resource for me getting back into this hobby at a much higher level than in the past.

Take care and thanks to all who contribute their experiences on Audiogon.  

"Vienna Acoustics played its top-of-the-line $33k Klimt “The Music” 3.5-way floorstander driven byChord electronics. The combo produced a dark, rich, lovely sound, with good midrange presence and top-end brilliance. A little vague in imaging, a little exaggerated in the bass, and not the last word in transient speed, “The Music” was nonetheless enjoyable to listen to."
- Jonathan Valin's(TAS) report from the CES.  

The key word here is enjoyable, and yes, almost 7 years from the first day in my home, The Music speakers are still very enjoyable indeed.

@mmporsche: If looking for a rack, check out Audio Elegance. I have a three tier, double wide rack called "the lowboy". It's beautiful, IMO. It was far cheaper than some of the other multi-thousand dollar racks I've seen but won't mention here.  However, it doesn't offer any vibration control or absorption. For that I use separate products and put them on the shelf. 
Google the company and you'll see different finish options as well.
You can see it in my virtual systems. 
Hope this helps and good luck with everything!

OK I'm defended Taters in his hip hop thread but now I see his is rabel rousing (politely though)
First I think some of the recent TAS issues have been fantastic.   All gear I wanted to read about or have heard.    I truly enjoy reading (and hearing) cost no object designs.  It's fun to learn about all tiny little things designers attempt to eek out better performance, but I also enjoy leaning about. Electronics and physics.  I'm also a fan of the TV show How it's made.  
The cutting edge designs often find their way into "affordable" products and knowing about the bleeding edge helps one to decide which products in their price range they are Interested in.    Can't afford TAD speakers?  Knowing about them leads you to other Andrew Jones designs that are affordable to the masses.    
Regarding the RH review of the Neolith's, I'm sure they sounded excellent in his system/room even though I thought they sounded quite poor the audio show in Westchester NY recently.
Audio design(with computer  modeling) has evolved so much that most of the products are now quite good and much less colored than in the past.   The best Solid state and tube now often  sound much more similar, as an example.    That's why there are so few poor reviews.   With all the great gear for sale at every price point, why would a reviewer choose an under performer to write about.  

Should we trust RH's ears? I would for now until my own ears get to savor all that has been described so far about MQA.

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/from-the-editor-mqa-on-the-threshold/

J. :)