Law of Accelerated Returns
I think back over the many decades of pursuing high end audio and I realize some of the most inspirational were listening to state of the art systems. Systems I could never dream of affording. I occasionally would get up early and drive the two hours to Phoenix in hopes of finding no one listening to the state of the art system in “the big room” at one of the four or five high end audio stores there in the early ‘90’s.
One such time I was able to spend over an hour with the most amazing system I have ever heard: Wilson WAAM BAMM (or something like that… all Rowland electronics, Transparent interconnects). The system cost about over $.5 million… now, over a million… although I am sure it is even better (I can’t imagine how)..
But listening to that system was so mind blowing… so much better than anything I could conceive of, it just completely changed my expectation of what a system could be. It was orders of magnitude better than anything I had heard.
Interestingly, as impressed as I was… I did not want “that” sound, as much as I appreciated it. It still expanded my horizon as to what is possible. That is really important, as it is really easy to make judgments on what you have heard and not realize the possibilities… like never having left the small town in Kansas (no offense).
I keep reading these posts about diminishing returns. That isn’t the way it works. I recently read an article by Robert Harley in The Absolute Sound called the Law of Accelerated Returns that captures the concept perfectly. March 2022 issue. The possibilities in high end audio is incredible. Everyone interested in it in any way deserves to hear what is possible. It is mind expanding.
@jerryg123 nice! Have not heard the shorts but I like the price and specs listed and all the Walsh speakers basically sound the same. Just a matter of how big a room and how much bass needed. Did you get a delivery time estimate? I read Ohm was pretty backlogged according to the site recently. |
! (Hey, @mapman! This makes the 2nd time I said pull a trigger on an Ohm pair, and they Did! *blown into dust bunnies*L*) (NO, I am not a rep. Far from it... I DIY more to the patent and the original Walsh omni’s... US patent/US3424873...go look. Ohm is #1, I’m #6....) Not trying outdo Dale @ HHR, who told me my alum was too thick...("I know....working on that...") (2mil alum and titanium...👌....now....) He’s full-range like the originals, whereas I’m off on a tangent...as usual...*G* They’ll appreciate a sub that’s small....mine do, in a small (8’ h. x d. x 18’ w.) ’office’ space, vaguely centered on the 18’....playing now, as I tap this out...*S* ( I've a Sony sub, likely a 6"...enough...*s*) "We" hope and trust you’ll be charmed if not converted. ;) *LOL* A fav of mine on mine....long time fan of the AON... this has some nice ’air’ about it, and Anne Dudley on keyboards with the late great John Hurt as the narrator (...and Finally, a ’cleaner’ version as on Spotify....) ought to be a fun listen. If that don’t loosen your wig, how about an attack by the Guitar Army? *snicker*
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Accelerated Return (AR) and Diminished Return (DR) can be illustrated in a logistic graph as shown below. When applied onto the stereo system, AR often occurs at lower priced system before the linear region where the increase in price yields approximately equally "perceived" performance such as SQ, while DR occurs after that linear region from the higher priced system. Observiously, this utility curve varies from individual to individual, from rich to poor, and from audiophile to music listener, but in general follows a logistic-growth like pattern. I personally went from the very bottom of the curve and now got lost / confused somewhere in the DR region. However, I enjoy every minute / hour being lost in the quest of more refined system.
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