The Lawyers Have Taken Over Audio

Most people have never heard a really good sound system. Especially today where the focus is on quantity and not quality. Pretty easy to blow the minds thoae listening to ipods. If your buddies all work for GS then it would be an easy sell.

In the 1970's, you could walk into a Tech Hifi in NYC and get a top performing system of the day for a reasonable premium.

Since then, high end audio has become more of a niche/boutique industry. Today, you might well pay a huge premium in a big city audio shop for a rig that may not even sound as good as what you might put together as a smart thrifty shopper on the internet for a small fraction of the cost. It could be a huge discrepancy if one uses component cost alone as their main indicator of performance. Or one might find a good value still if smart and working with a dealer that has a range of customers best interests in mind, not just those of the ultra wealthy Wall Street types. IT can be a slippery slope for the uninitiated though. Retail price is clear as day. Most other things that really matter tend to be more nebulous. The financial stakes can be quite huge!

I have heard really good systems and yes, the total outlay was otherworldly, but I have this stinking feeling that some small aspect of the system, a part, a piece of equipment or two, were the prime factor as to why it all sounded so great.

Certain parts of the chain (speakers, cables, amp) could have been swapped out for something far less costly and you'd have close to, if not, the same results.

Barnum was a prophet.

All the best,
Nonoise

The high end has become a treacherous mine field, much higher prices with much fewer places to listen.