Audiophiles - You're wasting your money!
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Monday July 3, 2023
David Mellor
David Mellor is CEO and Course Director of Audio Masterclass. David has designed courses in audio education and training since 1986 and is the publisher and principal writer of Adventures In Audio.
@kongie-j8r: I do think there's an element of snobbery with hifi just like wine snobbery there as well just saying
@AudioMasterclass replies to @kongie-j8r: I'm such a wine snob myself. I refuse to drink anything under 13.5% ABV.
@kongie-j8r replies to @kongie-j8r: @AudioMasterclasslol I like it regards
@MrJoki2250: I once used a Marantz PM17SA integrated amplifier and a Krell KAV400Xi to drive AE500 speakers, and I was stunned. I had expected a huge sound upgrade, but I couldn't hear any difference. In the end, I could only choose which machine to sell based on its appearance!
@Flea-Flicker: I guessed it was an A natural. I have pitch but not perfectly every time. I mean I can hear a song and get in key in a few notes so that is pretty good I think.
@Tomseesall: I am not an audiophile I am not rich I am nothing but I have good equipment to listen to good music.
Denon and Klipsch I am so audiophile level!
@DanielOrtegoUSA: I’m old, with an extra pinch of hearing damage courtesy of Uncle Sam, where I served as a tank commander and Master Gunner. That last part simply means my exposure to high-volume ordnance was greater than that of the average tank crewman. Today, I’d probably be classified as an audiophile, with moderately high-end gear that the average enthusiast would likely never buy. I’m sure the equipment exceeds the capabilities of my hearing, but what the hell. It’s a lot more fun than collecting stamps or coins. 👨🔬
@seanquigley3624: What a load of twaddle, as the designer by ear of some of the finest tonearm and turntables that still stand today. Go back to your if you can’t measure it it doesn’t exist nonsense, oh and a Rega is a pile of junk.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @seanquigley3624: Thank you for your input. I’ve considered it carefully and, sadly for you, I won’t be going back anywhere.
@seanquigley3624 replies to @seanquigley3624: @AudioMasterclass not even a hint of defence, I know you don’t know about audiophiles or the golden ear brigade as we were known.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @seanquigley3624: Forgive my ignorance. For my benefit and that of my comment readers please tell us more about your golden ear brigade.
@seanquigley3624 replies to @seanquigley3624: @AudioMasterclasssadly as I thought, you are really a newbie and not into hi-fi from the 60s-80s as you would be fully aware of that era and the discovery that our ears are considerably better at judging sound differences and the, let’s call it scientific brigade sat down and admitted they had found significant new measurable parameters that could equate to sound differences. The golden ear era lead the way re turntables, amps, cables and all aspects of the reproduction of sound at any price.
This is a huge subject and sadly most people from that era have passed
@seanquigley3624: Accurate to what, how do you know what the source sounded like.
@AndrewSmart-i4f: I have tinitus and hearing loss, but the NHS hearing aid made by Phonak has given me a whole new experience listening to my HI Fi music reproduction set-up. No modulation, which was the horrible downside of previous hearing aids. So listening to my very old but great record playing set-up is now brilliant. A great video disclosing the myth of very high end equipment.
@rlowle1228: They know and dont care
@321-h9j: A Good ''EAR CLEANING'' in a Pharmacy by a Liscenced Profesionnal will do wonders !
@ChrisGarner-cd3ms: You had a 1 in 18 chance of guesses it right- 6 notes: 6 flzt: 6 shharp. Schoolboy errorv tut, etc 😎
@andrewdordevic5938: Nope. It's not a waste of money if people are happy to spend it and it brings them pleasure. People want to believe, and it's their choice.
@AndyFootman-w9z: I use magnepan 3.7i speakers which are not perfect but sound fantastic! I also think Goldenear triton sound grealso
@MarkMphonoman: You are right. 76 years old, ears are that old too. Bummer I can’t hear the fine notes like I used to. ☹️
@Oneness100: Audiophiles will just tell you that you're wasting your time.
