I’ll relate two experiences that I think illustrate the difference. Both experiences occurred while demoing speakers - though at different stores. First experience - I was listening to Paradigm Signature speakers (I don’t remember the specific model but it was their biggest and best and I’m guessing the year was around 2015. I thought they sounded pretty nice - not great, They were in my budget at the time and under consideration. I made the mistake of having the dealer move the speaker cables to another speaker - above my set budget. Everything else was the same (obviously positioning was a bit different - but it was a big room). I came away discouraged as the music was so much clearer. What previously sounded resolving and full range now sounded congested and lacking impact. The different in mid range clarity was proverbially night and day. I didn’t buy the Paradigms but came away with lesson 1 that you can get more by going upstream. It’s not all fancy cabinetry. The second experience came when at a dealer to audition some electronics. The dealer was playing it through Rockports. It would have been about 2018. The Rockports being played were about $30k according to memory. I thought they were fantastic in every regard. But, the dealer also had the model up. I asked the difference and he said “just more of everything”. I had him play them. Again - same everything accept for placement. The difference in price? Another $15k. The dealer was right. More midrange clarity. Effortless and musical. Two speakers from the same manufacturer - already expensive. Similar looking cabinets, too. And, the difference would have been obvious to anyone. Had I the room and the budget, they’d be in my living room today. BTW - none of the above would have been revealed by measurements. In all cases, the speakers were essentially full range and measure well. More expensive isn’t always better, but let’s not cheapen the significant efforts by some honest builders to make something better. It takes effort and skill.
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One day when the virus contagion is under control there will be these events called "audio shows" again. I highly recommend Axpona. It gives all of us the opportunity to hear the range of moderate to cost-no-object systems. Many times the extremely expensive systems are set up in larger rooms so that the room is not such a limiting factor. I have attended. I came away with the conclusion that the most expensive loudspeakers looked and sounded impressive but were not likely to provide much if any greater long-term joy or accurate recreation of the recording. At the last Axpona held in 2019 my favorite loudspeakers were the Audio Notes, Volti’s, and Devore Orangutans despite having listened to several far more expensive loudspeakers. JA evidently thought this was the best sounding system https://www.stereophile.com/content/jas-best-sound-axpona-mbl-n31-dac-n15-monoblocks-101e-mk2-speakers-wireworld-cables I listened to it and felt like I was in a carnival; sound was coming from everywhere and it left me feeling uneasy and I was not reminded of live music or real music. In summary, going to audio shows like Axpona is perversely rewarding because assuming you come away with the same impressions I did you will see that the rich have more expensive loudspeakers but don’t likely get better sound.
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