http://www.sonicflare.com/archives/he2006-the-low-end-is-the-exciting-end.php
High-end doesn’t need to cost $30,000 either, as was evident by my visit to one of the most amazing rooms of the show: the Odyssey room hosted by owner Klaus Bunge (pictured above). Klaus has been the importer of the famous Symphonic Line from Germany (read: expensive). Some years ago he decided to do something quite amazing. Borrow extensively from the guys at Symphonic Line, under a special licensing agreement, and manufacture the high quality components in Indiana, USA, eliminating the expensive advertising and sell direct exclusively. The result? Components that look like $5000, but sell for $1000 and less. Mind you, this is all still hand-made fanciness, with looks to boot. Believe me, I was in complete disbelief when Klaus shared pricing during the demo. The sound was fantastic, with true high-end feeling. The total cost of the Odyssey system? $4400, including speakers, a dedicated tube pre-amp, 100 watt/channel amplifier and good cables. The total system price could actually be reduced handily by around $2500 by switching out the floor standing two ways for bookshelf models of similar design. In fact, I am due to receive that system for review shortly, so impressed was I with the overall presentation, far and away exceeding what I had thought was possible at that price point. Add an iPod, and for a grand total of $2000 you have yourself a genuine high-end system. Add another $400 for a Music Hall 2.1LE turntable and you are in true high fidelity heaven!
So then… what is the moral of the story? High-end is getting smaller and more focused on penultimate performance at the upper echelons of the price spectrum, while the lower and more entry level gear is often overlooked in favor of mediocre sounding Bose, iPod and similar gizmo’s and gadgets, which needn’t have to be. I can say with a good amount of certainty that the aforementioned Odyssey entry level system at $1700 will handily beat any multi-box “better sound through marketing err… research” outfit any day of the week. The problem of course is that Ralf Rotterdam and Svetlana Onatop simply don’t know about Odyssey, yet see and hear Bose just about anywhere they turn. Hrmmm… food for thought (more to come!).