@kevinwelsh7490: "99 percent of statistics are made up on the spot"
I caught that
@paul-e6s1g: Any large system in most appartments or even some houses is a waste of $$$rule of thumb,high eff. speakers less power,low eff, more power!
@DrNoahBoddy004: Two Channel stereo listening is an Old World form of “home entertainment” that is very much valued, and appreciated by the senior, (Boomer) demographic. Physical ownership of Vinyl, and CD have made tremendous returns over rented Streaming platforms and in my view, that’s a very good thing.🤔
@DrNoahBoddy004 replies to @DrNoahBoddy004: Current manufacturing Class Levels, (High-End runs) vs (Assembly Line Production) is well established as a matter of personal choice, background sound vs On Location Purity. Different folks like, and value different styles. I make no apologies for keeping my lotto tickets in play!
@tommcclure8727: If a hobby gives people enjoyment, either real or imagined, then why try to irritate them by challenging their beliefs?
@callumturkington5856: Ears full of wax and dead skin cannot hear the full frequency range.
Before buying any expensive equipment the ears should be examined with an otoscope.
@derekheeps8012: I can certainly hear the difference between a fairly decent , but not stupidly priced , cable and an inferior rubbish one such as using bell wire for speakers , or the really cheap nasty interocnnects that come free with some audio components . I always advocate spending a modest amount to get decent oxygen free copper interconnects ; gold connectors can be worthwhile also , if your audio component has gold plated sockets too , because the connection won't corrode sacrificially and for a sort of diode , which will be bad , unless you routinely unplug and clean the contacts - but who wants to be doing that ? Speaker cable probably makes one of the biggest sonic differences , but again I was in a friend's shop a while back and he showed me two 1 metre lengths of pure silver loudspeakers cable which was priced at £110,000 for the pair ! On the other hand , if your speakers came with cheap and nasty thin cables , upgrading to a reasonably decent cable , be it relatively ordinary 79 strand standard copper cable , or some modest priced LC-OFC cable can be a sensible spend as they can be audibly better than really cheap and nasty rubbish with better controlled bass ( allowing the amplifier to better control the speakers ) and smoother top end .
While differences can be perceived between cables and other equipment , one example I can give relates to my turntable - I started out in the seventies with a Pioneer PL-12D a modestly priced belt drive turntable and a great starter for anyone ; a few months later , a colleague in the shop where I worked offered my his Transcriptor Hydraulic Reference Truntable with the Transcriptor Unipivot arm ( which was a faff to set up ) and an ADC cartridge ; I upgraded to the SME Series 3 arm when it came out - this was still before all the folklore about the 'sound' of turntables was discussed and all a turntable had to do was spin a record quietly and at a constant speed , which the deck did ; I kept that deck almost 20 years , only changing it for its successor , the Michell Gyrodec , in 1993 when I was a bit better off ; but not so much better off that I could buy a new pickup arm at the same time - so I took my SME arm from the old turntable and put the original one back on - then gave it away to a friend ! I knew that the ultra lightweight SME arm wasn't best suited to moving coil cartridges . which I had already heard and liked , indeed had bought an Audio-Technica AT-OC9 which worked in the SME but I had heard it work better on demo , and I knew the arm was not a good match - now here I changed three things at once : I bought the QC power supply for the turntable ( it had been superceded but I phoned John Michell and he had one lying in his unit , which he sold me for a bargain price ) , much as I wanted an SME Series IV arm , it was beyond my budget so I bought a Rega RB700 arm which was a rigid one piece arm , and I bought the Michell Tecno-weight , which replaced the decoupled Rega weight with a rigidly coupled and underslung weight with lower centre of gravity . While I can't ascribe the difference I heard to individual items , once I had changed these items , the stereo imaging snapped into focus ( VTA and cartridge alignment had already been accurately set on the old arm as it was on the new ) , bass became cleaner and more extended , but simply the feeling of open-ness and transparency improved , with music filling the room rather than appearing to come from the loudspeakers - everything was just more natural and more enjoyable ,
I certainly can't identify a musical note by listening , but I've never been trained , and I certainly would never claim to have 'perfect pitch' but I can listen to a recording , particularly a familiar one , and know if 'something is off' , be it wow or flutter , or just the speed being somewhat off . I do have a piano here , but can't yet play - it was bought for my son to learn on when he was younger , but he had no interest ; my own mother was a classically trained pianist and played many classics such as Fur Elise from memory , and I have inherited a large suitcase stuffed full of her sheet music , much of it in her own handwritten manuscript from , I guess , the 1940s ( she was born in 1930 ) but during my childhood my memories are of her playing jazz , swing and boogie-woogie all the time . Once I retire , soon , I plan to put some time into learning how to play and to read her sheet music . I don't expect to be a great pianist , but I'd like to try ; the piano will go to my daughter who can play , along with her grandmother's music . I also inherited my mother's record collection , both shellac and vinyl .
