Hall of Shame


What is the worst, most overpriced, hyped, bad-sounding audiophile gear out there. Your bets please.
mozart2000

Showing 3 responses by ronc

I normally would not weigh in on something like this with all it's potential for inflaming the emotions of us hyper-sensitive audiophiles, but, I've got to comment in this case. Frankly, I'm amazed by the post of Mikeam re: the Dynaudio Evidence. I've been involved in this hobby for over 30 years and presently own the Evidence speakers. Obviously, I could have chosen any number of other speakers, but, felt these were absolutely the best, period (see my further comments as to why on audioreview.com). I don't require that any of my local audiophile buddies reaffirm my choices in equipment, but they are of the same opinion as I am on this point and feel that they have not heard anything better than my system anywhere. These are not yes men, in fact they relish the opportunity to be critics. I don't know the YBA electronics, but I suspect that this shouldn't be a serious problem. My guess is that it would have to be the room/setup. Mikeam, if you are ever in my area, I'd be happy to demo the system for you, just e-mail me. BTW - I would not attempt to defend ANY component on its price since what you are willing to spend to achieve a given result is purely subjective.
I think that Suretyguy's comments are right on target. There is no question that the law of diminishing returns operates on, perhaps, its highest level in the world of high-end audio. That said, I fall into the camp that has spent way too much on my system (although the end result has been spectacular). I have no doubt that I could have achieved "respectable" performance at a small fraction of the cost, but, when you're hooked, your hooked. BTW, I also agree with his point that one's ability to afford the gear can often color one's judgement in assessing its performance.