@elizabeth spraketh thus:
Stop believing anything some other idiot writes
"Other idiot?" Hahahaha.
But overall her post is well taken. As many here may remember, I make my own speakers. I have enough measurement gear here to tell me exactly what the components are doing through the design and development phase, right up to the point I put them on a stand. But my tools don’t buy speakers. I do. Therefore I spend money which my experience, not my tools, say is worthwhile. I encourage others to do the same.
This is also the path to personal satisfaction and cost savings. Once you let go of guru's and money being at all indicative of how much musical satisfaction a product will offer, you can be an amazing audiophile on the cheap! :)
What I find interesting is how many times I’ve seen a poster come here, looking for a guru, because (as an example) they’ve tried power cable A and B and don’t know which one sounds better, so they need to come here and ask someone. Our very culture encourages us to disbelieve our own senses. If you can’t tell a difference between A and B, assuming equal reliability and safety, for goodness sakes, buy the cheaper one!
On a related note: Talking tech is a whole lot of fun, but again, it’s the experience that matters. Silk vs. ceramic dome’s, Class A vs. Class D, fun to talk about, but let’s not get caught up in it. In the end, it’s what you hear and see that should make the sale. Not the Gallium Cyanide (or whatever) transistors were just used by brand X.
There is one thing I am religious about though: Every audiophile should build their own speaker at least once in their hobby life. It is a transforming experience and our hobby will be better for it. Ready to assemble kits are inexpensive and easy to make.
Best,
E