At now 68 years old , I know my hearing is shot compared to when I was in my teens , but I can still hear differences between different audio equipment , not necessarily better or worse , but certainly different . One thing I do listen for is good stereo imaging and a natural presentation - one thing I do love about my current system ( which has hardly changed in over 30 years - and a reason why it pays to buy a quality system then just stick with it and enjoy the music ) which is mostly a Quad system with the full range of 77 series components , the 707 power amplifier and the ESL 63 electrostatic loudspeakers , is the way they can fill a room with music in a convincing soundstage and without the sound appearing at all to come from the loudspeakers ; depending on the recording small groups and soloists can appear to be in my living room ; while orchestral or choral music can transform the room into a much larger space , making the walls disappear and taking you to another venue - good setup can be everything to achieve this , and you don't need expensive equipment if it is properly set up - but better equipment has fewer limitations , just get something you can be happy with and then just enjoy the music without constantly being dissatisfied and listening to equipment instead of music .
@victorjcano: Well, at 77. I certainly agree about the loss of hearing ability. However, I do have a good pair of hearing aids which have really increased my enjoyment of listening to music. Maybe that’s a better place to spend your money. God knows what I’m still missing, but I don’t know lol. It’s such a gradual loss.
@Rick-l4w: One of the Most Accurate Speakers on Planet Earth !
All NEW CLC Audio CLC65 Speakers with All Purifi Ushindi Speaker Drivers the Finest Speaker Drivers on the Planet !
BARGAIN OF OUR LIFETIME .....
@len9518: What a snob. I get it. Only "better" people can hear audio details. These are the superoior race. Did Hiler invent this? The rest, the unwashed" can be ignored. Another way of saying, Listen to the music, not the equipment."
@sexyme8593: Unless you hear music live, without any amplifier, you will listen to the ISO16 standard, and its manipulated, so you will be better of buying audio equipment in Wallmart its all 440hz. not 432
@sspbrazil: I’m not much of a HiFi person, I’ll be 60 this year and my frequency range is a little above normal for my age, but I’m more interested in the music itself than I am sinking tons of money into expensive HiFi equipment, I have a system that suits my needs and I’m happy with that.
@mikejarrells431: I like Bose. I think I'm wasting money. No highs, no lows, must be Bose. 🤣
@대웅백작: People usually drive to get somewhere, but sometimes they go somewhere just to drive. None of us is right all the time. The world is full of perspectives and experiences we have yet to understand. Do not limit your thinking.
@georgefriedley2949: I discovered years ago back in the late 70s and early 80s that there were lots of stereo stores and they had sound rooms you could listen to the equipment you were going to buy. What i did was listen to a couple of speakers i liked in my price range i could afford, and then go to diffrent stores and listen to each speaker i liked, till i found the speaker that sounded the best in most of the sound rooms i had went to and that was the one i bought ! At the time it was a Harmond Kardon 50 watt amp and beleave it or not and a set of Phillips 75 watt speakers that i had picked as my choice as a great pair together ! I had friends with systems that cost more then 5 times what i had invested, they would come over an hear my system and could not belive how its sound was more clear and it blew away there way more expensive equment away !
@sdutta8: To really understand signals, which are at the heart of audio, you need an EE background. I had one when I started my first job in audio amplifier design, and then moved on to wireless communications. I found the audiophile literatures very subjective — like wine reviews. There are no equivalent aficionados in wireless technologies.
