More expensive = better?


Because I have never owned any very high end gear I’m wondering if an $8000 integrated amp will sound jaw dropping better than a $5000 one? Right now my system is Parasound JC2 and SMC Audio DNA1 Gold. 

Thanks in advance,

Ben

honashagen

Showing 7 responses by mahgister

My best wishes for the new year to all and especially to the old wise ranting mechanic man above my post... 😊

What do you think i spoke about : a publicity for GIK acoustic bass traps?

Yes read audio thread, how many spoke about not ONLY about room treatment with passive materials but also active controls...

Almost none...They boast about pricey dac or speakers or amplifiers...

For sure almost nobody know that an acoustically DEDICATED room is the ONLY luxury in audio...

Not a costly piece of gear ....

A beginner enter read all that, and he think that an amplifier of 10,000 bucks and costly speakers will give him the best S.Q./price ratio in his living room...my system cost 500 bucks ... I am not the ideal choice for gear publicity....

This is how a customer crowd is conditioned...No acoustic lesson and especiually no psycho-acoustic lesson either... Am i stunned after 9 years or reading the free publicity for gear in audio thread , putting aside the ESSENTIAL acoustic ? Yes i am...Call me a fool...

mahgister stunned by general ignorance?

I am stunned by the general ignorance....

Acoustic is key NOT the price of the gear...And i dont speak here about buying costly materials passive treatment...A dedicated room is the ONLY luxury in audio....NOTHING ELSE IS....But why any gear manucturing company could not spell the beans about that ? Guess why....

My system is under 500 bucks and even better system at any price are UNABLE to give me any upgrade fever ever... they are better yes but think about the ratio S.Q. / price ...my system price made it with a ratio S.Q. /price over the roof....

Ok am i deaf?

No, i fine tuned myself my room by hearing experiments daily on almost one year period with fun and  junk materials from my basement... I used not only passive materials treatment but more importantly psycho-acoustic methods and Helmoltz acoustic resonators grid and diffusers...

Cost = zero bucks...

 

Acoustic is the sleeping princess and any piece of gear is only one of the 7 working dwarves...

Well I’ve been searching YouTube about room treatment. Just go there and check it out. That’s the reason most people don’t do it right. It is so complicated.

Exactly right....

And acoustic company SELL EASY SOLUTIONS APPLICABE FOR ALL... Not an optimal room for your specific ears and specific audio system...

It takes me one year of DAILY listening experiment to figure it out...( i am retired)

The price of an acoustically optimal room would be out of the purse of almost everybody....

I created mine at no cost, but it is ugly , low cost for sure, but so powerful in S.Q. improvement that any upgrade seems unneccessary even if for sure i will improve by upgrading around 15,000 bucks my 500 bucks system now.... It was my reward to be able to be happy at last with what i have with no huge insatisfaction...

Audio thread sells upgrade mania not acoustic knowledge....Guess why?

 

Acoustic is the sleeping princess and all pieces of gear are only the 7 working dwarves....

My point is acoustic passive treatment and mechanical active control is superior in improvement to almost any upgrade of a piece of gear IF YOUR AUDIO SYSTEM IS ALREADY WELL CHOSEN FIRST FOR SURE...My system value is 500 bucks but very well chosen..What i say anyway is applicable to system at any price....

Secondly 95% at least of  rooms  lack to be acoustically at their optimum in relation to the specfic ears and speakers of the owner.. ( even mine because i dont pretend to have created the perfect room)

Third A dedicated audio room for the system, not a living room, is the ONLY luxury and costly element in ANY system done right....

it is my experience...

Of course you listen to an amp! You also listen to the preamp/dac/tt/cart/cables. You are assuming that nobody sets up their audio rooms properly. When you start talking about hifi, you should have the basics already covered, and you start with the room. If your room isn’t treated properly, why would you think of wasting your money on hifi equipment?

 

Incredible that people think they listen to an amplifier.... For sure they sound different but most of what we listen to relate to the room acoustic coupling with the speakers...

Money dont buy audio experience with upgrading gear...

Acoustic do....

I dont say that acoustic is important i say it is essential....