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??? What Is The MOST Expensive System You Ever Heard ??? What Was Your Opinion ???

So yesterday I stopped by the dealer who sold me my Harbeth speakers..I was invited into the "BIG System" room where he had finally got everything set up & dialed in on the nearly 1 MILLION $ MBL system(price after tax,delivery & set up)..
Everything,& I mean EVERYTHING,from the thick cables,to the amps & pre to the turntable to the 6’ tall speakers was FREAKING HUGE!
As I settled into the sweet spot he dropped the needle on a freshly wet cleaned & vacuumed heavy pressing of "Kind of Blue" the VERY first sound that greeted me was a horrible THUMP as the needle hit the groove!
I spent the next 10 minutes or so listening intently..Never in my life did I imagine imaging & staging like those big MBL Omni directional speakers threw out!Every single inch of that room where the recording was made was laid out in micro detail,you could hear feet shuffling around & tell as horns were swung up & down or side to side..As far as those aspects of the demo were concerned it was very impressive..However I didn’t hear that anything unique about the natural warmth & "more"organic tone always spewed about vinyl,plus the tics & pops from the record were pretty annoying & thinking about what I heard as I made the nearly 2 hour drive home I didn’t recall ever having that melt into the presentation feeling of relaxation I value when listening to music..On the contrary,I did recall a constant barrage of individual aspects of the performance that were highly noticeable but IMO there was never a unification of what I heard & sometimes the performance came off as a little mechanical & hard...
When I got home & settled in,I qued up the SACD copy of the same album on my Elite multi disc player..The imaging & staging of my meager little system shouldn’t even be called imaging & staging compared to that MBL system..Micro detail was pretty much non existent when compared as well..But the music was relaxing,it didn’t beg to be dissected & analyzed,only enjoyed..Oh & 1 VERY important difference was that while the tape hiss of the original recording was clearly present & evident,there was absolutely no THUMP when the song started & ZERO pops or tics from that needle following roughly cut grooves in vinyl!
All in all,the experience makes me appreciate what I have even more..

freediver
pprocter
28 posts
 

I heard a million dollar system at a Florida dealer this year. It was based 9n Wilson Chronosonics with Burnmeister and Aurender electronics and a VPI table. It's the first system I've ever heard that 'did 8t all'. I listened for 30 minutes and could have stayed there for days. I also listened to 5he new watt/puppies and was amazed at 5he difference. Clearly inferior, though still great. From the differences, I now understand what a black silence means and what it adds. That said, I can't afford the Sashas, much less either of these, but if I could easily, then I would really love having the Chronosonics.  In absolute terms, no, it's not worth that much 

bishop148
44 posts
 

I heard a pair of Focal Grand Utopia's 15 years ago, driven by 2 monoblocs with cables the size of a garden hose in a acoustically treated room. Speakers were selling for 250k - thats a lot back then.

 Sound of course was tactile and sublime - amazing how hi-fi has advanced.

skinzy's avatar
skinzy
182 posts
 

Have not heard very many expensive systems beyond the ones I own.  The very best was at a dealer in Atlanta.  The star was the Wilson Chronosonic XVX with Gryphon Audio and DCS.  What I have observed over the years with various systems is they do get marginally better as you move up the ladder when carefully chosen. However after a while the system sound becomes the new normal.  Meaning you're not as impressed as when the new component was inserted. I think this leads to an itch to continuously strive for a better system.  However it can be a fools errand.  As many have said above be happy with what you have.

polkalover
121 posts
 

Let’s not forget the law of diminishing returns and the placebo effects.

coppy777
142 posts
 

Been at this for about 65 years so have built a system with the best Conrad-Johnson class A amps, Wilson speakers, dCS digital, Shunyata, etc.  With the cables about $140K.  

My primary dealer(s) setups with the best Wilsons, D'Agostino amps, dCS stack, the big MBLs, MSB DAC stacks, Constellation amps, big Magico's, Nordost best cables... all systems over $1Million.  And they sound really terrific.  But no real desire for them.  The biggest difference is the scale of the sound, it's really big and  everywhere around you.  Those systems are great to visit but too invasive for everyday living. I don't want to be cut off from the world in an Audio Cave someplace.  When I turn on my relatively modest system it still thrills me every time with its realism.  That hair raising feeling draws me into the music for hours.  And, I can look out over the beautiful little lake we live on and enjoy nature.  So, all good here.

Happy New Year to all...

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