wow, there are some great points here. especially about leasing audio equipment.
if only the equipment makers had consciously employed the 'planned obsolescence' strategy of american carmakers, the industry would be in better shape? i suppose that means we can be thankful for the concern for good sound, rather than just profit.
the fact is, i think the market for used components kind of obscures the fact that a good sounding system is extremely easy to put together these days, even for under $1000. as someone above has suggested. obviously what keeps all the hairshirt super high end brands in business is the rather unrealistic pursuit of sound which is indistinguishable from live. this is truly a holy grail, in the sense of barely attainable, yet the idea sends the faithful out on crusades of buying, trying, trading, and tweaking, only to be disappointed by something, somewhere along the line.
still i admire the fact that so many talented people have ventured out into the business of making a better mousetrap.
meanwhile the companies big enough to have a business plan have come up with their version of planned obsolescence, that is, the constant mkII-ing and mkIII-ing and 30.5ing, companies like Audio Research and Madrigal. They're asking you, no, 'brown-mailing' you to be customers for life. Look at John Atkinson of Stereophile. He's been on the Madrigal upgrade path for over ten years, I can't imagine he has any spending money left (of course, he gets his for half price). I don't think Madrigal would have the cake to have brought out its reference series if they hadn't had a steady source of support and advertisement from the editor of a major, influential magazine. having heard ml gear, i honestly don't like the sound very much, even if it is very impressive. i even suspect that the fact that solid state just doesn't connect listeners to the music very well is responsible for the pentagon-like level of expenditure plowed into making solid state even palatable, thus cyanate ester circuitboards in ml amps. and still, does anyone actually enjoy their reference systems, as opposed to being able to hear a oboeist clear her throat while the trombones go full tilt?
i like the underground guys who make good sounding products at low prices, all the little SE tube internet direct guys out there who are telling us to wake up, get some sensitive speakers, and enjoy the updated technology of 1910.
am I rambling? sorry, I just figured it would be entertaining.
meanwhile, audiophiles discussing the viscissitudes of components and their sound has become rather like medeival monks heatedly discussing the number of angels who could cohabit a pin. interesting for the initiated, but irrelevant and decadent as far as the rest of the world is concerned.
meanwhile, our president is discussing the best and perhaps sneakiest way to the destruction of those dams muslims in the middle east who just don't seem too interested in signing on to the consumer economy.
i guess its as good an opportunity as ever to immerse ourselves in the trivia of audio system matching.
thanks and peace guys (and gals)
if only the equipment makers had consciously employed the 'planned obsolescence' strategy of american carmakers, the industry would be in better shape? i suppose that means we can be thankful for the concern for good sound, rather than just profit.
the fact is, i think the market for used components kind of obscures the fact that a good sounding system is extremely easy to put together these days, even for under $1000. as someone above has suggested. obviously what keeps all the hairshirt super high end brands in business is the rather unrealistic pursuit of sound which is indistinguishable from live. this is truly a holy grail, in the sense of barely attainable, yet the idea sends the faithful out on crusades of buying, trying, trading, and tweaking, only to be disappointed by something, somewhere along the line.
still i admire the fact that so many talented people have ventured out into the business of making a better mousetrap.
meanwhile the companies big enough to have a business plan have come up with their version of planned obsolescence, that is, the constant mkII-ing and mkIII-ing and 30.5ing, companies like Audio Research and Madrigal. They're asking you, no, 'brown-mailing' you to be customers for life. Look at John Atkinson of Stereophile. He's been on the Madrigal upgrade path for over ten years, I can't imagine he has any spending money left (of course, he gets his for half price). I don't think Madrigal would have the cake to have brought out its reference series if they hadn't had a steady source of support and advertisement from the editor of a major, influential magazine. having heard ml gear, i honestly don't like the sound very much, even if it is very impressive. i even suspect that the fact that solid state just doesn't connect listeners to the music very well is responsible for the pentagon-like level of expenditure plowed into making solid state even palatable, thus cyanate ester circuitboards in ml amps. and still, does anyone actually enjoy their reference systems, as opposed to being able to hear a oboeist clear her throat while the trombones go full tilt?
i like the underground guys who make good sounding products at low prices, all the little SE tube internet direct guys out there who are telling us to wake up, get some sensitive speakers, and enjoy the updated technology of 1910.
am I rambling? sorry, I just figured it would be entertaining.
meanwhile, audiophiles discussing the viscissitudes of components and their sound has become rather like medeival monks heatedly discussing the number of angels who could cohabit a pin. interesting for the initiated, but irrelevant and decadent as far as the rest of the world is concerned.
meanwhile, our president is discussing the best and perhaps sneakiest way to the destruction of those dams muslims in the middle east who just don't seem too interested in signing on to the consumer economy.
i guess its as good an opportunity as ever to immerse ourselves in the trivia of audio system matching.
thanks and peace guys (and gals)