The Lawyers Have Taken Over Audio

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.

As Mr. Schwartz recently told a skeptical customer: "The more you spend, the closer you get to musical truth."

He may be a lawyer, but he certainly talks like a regular audio salesperson.

"The Musical Truth" may just well be the name of the trust Mr. Schwartz puts his clients earnings in.

All the best,
Nonoise

Jmcgrogan2, I'm sure that Mr. Schwartz's assertion that "The more you spend the closer you get to musical truth." takes into consideration that professionals will be in charge of installing and fine tuning the system. Because let's face it, if you simply sell the same gear to the average consumer and leave it to them to set it up you'll have a vastly different outcome.

What I'm saying is that proper set-up, component matching, and very good room acoustics must be considered a huge part of the overall results... which could vary greatly.

I also agree with Mapman that if you know what you're buying you don't need to spend a ton of money in order to get very respectable results.

I wouldn't be too surprised to find that my system at roughly $25k would surpass some of Schwartz's $100k+ systems. I mean, if he's selling to a relatively inexperienced clientele how could they know what level of performance is possible and if they are getting nearly their money's worth?