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I can agree the last couple percent of performance costs a fortune, for most definitely not worth it.
Stop reading other people's opinions.
I don't understand why lists like this one get people so upset.I also don't understand why some people are unable to express themselves without using foul language.Well, we finally agree on something. I appreciate your RMAF pictures, but I never read your opinions.Here's the Best of Show from TAS Reviewer Steven Stone:Best Sound (cost no object) Headphones: Audeze LC-4 ($3995) and The King amplifier ($3995). System: Constellation Virgo III preamplifier ($30,000), DC filter for Virgo III ($5000), Cygnus media server/DAC ($36,000), DC filter for Cygnus ($5000), Centaur II monoblocks ($80,000/pr.), Wilson Audio Alexia loudspeakers ($52,000/pr.), Nordost Odin 2 interconnects and loudspeaker cables, Artesania equipment racks, Stillpoints’ Acoustic Treatment panels. Best Sound (for the money)Fostex T-50RP headphones ($179) After seeing modifiers use their drivers Fostex decided to revise the 50 series, using the same drivers but incorporating many enclosure improvements. Most Significant Product Introduction The debut of a new headphone-testing suite featuring the G.R.A.S. Ear coupler and Audio Precision APX555 that can measure below the human threshold for the entire frequency range, except for a small window in the upper midrange. Most Significant Trend More and more options for headphones, portable players, and cables to connect the two. Most Coveted Product Audeze The King headphone amplifier ($3999). This full-sized headphone amplifier, designed by Bascom King, sounded effortless driving Audeze’s superb new LDC-4 ($3999) flagship headphones.
Don't forget -- trading out gear is a huge part of the fun of being an audiophile. It's the thrill of the hunt that we enjoy more than the music itself. That's the reason we're called, "audiophiles" instead of "musicphiles."
Ah, shopping addiction... definitely a huge societal issue, but nobody's fault but the addict. Most people are to a degree, I am... We need to consume to survive, but again it's a question of balance. Honestly there's nothing wrong with pursuing one's interests and hobbies. If I never delved into the realm of hifi improvements I wouldn't be where I am now. Autos are ridiculously expensive and if I didn't blow a ton of cash on them I wouldn't have opened a welding and auto shop, and I might not have gotten my engineering degree, and well, it goes on. To some point my interests and hobbies define who I am and have shaped my life. I think there are more important things than saving cash, namely doing what you want to do with your life. I hope that money will follow. I mean, that Mr Money Mustache forum is full of folks who hate their jobs and are just counting down the years until retirement. FUCK THAT!! That's living like an indentured servant. For me being Buddhist it's a question of balance. I've gone a couple years without making audio upgrades and until I needed a reference for my job I had the same system for 10 years making incremental improvements that didn't cost me much. Even though I'm more of a DIY guy and won't spend the cash on most commercial audio stuff I still enjoy going to shows and experiencing all the amazing systems. Interest in hobbies comes and goes, no need to condemn it just because interest is waning right now. Maybe later you'll feel like doing something different, maybe you'll never change a thing... either way you can still go to audio shows and just have fun talking to your friends and hearing different systems with no intention of spending any money. I can agree the last couple percent of performance costs a fortune, for most definitely not worth it.
no one should take my opinions very seriously.
I don't understand why lists like this one get people so upset.
Maybe Jason will but I won't. If there were gear out there that was super-amazing-awesome that I could lust after and try to save for to have at home, maybe. But there just isn't. If going to 10 years of RMAF and having a ton of crazy audio buddies locally has taught me anything, it's that there's an upper limit (a ceiling) to what's actually possible for Hi Fi Audio to reproduce. And it's not all that much higher than what people with modest but good quality systems already have. Part of the problem is that reviewers have led us to believe that if we could just manage to swing buying a "cost no object" or "no compromise" component or system, that the heavens will open and the angels will sing to us. And that's a bunch of bullshit. The difference between a modest but good system and a 'cost-no-object-no-compromise' system is maybe 10% or 15%. Spending $80,0000 on speakers to get that small level of improvement is stupid. But the whole audio industry has us jacked up, trying to somehow find thousands and thousands of dollars to spend on stuff that in reality makes a (at best) modest improvement. We've lost the concept of "ENOUGH". At what point is your system good enough? At what point is your level of enjoyment enough? At what point do you stop bleeding cash and say enough? For myself, the answer to those questions is "Now".
Exactly where I am too Joel, in terms of priorities. I've been down all those roads. I scored speakers I never thought I'd own, then jumped on the convenience of an LIO, and easy access to great music with an Aries, and have been rewarded with very good (enough) sound and a system I can enjoy whenever I turn it on. I'm probably not quite done just yet thanks to allure of the new VR120, but the chase is certainly much less compelling now.
+1With young kids and a changing lifestyle to boot, I am migrating away from uber fringey stuff. The LIO seems mighty tempting....
Because awards like these magically end up going to manufactures who also happen to spend lots of money in certain magazines.
This is part of why, on a personal level, I'm disengaging from audio in general. With the demise of the local Brick and Mortar stores, our ability to demo gear directly is seriously impeded, and all we are left is opinion pieces on the internet. Manufacturers understand this and try to build buzz by woo-ing the publications which can write reviews with the implicit understanding that ad dollars will flow. The publications can also vote on BS awards like this one, building further buzz, re-inforcing the relationship, leading to more sales for the manufacturer and more ad dollars for the publication. In this game, everyone wins. Except the customers.
