What makes a good piece of audio gear ?

First and foremost, speakers that sound great in your room. Make, model etc. does not make a difference. Let your ears tell you, the expression 'you will know it when you hear', true today as ever.

No matter the design (did I just say that? LOL), one always reads in a review how they end up testing with 'their' ears. So, as long as ears don't change with the one who heads development, a 'house sound' will exist from one model to the next with clarity and detail improving as one model supercedes the next.

And, as long as ears are different from one individual to the next, their will be no concensus from one brand to another, resulting in a high variation of what is considered accurate and/or pleasing, making your question moot at best.

It will all boil down to what you like, others ears be damned.

All the best,
Nonoise

Rleff:
"Rok2id what do you mean by saying " high quality components is not"

I was speaking as to what to look for in a piece of high end gear, once you get past the spec sheet The build quality will be rather obvious and a person can make an informed decision as to it's value. HIGH QUALITY PARTS USED, has become a buzz word to justify obscene pricing. And it is very hard to verify what that means, and even harder to assign or determine their value as pertains to the listening experience. I would just ask: who is making all these LOW QUALITY parts, and who do they sell them to?
Cheers

With regards to the original post, new designs in amps are quite possible. Examples: Atma-Sphere (first fully balanced zero feedback OTLs), Berning (first zero hysteresis air-core transformer coupled amplifier, can be single-ended or fully balanced), class D, Nelson Pass 'first watt' amps (zero feedback class A with single gain stage)... I can go on if you like.

The same is true of preamps: Messenger (single ended direct-coupled output) Atma-Sphere (the first fully differential preamp, also all-tube with direct-coupled outputs), buffered passive systems.. again I can go on about this.

I can tell you that cost is by no means the last word. For example our preamps employ a simple circuit that has a direct-coupled output; the result is a lot cheaper than the competition that operates at the same level. OTOH if you have a well-done Dynaco PAS-3 mod, it can kill a lot of preamps costing a lot lot more! In high end audio a lot rests on the design itself, and in that on the intention of the designer (and how competent they are). This *does* mean that price may not amount to anything!

Component quality makes a difference too, as well as more arcane things like how well the circuits are grounded, quality regulation, layout, ability to survive rough shipping (that latter being quite important; I know of one popular preamp that is held together by hot-melt glue, if dropped it goes from 'sounding great' to 'fire hazard').

Intention can be huge. It makes a big difference if the designer is an audiophile (it also makes a difference if he went to school...).

Bottom line is there are many variables, cost is not the object, there are new designs that can make a difference, and you have to listen because everyone says they have the best, and that can't possibly be true- there can be only one.

Have fun :)

A great meal requires a talented chef, whose talent is defined by a discerning palate. Same thing holds for audio gear. Ultimately, a designer has to know what music sounds like.