Someone commented that it's fun to mix and match components. I have done it all my life (I'm 73) but it is not in your shop with an untested combination. Those periods of experimentation are supposed to have occurred in late night listening sessions in the privacy of your ears only and the triumphant results are the ones you feature in your store for others to share. And I smile at the almost infinite combinations one can conjure in one's head for an $80,000 system. How about this one? A pair of The Smaller Advent (the original produced between 1973 and 1975 with the green fried egg tweeter and spit wad dust cap on the woofer - professionally redone by a true gentleman and craftsman, Chuck Wroblewski at Chasrock Services in Rochester NY), a Musical Fidelity A1 integrated (yes, one of the new redesigned ones) and then a new totally tricked out LinnSondek LP12 with the new Bedrock Plynth? Top of the line arm and cartridge. I'll leave you to decide whether you want to go with the Linn Uphorik phono or use the one in the A1.
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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- 184 posts total
- 184 posts total