@jp9034: I beg to differ. Everyone’s ears are different due to hearing loss and the way they interpret sound. I have been under close study as having hi resolution hearing and can noticeably hear microscopic differences from amps to RCA cords and power cords. Don’t be hatin!!
@NorthwestGrooves: How do you know? Don’t understand a thing you’re saying?..
@geraldprix3277: No - not yet ;-) But I can afford to waste some and I'm going to 😀
@AudioMasterclass replies to @geraldprix3277: Or as when George Best was asked what he did with his money, his reply was, "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered."
@virgilstarkwell667: Multi-speaker like components in loudspeaker systems, is a waste of money. If you can't do it with a two-way, or three-way with three components per enclosure, just toss your hard earned money in the gutter. If you need outboard electronics to make speaker sound good, it's junk.
@virgilstarkwell667: Much hype and snake oil in the consumer audio market.
@kevinschiller1749: Had the same stereo since 1972. Still rocks albums just fine
@flanaturalist: How rare it is to stumble across practical, common sense on the internet these days...Bravo!
@AAlderliesten-z8w: Another ‘expert’ who talks rubbish!
@cryptomoon9932: I lost my eye 4 yers ago , and now i start noticing many differences in speakers and amplifiers. was very surprised when I first got my first amp nad 216 thx plus dali zensor 7 vs my previous bluetooth speakers, day and night. Now I'm happy with the Onkyo Muse Y 40 and the SA Signature 5
@terryburnell1335: Most of what you say David is true.....but not everything. All you've commented on are the key elements that make up any stereo system and their potential impact - if any - on the overall sound. What you've neglected to mention are far less obvious problems that influences the performance of EVERY system. Addressing these are vastly more impactful on the subsequent sound than choices made over which equipments or speakers to buy. Enthusiasts would be far better served thinking more about the environments their equipments exist in and how this could seriously effect the sound quality...and this isn't simply down to room acoustics. These problems have a huge impact on the sound which reach your ears and which many people are totally unaware of.
@dukhlovi6284: Well at the age you can afford the highend gear you have 80$ dollar ears anyway. I could use some dolby on my ears
@vijdannizami5417: 100% Agreed I am 69 year old starting music enthusiast at the age of 9 building my own DIY making cabinets with Philips 12 inch brown Colour Woofers 5 inch Midranges 1 Inch dome tweeters and Philips crossover sound great but Slowly obsessed and reach to klipsch Lascalas then ALTEC Lancing model 19 then ALTEC 604-8G and Tannoy dual concentric driver I personally thinks if u hv money the combination of ALTEC 604-8G plus Tannoy 15 inch solve the problem for me so u can hv both the worlds Instrumentals Plus vocals But the most Important aspect is when did u clean yr ears from professional ENT Specialist then u can judge properly 🥰❤️🌹
@rjh6380: I guessed D,😅 i may not know scales but i know pleasure. Clarity,pitch and power. My 3 considerations.
@gmima1-n7o: As you age your hearing gets worse, yet you will still be able to hear the difference between dull, muffled and bright, clear sounds usually. It's like with seeing colours. Even if you can't see sharp at all you can still distinguish between orange and green for instance. What I mean to say is that it is always wise to listen to an amp or speaker before you buy. And also that you can always upgrade even if your hearing is not perfect anymore.
@duskonanyavarld1786: Audiophiles know that they are wasting money. They use a term from investing The-laws-of-disminens-returns.
@georgechronis3169: Various components that make a HiFi system do affect the sound. My Girlfriend who does not have a trained ear can hear the changes in sound when I change a component. Blindly changing components for a perceived improvement is where most audiophiles go wrong. Mistakenly thinking that the differences you hear are improvements. All this stuff in one’s HiFi system is a combination of preference and dollar limits or not. I have listened to $1m systems and thought that is boring or it’s not that great. I have listened to $500.00 garage sale systems and went that is not bad. Well planned systems in good rooms regardless of price is where it’s at. No need to over spend.
