2. misc-audio
  3. 146960-20253

An encounter and lesson in speaker prices ...

Not to long ago, in a shop I like but will remain nameless I got to observe a customer evaluate a pair of systems side by side. The buyer had an eastern European accent. First they listened to the larger system, $50k speakers, equivalently priced amps and digital.


It sounded _really_ good. Then we moved to another system. Slightly smaller speaker pair, around $20k, completely different DAC and amp. Sounded like crap. The digititis was unbearable and the speakers were clearly out of phase. On top of that, the treble and bass balance were now all wrong.


The buyer was "I like them, what colors do they com in? " and that was that.

After the buyer left I looked behind at the amp. Yep, I was right, the pahse was reversed. The darkness of the room and angle made this an easy and common mistake to make. But the rest was unbearable.


What is my point? The people buying the top end gear are not necessarily the one’s with decent ears, so we really cannot trust price points to be any sort of guide to value. If you develop your taste on your own, independent of prices, you can score some fabulously performing gear at a fraction of what this buyer was going to end up with.


Best,

E
erik_squires
glupson
7,842 posts
 
If all the statements about one system being so much better than the other one are true, could it have something to do with the difference in price? From what we know, better-sounding system was more than twice the price. Maybe, price does mean something.

Often, hearing "good" is good and then hearing "better" is noticeably better. However, going back from "better" to "good" in a short time may give an impression of a much bigger difference. Which seems to have been a timeline here.
glupson
7,842 posts
 
"...you can score some fabulously performing gear at a fraction of what this buyer was going to end up with."

It is probably true, but do they come in colors? Many would gladly pay more to have something visually appealing. Many speakers come in one or two, maybe three, finishes and they are often quite bland.
marqmike
838 posts
 
+ 1 Glupson
It seems like a win-win-win situation. Buyer bought what he liked, seller sold what he could, Audiogon gets to pat itself on the back for being better than the fool who does not know what is good.

He somehow manages to know what he likes without prejudice and technicalities and is even capable of seeing his purchase from more than one side. He can multitask and include colors, too. Kudos to an honest and capable buyer. Now, if more people would be like that...
tastyfreeze's avatar
tastyfreeze
135 posts
 
Yep.

quincy
323 posts
 
Some equipment manufacturers preamps and amps are 'out of phase' by design.  The easiest way to get them 'into phase' is to reverse the wires at the speaker posts.  One such manufacture is Conrad Johnson.  There is a plausible explanation as to why they do this.....I just can't remember why at this time of posting.  I'm sure someone will chime in.  A $20K system should sound good in my humble opinion, if set up correctly.
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