Gentlemen: a final point from me concerning bass reproduction. To accurately reproduce deep bass, you need a room about 32 feet in length, since that is the length of a 20hz soundwave. Not may rooms are that long. Beyond length, the width of the room and the height of the ceiling will contribute to the overall acoustic properties. If you have ever heard a large pipe organ in a cathedral (we are fortunate in the Seattle area to have a number of fine pipe organs), you also know that decay is an important factor, particularly in bass reproduction. So, at best, most people will never hear accurate, full-bodied bass in their homes. At best, it's an imitation of the real thing. What does this have to do with the question in this thread? A lot, since obtaining the theoretical 100 points is ultimately gone to depend more on your listening room than spending $50K or more on your system. Back to my original post: I still think that the $10-12K range will get you about 80-85 points, and to do much better will necessitate spending a lot more, on both equipment and acoustic environment.
Price/performance curve
Hey you guys who've heard 'em all, could you help me understand the price/performance curve of audio equipment? I keep seeing people write about truly high-end gear and I'm wondering what the price points look like in terms of sonic improvement. So let's say that our scale is 0 to 100. 0 is basically white noise, 100 is you are sitting in the ideal spot at your favorite symphonic hall/jazz club/blues or rock forum and nobody in the audience is even breathing too loudly within audible range. For the sake of some reference point, let's say a decent boombox is about a 15, a decent set of components (say Sony/Pioneer/JVC electronics, Boston Acoustic speakers) chosen from your local mainstream audio outlet is a 30 and a decent set of entry-level components made by more musically inclined manufacturers (NAD, Paradigm, etc.) in the $1,500-2,000 range is a 50. What do the price points look like as you go to 60, 70, 80. 90 and 95+? I ask because I see people spending vastly different levels of money on this stuff and, while I don't expect to ever spend in the high five figures that some of us have doled out, I'd like to see where this road leads.Suggest alternatives on the scale if you like. I'll bet you all have some very interesting answers.
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- 22 posts total
- 22 posts total