@josephj6521: My advice is to buy the best speaker you can afford at the time. Used or new, doesn’t matter. Go to stores and listen to the mainstream setups that make all these wonderful claims (you know those brands) then listen to reduced set-ups (traditional manufacturers predominantly) and you can hear the difference clearly.
If you can afford one great speaker from a “traditional” speaker company as opposed to 5 speakers from these “new boys on the block”, go traditional. You will never ever regret your choice.
Quality over substance. Enjoy. :)
@altmanidan: hearing is not just about pitch and frequency response though they are very important. when I was younger I was worried I won't be able to mix for a living for many years because of the assumption that its all about your ears and your ears will get old but now I see that hearing is something you do with your whole body. your organs respond to sound as well. Training your body to become more sensitive to sound is something that can be perfected until old age. I do agree that audiophiles are wasting money. The more sensitive you become the more you can get out of budget gear. You can pretty much hear anything there is to hear on 500$ studio monitors and if you can't, maybe you should look for another job.
@danigomb: yes, but... what is audiophilia if not wasting money?
@bdm2k: The idea that 'if your hearing is worse than your equipment, upgrades don't matter' isn't quite accurate. Age-related loss mainly affects extreme HF, but most audible improvements come from timing, distortion, and spatial cues - all well within the range where hearing remains strong. So better gear can still be heard even with HF roll-off.
@corpsie666: My LPT for audiophile best money spent - invest in ensuring your eustacian tubes are healthy and inflammation is minimized.
@blusheen378: Audiophile - a desire to feel, hear sensitivity of equipment and music. The purest of sounds. After 30 years, you find it doesn't matter and you give up all on basics, listen what may come. Like almost retreating to the cave again.
@micheltremblay4774: I totaly agree with you on hearing. I was a diesel mechanic and making good money. Now, I am 75 and my hearing tops at 7,500 Hz so I started selling all my high end stuff. A TEAC X1000RBL, a pair of Altec Lansing model 14, 2 pairs of Celestion Ditton 66 series 2, my Nakamichi Dragon also went the same way. My amp and preamp Harman Kardon HK870 and HK825 and a few other goodies. I bought good stuff but a lot less money went that way.
Good post, take care.
@grampawwillie1665: The Old Sage teaches "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear". and so it is with stereo recordings. the source material may be multi channel depending on when the original was made. no matter, the original source has to be "mastered" to provide the material for production of copies for distribution. and so, these copies are rendered in stereo: 2-channel , and that is your limiting factor . the source material has to be "mixed" -- rendering it as 2-channel no matter if the original is mono, 3-channel, or 96 channel/digital . the rendering then is the limiting factor for the 2-channel copies to be sold on vinyl or CD - or as downloads . this then is why playback systems quickly face the point of dimishing returns. push this too hard and you are likely to go past the point of Best Playback and expose the faults in the "mastered" copy that is used to make CDs or Vinyl. Choose your amp and speakers carefully so that you get quality sound. Your source can be a sound card in your computer . a good sound card will let you set the sensitivity on each of a number of frequency ranges . this will let you "second guess" the settings on the source master . but, you will find yourself adjusting the settings this way and that way depending on the track you are trying to play . this will wreck your enjoyment of the music . You can get 5+1 and 7+1 "surround sound" systems . I've not played with those. It does seem to me that a straight 4-channel approach might be better. You'd need 4 speakers instead of 2 and you'd need 2 stereo amps and a sound card with 2 stereo outputs. and you'd need 4-channel source recordings . I think 4-channel would work especially well for presentations where you have a soloist or a duet front & center, with a band in back . Don't hold your breath . 'nuf fer now .
@sylvainbiensur7370: Most real engineers bashing audiophiles posses very expensive gears.
@pawannathessoo5271: Even an expert in sound will never be satisfied and always look to the better and his best will never come.
@LynneConnolly: Back in the day I bought myself a pair of Cambridge Monitors (before they were bought out, so the handmade originals), a Rega Planar 3 and a Cambridge amplifier, but I can't rember which one because that died years ago. These days I just use a pair of good headphones (I have a few, from bass beasts to audiophile Hifimans and a comfy pair for everyday use) and a small headphone amp. It's not just my expectations, but my hearing has definitely deteriorated over the years.
