it could have been such an interesting conversation but sadly it was derailed.
What Does 80 Grand Get You Nowadays?
A system was playing in a shop. I sat down and pretty soon I thought gosh, I’m glad my system sounds better than this.
That system - just preamp, amp, and speakers - cost about $80,000 new.
I didn’t make the speakers at first, because Sabrinas look far better than the usual Wilson house look. They were driven by one of those new high-end Marantz amps, and I don’t think that was a match made in heaven. The Marantz was driven by a Dan D’Agostino pre that looked like a Minion had been crushed in a hydraulic press. Audiophile music was streaming, but I did not catch whence issued those dulcet ones and zeroes.
I suppose that system constitutes high-end for some. Now, it certainly sounded competent, but it also sounded boring. I thought, this is the Audi SUV of audio: competent and boring.
Conversely, I was impressed and pleased to no end that the end sound of my modest system from the last century could play in the same league as an almost-six figure modern system, and do so in a more engaging and fun fashion - to my ears, at least.
I’m biased, of course; and I am certain many high-priced systems out there leave mine in the dust. Still, I would have thought $80,000 guaranteed a better baseline sound.
How about you, have you heard a lot of gear whose sound was way out of whack with its price?
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@parkergetdean "I go to my local shop twice a month. 4 rooms, about 150 speaker pairs"
What's the name of the shop are you refering to and where is it located? |
@facten I will seriously count it tomorrow. I actually went on their web site just now and I could easily count 25 pairs in their main rooms each from photos that show most of those rooms. They have 3 of those large rooms. Then they have 2 smaller showrooms, and the used stuff room with 10+ pairs in each. A bunch of speakers in the hallway and the entrance area. So I could have been off 10%. (+ or -) Since this is not my first rodeo here, I do not wish to disclose where I am and who they are. But it’s in the top 5 largest cities in the US so it’s not unimaginable we have a few very established hifi shops with large floorspace here. I know someone will comment here about what they ever observed and say that I am lying because they know there is no audio store ever with 6 show rooms. And I totally forgot about their 2 HT rooms so that’s 8. |
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How far will 80 grand go? Royal Caribbean are offering an all in drinks and gratuity package balcony stateroom round the world voyage, for just shy of $83,000 per cruisephile. Chill out. Swap show rooms for staterooms. This would take some hot headed angry minds off this mind boggling subject for 275 days. |
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