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Art Dudley Calls B.S. but without naming names - PLEASE DO!

Hey all,

As someone who hasn't been reading the audiophile press for all that long, I stumbled upon this article that I'm sure it lit up these airwaves when it was first published: https://www.stereophile.com/content/skin-deep

It's a great article and one that any knowledgeable person would most likely agree with, but hey, spending your own hard-earned (or inherited) money is a right and a privilege.  Art does call out some brands that he perceives to give great value:  AMVR, VPL, Conrad-Johnson, DeVore and Harbeth and Kimber and Peachtree and Quicksilver and Rega and Rogue and Spendor and Wavelength.  Shouldn't NAD be on this list?  

But what he doesn't do and I think is warranted, is name the companies that are most egregious in selling high-end products where the performance is far below the cost.  

I, for one, would love to see a list of those manufacturers from the people who read this forum.  You can group them by what they manufacture or just put them in order as you see fit.  I think it would be most helpful in calling b.s. but with "added-value", which is what this whole article was all about.  Right?

lgoler
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hifiman5's avatar
hifiman5
1,832 posts
 
Interesting how it seems that the luster has worn off many people's perceptions of Audio Research gear.  Years ago I rarely read anything but glowing comments about their offerings.  I have a friend who has their large all tube mono blocks and they sound great!

My only personal experience was auditioning an LS7 preamp many years ago.  There was a slight but perceptible "glaze" to the sound of that inexpensive piece that turned me off.  cj won me over!
spinaker01
491 posts
 
WC Fields said I think
raindance
56 posts
 
@andrewmg - I tried a Cary Audio preamp once. It was really noisy and had a ton of crosstalk between inputs. When I opened it up I realized why. Very poor PCB layout with ridiculously long traces and no ground traces between them.

I also did some analysis of the much loved CJ PV12 line stage. It had a circuit designed for 12AX7 tubes but they put 12AU7's in to lower the gain. They were biased in a totally non linear region at the bottom of the curves. It also oscillated for no reason at all.
honeybee2012
112 posts
 
Well, I like my high end  as much as the next person, but I do object when audio companies attempt to cheat the consumer.   There is a 21 (and growing) page thread on computeraudiophile.com pertaining to claims that a well known cable company was fiddling with sound levels during a recent power card demo for the Los Angeles Orange County Audio Soc.  True? I was not there, but it sure gives me pause.
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