@Red-Black-White-Pilled: So the original Paul McCartney didn’t lose his life in that car crash after all. Just his memory.
Who’s going to tell him?
@budthecyborg4575: This is the best explanation of the value of audio gear that I've ever seen.
@junkmail7263: If you can’t hear the difference between amplifiers and cables it probably means you need high-quality power conditioning.
@multicyclist: You are very correct. No amount of money spent on audio gear is going to make up for hearing shortcomes. Since the late 70s, audio equipment engineers have worked out amplifier design to be essentially a wire with gain. Since then, there have been virtually little to no improvement in transfer function. In many cases modern amps perform worse when tested, i.e., distortion etc. Why? Because well-made but affordable amplifiers are, or have been for the past 50 years, better then what humans can hear. The wild cards are speakers (and their room placement), room acoustics and the recordings. Yes, it is possible to get a realistic sound of one instrument like a piano or voice in a taylored system in a limited way. But a complex sound like an orchestra or band, no. If you want to actually hear that then you have to go experience it live. It is the only way to avoid just hearing a cheesy simulation and actually hear what audio systems (from the recording to the speakers) fail to reproduce.
@markbaugh9458: AUDIOPHILES TALK A LOAD OF BOLLOCKS !
@shadowside8433: Valves have a curved response curve - so they have a natural slight distortion compared to soild state transistor.
@OlePedersen-u7u: you just bla bla bla bla plain stupid talk for youself
@darrengibbins7127: Great incite. It is like a photographer who believes they need the largest file money can buy.
@dansolar.records: Paul McCartney is telling truth indeed
@MultiPetercool: The music you choose to play also has a lot to do with what kind of equipment you should buy. Most popular music has next to no dynamic range. classical music on the other hand may have passages that are both loud and soft. Generally, you will need better equipment to fully enjoy classical or some progressive rock music.
@philcasey1788: You guess? 🤡
@00buck80: Being a musician my whole life tube guitar amps sound so much better I can hear the difference immediately the tones are warm and responsive. The amp I use now is a Trace Elliot Supertramp with a tube preamp.
Transistor amps just don't cut through playing with a live band as well
@TheRulleskoejten: I came from, Logitech Z906. thought it sounded good. some day i sat and listent to Denon. and dali Zensor 5 and zensor vocal. and Deltaco C1. in Hife-Klubben (HIFI-KLUB) in denmark. and i was totaly blown away. and my girlfriend agreed to get a set. 5.1 and lator we got atmos. from 5.1 to 5.1 logitech to Dali. i was so glad. but when getting atmos, it just blew my mind. had it around 2 years. needed to sell cause of a bad neigbor, and crying inside. now almost 8 years lator. i can afford dali again. But this time we go whit Dali Sonik. i know its gona be more detailed in movies. im no audiofile, but i have good hearing. and can spot detail defirences. i will take your advice for HDMI, just buy some 4K 120 HZ caberbilityes.
@joecool1875: I am into vintage hifi since a couple of years now, and have already bought, tried and sold various receivers and speakers. I've had a chance to sample some great products of old in my home listening room, hearing several sources with my own ears... I have come to the conclusion that you can get quite a descent system that will give you endless hours of enjoyment and satisfaction, for a very reasonable amount. And for that I am thankfull, I am grateful that I don't need to buy gallons of snakeoil to make it sound great, but if anyone else has the need, and the abundance to buy anything more, good for them!
@MichaelRosenzweig-s3x: Quad ESL989
@danielalt7508: 4:27 refusing to buy brown eggs just of the color could be an indication of racist ideologies.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @danielalt7508: In the UK we generally prefer brown eggs which can be identified not only by their colour but their higher price. Guess which colour I buy.
