My wife and I heard the finest, most engrossing music reproduction system which involved Von Schweikert Ultra 11 (and Ultra 9 later) speakers in a $1 million to $1.5 million system. Nationally, maybe two or three dozen reviewers were astonished and also considered this speaker and it's set-up as the finest they have heard or one of them. I've heard several 100 $100,000+ systems and most were huge disappointments. Some were very good indeed but not at this level (using my own LPs and CD). Out of my price range though although someday I will purchase one of their lower cost speakers, new or used (best for my custom listening room would be the Ultra 7).
Really expensive systems that sounded great?
I often laugh at megabucks systems ($100K and above) I hear because so often they are just OK, or the presentation is so off in one dimension or another I can barely listen to them for long.
What I’d like to ask now is what megabucks systems have you heard which you felt actually were worth the asking price? I don’t mean incrementally better than your $20k system. I mean leaps and bounds. Anyone?
The best system close to that I ever heard was the top of the line Vandersteen speakers and Vandersteen monoblock amps driven by VTL preamp (I believe) at a show in Oakland. Nothing else I heard in that price range or above sounded worth it to my poor ears.
Lets try to stay wealth-positive here and stick to things we actually LIKED. 😁
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I've heard several 100 $100,000+ systems and most were huge disappointments. If you have to spend $100K on a music reproduction system you are almost guaranteed to be disappointed. The law of diminishing returns kicks in hard. If you got $100K to spend on a stereo want to know how to guarantee it will be worth it CLICK HERE, |
I’ll take this $100K system all day, every day: Mercedes-Benz’s implementation of Atmos looks to go even further, with a whopping 31 speakers scattered around the car (a list that includes six 3D speakers above passengers, four “near-ear” speakers for the two front seats, and an 18.5-liter subwoofer). Each seat also features two hidden exciters apiece (for a total of eight in the car), and everything is powered by two amplifiers with a total of 1,750 watts of power. To start, Mercedes is offering Atmos in its top-of-the-line Maybach model, followed later by its S-Class cars featuring its new MBUX infotainment system. Unfortunately, given the price of both the Mercedes Maybach and S-Class cars, having the hardware to get the full Atmos experience won’t be cheap. The entry-level S-Class vehicle, a 2021 S 500 4Matic sedan, starts at $110,850, and the Burmester 4D surround sound add-on that’s necessary for Atmos is an additional $6,730. Customers of the top-of-the-line Maybach model won’t have to worry, though — the upgraded sound system is already included in the base $185,950 price tag. Now THAT is a system, talk about a Vehicle baby:
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I have heard the Ultra 7’s in Atlanta a few times. The first time was with ARC Ref 6SE and 160M amps. They made me sit up and take notice. They sounded great. That was summer of 21. Then last November I heard them again but with Dan Agostino gear. Not quite as impressive as I remembered it before. Both times the sources were the same- the DAC and vinyl. Just something to note. |
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