The Insane World of High End Audio! Is it All a Scam?

It is so easy for others to knock or berate other's opinions or hobbies.  A watch is just a watch or a car is just a car, etc.  You know, "I don't see why someone would spend so much on such and such, they are all the same".  The best way to eliminate this noise is to let someone hear their favorite music on a decent system or a decent piece of equipment.

Many are used to MP3 or compressed music and have not really heard recording played back on great equipment.  Not to say there isn't a huge ripoff factor on "high end" equipment.  But, that is another discussion.

Also, many people listen to music as background music while they are busy doing other things.  So, they really aren't sitting and listening.  It is hard to show or convince people of differences. They don't have the space or time.  Many of us upgrade one piece at a time and that takes typically decades to get "there" with their systems.  

Many claim that they can't really taste the differences in wines.  But, they have never really gone wine tasting a really good wineries and laid out several vintages of wines and tasted.  same with systems and music.  Go to their house and swap out their system or a particular piece, match the levels from the previous listening session and then listen to the same music.  I would bet a great lunch that then they would hear a difference.  But going to a dealer or a friends house and simply listening.  They probably would be able to remember what the music actually sounded like in their home on their system vs at the dealer or a friends house.

When friends come over, I just turn on my system, play the music they like and some I like, enjoy some food and wine and company and what their attitudes and faces change while listening.

I know a car is not just a car.  A watch is not just a watch, music equipment is not just music equipment.  I understand electronics and audio.  I know what a real violin, bass, cello, etc. really sound like vs electronic equipment.  many don't.  They know what they know. They don't know what they don't know.  (I hope that makes sense).  I can't afford the very best, but over time, with years of upgrading single components, I am "there".  Can it get better?  absolutely!  The next lottery win for me, or a large bag of money dropped in front of me and those Sonus Faber Strat speakers are mine.  Although, I was informed that taking the bag of money is illegal.  You can't win. Pray for money. If appears and it is illegal to take it.  go figure.

enjoy

I see what Mahgister was implying. The reviewer is selectively ignorant - like the dog who did not bark in the night?? Or if that isn’t what you mean, it is what I mean.

You got it....

Cheapaudioman is a reviewer and like all reviewer they minimize and erase acoustics knowledge importance to sell the gear...

Pure ignorance and marketing...In cheapaudioman case it is pure ignorance in other case it is bad faith of experienced sellers...

Consumers audiophiles are like a herd they learn by index pointing. They dont study acoustics and at best conflate it with GIK panels....

Ignorant as cheapaudioman most here insult his character without knowing more than him...

And most audiophiles dont know how to listen and hear their own system because there is only one way to know : we must correlate each aspects of what we hear to a specific concept of acoustic, then modifying the Speakers/room parameters to improve the experience... But it is impossible if we have no acoustics concepts at our disposal without studying what it means in a serious books and how can it be implemented in our speakers/room for our ears/brain...

Most throw insults at cheapaudioman. It is unfair and pure stupidity. I never intend to mock him but to use his video as an example of "the dog who dont bark" in audio...

@mahgister I didn't miss your point. Your thoughts concerning "psycho-acoustics" are well documented and I simply have nothing to add to your well stated views.

I saw Cheapaudio's video-the one you posted-and found it insulting. He actually referred to businesses selling $60k speakers as predatory. The vendors I know offer a quality product which you are free to buy-or not. Just like we are free to buy a Porsche or a Smart Car-neither good nor bad, just a different choice depending on the consumer's preferences and needs. Not sure speaker vendors deserved having their character maligned.

I don't think Cheap is ignorant-far from it-he's built a very successful channel catering to the lower end of the market and that's great, a good service for an important market segment. 

I think this video, however, is simply a calculated effort to solidify his brand with his target audience by cynically affirming their choices while denigrating choices made by others. His message is that the ones who buy at the lower end, out of choice or necessity, are somehow smarter than those who buy at the higher end because their cheaper system sounds just as good, maybe even better. The message is that if you buy the kind of stuff he reviews you are shrewd, but if you buy stuff above his price segment of equipment, you are a fool.

One thing I've learned is that audiophiles yearn for affirmation of our choices.  Randy gave it to his audience in this video, thus building loyalty to his "brand." I find that distasteful, but likely effective. Each to their own. That's what interested me on the topic, and of course, I may be wrong and anyone can disagree.

Cheap may be trying to recover from his video of a couple weeks ago wherein he seemed to favor the tariffs, or least downplay their importance. His audience turned on him on that one and that video was quickly banished to the cornfield. 

Cheers.

Thanks for your well articulated explanation...

I think your judgment about his seller strategy is right.

My intention was not mocking him or his strategy choices though but just using his video as a typical reviewer stance forgetting the essentials...(Acoustics many concepts)

i could have pick Jay reviewing high end gear... I already had done it years ago when he was totally oblivious of acoustics... And he is the complete Janus brothers of cheapaudioman... The two sell gear pieces not  knowledge... i dont judge them...( i prefer Jay )

My goal in my journey was not buying the best audio system or the cheapest. I simply went along with my budget.

My goal was to learn how to embed rightfully in their three working dimensions any gear system...( mechanical,electrical and acoustical)

Acoustics being by far the most important...Because without acoustics concepts we dont understand what we do in audio at all ...

I think this video, however, is simply a calculated effort to solidify his brand with his target audience by cynically affirming their choices while denigrating choices made by others. His message is that the ones who buy at the lower end, out of choice or necessity, are somehow smarter than those who buy at the higher end because their cheaper system sounds just as good, maybe even better. The message is that if you buy the kind of stuff he reviews you are shrewd, but if you buy stuff above his price segment of equipment, you are a fool.

How do you get to the bottom of it with cheapaudiomen such as Randy, Mahgister, etc?

Conduct an experiment by taking cost out of the equation.

Let us suppose 'you know who' set 2 preamps in front of them and said, "You won a free giveaway, Both are free, but you can only pick one"

Preamp 1: Yamaha C5000, price 10k

Preamp 2: Schiit Kara. price 800 dollars

Both of them work well and sound good. But, if you open the chassis on both, one of them will start to not just look like an engineering masterpiece, but, a flippin work of art. Did it actually cost them a lot to make it, that they have to price it at 10k? Probably close, whole lot of cost and soundmaster's specialized labor sunk into it, different ethos applied. The other will look like a competent design that functions quite well, bang maxed for buck. The average guy over 65 with hearing degradation will probably not even hear too much of a difference.

But, what do you think they'd pick when both are free now, i.e. cost has been taken out of the equation? Such an experiment will reveal many truths about the cheapaudiomen.

learned is that audiophiles yearn for affirmation of our choices.  Randy gave it to his audience in this video, thus building loyalty to his "brand." I find that distasteful, but likely effective. Each to their own. That's what interested me on the topic, and of course, I may be wrong and anyone can disagree.