Just to clarify and in fairness to reviewers, reviews, designers and enthusiasts and maybe balance the scales a bit.
1.A Low priced system [ 2500-10000 used prices]of "bang for your buck components" put carefully together and that find a special synergy with each other can sound very good and be fun and realy and truly might make some "audiohphiles" truly content.
2.Many reviewers are genuinely enthusiastic about a product and are sincerely trying express the merits of a product and are just as honest as you and me.
3.It is in fact possible with the kinds of designers/technology and exotic materials available today to achieve startlingly real and satisfying music and deliver on the "hifi, Hi end promise" It is ultimately NOT all just marketing hype.
4. To get to 3 will cost you around 20,000 used and then your components still need to be carefully matched.
5. The innovative designs and exotic materials utilized in the "hi end of hi end" cannot be matched by mass produced stereo products.[but if poorly matched it might!]
6. The low to midfi hi end products can be matched by mass produced stereo products. [it can depend but its hit or miss]
7. I'm glad there are reviews and reviewers and want to read and hear more from them.
8. I am grateful to audio enthusiasts, exotic component designers and hifi shops[who are people oriented].
9. Many Low to midfi marketed products sold as "hi end", shouldn't be. It should be addressed as something like...maybe "low fi, hi end" so theres no confusion. The top end of hi end should only be called 'hi end' then newbie people wouldn't be upset or feel let down and the industry would have happier people and get more credibility amongst the non audiophile community.[which might help it go more mainstream?]
10. Many Hi end designers do in fact deserve the title Hi end designers.
11. You probably didnt need to wait for me to tell you all this but for those who are still unsure...
If any "demanding" newbie to hi end audio is reading this and is hoping for "amazing sound", i would say, you can have it! but look to the very top products, buy those! save yourself alot of time and frustration and based on THOSE products, decide if you like 'hifi' or not.
And that even then, to some degree the sound will have at least some quirks that make it less than real...... On another note...Sometimes i prefer recorded stereo music to live! I know this might be audiophile heresy but...sometimes because it is produced in a more controlled method, you can weed out alot of problems inherent with live music. Sometimes everything is arranged "spatially" better on recorded music, has a quieter backgrounds and artists try to put a "good take" down, so they repeat it til its a good one. And in some instances i find stereo's can put a euphonic spin on reality which is more pleasing than live? Its like a good rendition of "live". Its like the difference between watching all the rolls of film , of a movie before it goes to the editing/cutting room, both live and recorded each have their benefits of course, but sometimes i'd rather watch a well edited "movie" over a live unedited movie, if you know what i mean. Anyways...to get the real hifi goods get the good stuff if you can, if not understand the rest is just "ok" and has no resemblance to what really and truly is possible with "hi end" gear.
Have a nice day.
