1-Where did you hear the best ...


"Theory is when you know everything but nothing works. Practice is when everything works but no one knows why. In our lab, theory and practice are combined: nothing works and no one knows why."


1-Where did you hear the very best sound(s) system(s)?  

 i- In a show  ii- In a store  iii- In a private place               Please elaborate.


2-Where do you believe we can mostly find the best sound systems between the three aforementioned places?

i- In shows
( maybe because they can take the time to put together cost no object components synergistically ... )

ii- In stores
( maybe because they have the expertise and time to build excellent systems and have plenty of time to implement it in a decent acoustic environment ... )

iii-In private places
( maybe because some people are wealthy enough, competent enough, passionate enough and have time enough ...  And, of course, being wealthy, competent and passionate means they do benefit of an excellent dedicated room ... )


3- Do you think that most of the very serious audiophiles are doing better than the stores where they bought their equipment ? ( I know, most of the time we ended up buying our components from various places but, let's compare our systems with comparable ( pricewise ) offerings we can find in stores ... )

Do you think you are personally doing better than stores?


In theory, we might have an idea of the answer of question number 2, while question number 1 refers to practice ... Question number 3 being in fact a logical consequence of the two previous ones ...


4- Which best sound system would you like to hear? 



Gentlemen, you start first!

All right, quickly

1- ii & iii
2-iii
3-no
4- I'm still thinking !!!


It is my first thread which I am starting, please don't be too rude with me!
128x128effer
Sometimes, complaining is their first raison d'être ...

This could be an entire thread by itself: Sound quality at shows ... 


One of the best system I have heard was in a store ( in Montréal ). I do not recall exactly every component but it mainly consisted of Audio Research preamp and amp with Sonus Faber speakers and the Kronos turntable.

It was exquisite.  I only heard a couple of pieces of chamber music and jazz but it was very very good ... 

There was another store downtown with the KEF Blades and Chord electronics in a huge dedicated room ... I would have liked to hear that system ... 
1. Many years ago (30?) I heard the original Apogee speaker at a HiFi show in London, monster Krell amps playing Steely Dan's Gaucho "Hey Nineteen". I can still remember the sound today, as good as it gets, I thought.

2. Fast forward to December 2014 and I heard this system (Magico Q7 speakers and Solution electronics) at a HiFi store in The Netherlands:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/2c-hifi-epiphany-worlds-best-system

Now, that was a revelation, definitely as good as I am ever going to hear!

3. A step down from the above, at about 1/25 of the cost, is a TT system I assembled this year. Turntable is a Michell Engineering GyroDec (full plinth, not the SE version) with an SME IV tonearm and Clear Audio Maestro V2 Ebony cartridge. Preamp is a McIntosh C50 with a McIntosh MC275-MK VI tube power amp. The whole system sits on a custom made Core Audio plyKraft 3L stand. And now for the really interesting bit; speakers are a pair of fully refurbished  Gale GS401A's. For those of you not familiar with Gale speakers here is a link:

http://www.vintagegale.com/index.php

See my previous post on this system:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/second-system-that-sounds-and-looks-spectacular-i-am-there

I could not be happier with this system and certainly have no plans to change it. So overall, at a sensible budget, this is the best system I have ever heard and it looks stunningly beautiful IMHO. Best of all, it is mine!