An audiophile dilemma

.I wasn't aware that anyone compared a $129 dollar receiver to a $20,000 amp..

they don't now, they did back in the day of honest researchers.. I think the brands were pioneer and Krell, but I can't be sure.

why do you say everything twice?

"Only if you can see the equipment, will you be able to 'hear' the imagined differences / deficiencies. Put everything out of sight and NO ONE can tell or hear a difference. Not wanting to revisit this 'sensitive' subject, except that there might be new people here who do not know the history of blind testing."

But this isn't at all accurate. Harman in particular has done a lot of controlled blind comparisons of loudspeakers, and not only can panelists hear the differences, all but those with hearing deficiencies rank them in the same relative order, whether they're audiophiles or not. Some other speaker manufacturers, including high end manufacturers, use blind listening tests as well.

I gotta wonder, on the basis of your earlier comment, whether you've actually heard a great speaker.

R2K - For years you've been making these nonsensical comments about audio gear, you DO realize this is a site dedicated to audio, don't you? Obviously the answer is yes, so the question than becomes WHY have you been hanging on this site for so long if you have such a negative view about it all? Here's why:

"In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion".

Rok2id, you said, at the beginning of this thread:

"Are those high end (and very expensive) speakers really better than the JBL's?

"All things considered, NO! The media we are playing was not recorded by God. None of it sounds live. So why spend a lot of your hard earned money trying to reproduce imperfections mo better! I am considering JBL myself. I have owned JBLs model: L-150 and 4311 and LX-44. loved them all."

And my response to that is what I said -- have you ever actually *heard* a great loudspeaker? Because I can assure you, what they do isn't just a matter of reproducing imperfections better. And while I could describe in great detail what they do better, it shouldn't be necessary, because it's so obvious to anyone who listens.