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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?

128x128lgoler
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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