That is... "many that do not measure well, do sound well..."
Does Anyone Buy Schiit for the Sake of Schiit?
Most of us I think when buying something where workmanship and materials are less critical than price will go to a discount store like Walmart of Target (I think we've all heard they about calling it Tar-zhay because it's classier than Walmart) or Costco - the sort of stores where what you buy is not the best but it's always good for what you pay for it. I'm wondering, is Schiit the audio equivalent of Target? That is, does anyone buy it because the Schiit gear is particularly good, or merely that it's good for the price? The only Schiit product that I've ever bought is the Asgard as a headphone amp, since I don't use headphones that often, and I wasn't going to put a lot of money into it. Actually, I tried the Vali 2+ at first, and that seemed rather inadequate, so I sent it back and got the Asgard instead. It seems good enough, though I don't have much to compare it to, but it seems to struggle a bit in getting to higher volume levels.
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My Schiit Aegir has won the day in multiple battles against seemingly sure victors, including Pass XA30.8, Van Alstine M225s… I learned there’s a reason the Aegir is on the Stereophile Class A recommendation list, and it’s not for “savin ya a dollar!” The lower cost is just icing on the cake, albeit glorious icing for sure. And my Yggdrasil OG provides amazing sound as well. There is absolutely nothing cheap quality-wise about Schiit products. |
If I can act as referee of my own thread, I think the result is that there are indeed people who do buy Schiit for the sake of Schiit. I think it would have been a little less obtuse of me to look at the price range of Schiit products. They make an amp for $1499 and a DAC for $2199, which would be a mid-level product for more conventional audio manufacturers, but the overwhelming majority of their products are in the $500 or less range, which means the actual field in which they compete is makers who concentrate on gear in that range, of which there are several. In their chosen field they are indeed a major player, both in quality and price. I would also like to emphasize that I didn't necessarily pose the question thinking one answer or the other was more likely. |
Depends on what is meant by ridiculous. Some goods are purchased precisely and deliberately because they are expensive. What you actually get, including quality, may not be predominate motive. This violates normal micro economic theory and common observation, but may be sort of explained. I think an important consideration in audio gear is that the price is a signal in itself of quality; this is not that unreasonable. No short-cuts or compromises have been made with those thick front panels. The snob effect is well known. There are other reasons, perhaps overlapping (conspicuous consumption, brand name, made in America - which of course Schiit is, etc), but that is a taste. In the meantime, it does appear ridiculous, I agree. My amp goes to 11. These kind of goods have a name, by the way - veblen goods, and they are everywhere.
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noske good points all around. I suppose a certain level of snobbery can be found with other "things" other than audio ie clothes, cars, homes etc. But in the end, live and let live. Whatever someone wants to spend on audio does not really affect me, we live in a world where advertising and psychological persuasion is everywhere. Often people are influenced to believe if you have the "exquisite gold plated widgit" you are more important or more beautiful or more something. And also society, as a whole, buys into that. |
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