@franka6515: Listen to an uncompromising system you can never afford. Let's say the system is $20,000 dollars. Bring your recordings and play them on that system. A track list you made. Then listen to a system half as much ($10k). Keep cutting in half. When you are down near your budget, you will experience and know the degradation that comes with money. You can determine both what your budget needs to be, and the most important characteristics of the sound is for you (what was lost on each step of the way down in price). You have educated your ears and decided priority. For me, it was a recessed soundstage #1 and warmth of acoustics vocals #2. Any upgrade over time is limited to only what enhances my short priority list. So, I never waste any money. I don't chase "fidelity" nor statistics. Oh, and don't forget that sound rooms are designed for pleasing sound profiles and are affected by all the speakers playing in sympathy with the demo model; your experience in the showroom may be entirely different compared to your home. This is how you avoid wasting money.
@samhalsey5051: Well if you’re eating eggs your hearing is very likely to be degraded!
@paulandriessen489: WHAT!!!
@globalteamwork4light: nope!
youre missing the point.
its not so much about hearing - more about feeling.
when your setup sounds highend enough - it gets into the magic zone. that zone is a level of detail and lack of colourations that make you feel so much - you just cant walk away from the music...
only then you have achieved highend - and thats magic!
whether you have a good or not so good hearing.
@ianmills5237: One joint can turn an amstrad tower into a Sondek, quad mono-blocks and electrostatics.
@Blubb5000: The most important part of any audio system are the speakers. 80% of any distortion comes from the tweeter alone.
@limitlesswondermedia: You can still hear major differences between DACs today if for no other reason than all DAC's also have analogue output components and those vary greatly. On the other hand I'd put my moderately priced Benchmark DAC 3 up against units costing many times more. You'd be hard pressed to hear a significant difference.
@altoids784: I'm kind a poor and not a real audiophile but just want a feeling better than nothing.
I have Dali speakers with a Denon x2000 AVR
I have Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO X & Fiio K11 DAC using with Peace EQ...
with these... Devices may be a little worn in time, but the money was definitely not wasted.
These are not audiophile gears but for me they were a good base to start and did not need a change. So I took more than I paid.
@gregorygreg4263: Amps; my friend has Martin Logan speakers around 15000 pounds. He powers these with musical fidelity 8000 pounds pair of mono blocks and a I forget the name Italian 150 watt class a amplifier the sound is deferen with both. The musical fidelity makes the sound to my mind seem slow. I believe this is because my brain does not have to work hard to decode every detail. He currently uses a 6000 pound valve pre amp again from an Italian company.
He uses an expensive Yamaha transport not sure on the dac. His is the most holographic detailed non fatiguing sound I have ever heard and appears as natural and as real as a hifi can sound.
I have a heavenly modded technics plus a carbon fibre arm it has a perspex platter on top isolated and no center spindle I center each record. I tested this against a Rega planar 8 in a demo room through my amp and 2500 Dynadio speakers as close to but not as expensive as my dynaudios speakers and every one who listened including the demonstration guy thought my deck sounded weightier more precise and more musical. I had an advantage of a moving coil over the one on the Rega which was also one of their moving coils and a Rega top line moving magnet. We all agreed the moving coil sounded better.
On this subject after many years I would say three things. The room makes a huge difference treated or untreated. Cables matter to the amp speaker and when it's right you can absolutely hear the difference . I have 10 meter runs and I've played with more expensive well known brand 3 meter runs when the equipment was closer to the speakers I will tell you now those ten meter runs sound way better other cables from the same company at twice the price sound worse in my system. Synergy matters. I am not rich I bought when there was a sale/discount. I tend to buy brand new things. One other thing perhaps the most important you need to enjoy your music whatever it's played on. Secondly your hearing can tell the difference in the spectrum you can hear. Just because your hearing stops at 12000 kilohertze does not mean you can't tell the difference between bad sounding different sound equipment. Any one who tells you otherwise is not thinking things through. You still have a whole lot of hearing left. You are not deaf. No one knows what neutral is. Recorded instruments are not natural they are going through pieces of equipment. Real non electronic instruments playing in an open air venue is as natural as you can get. Music is just a flavor choose yours and enjoy.
@Moonplant432 replies to @gregorygreg4263: And your point?
@EnglishmanvsSpanish: I've got perfect pitch although now Im 55 it's going. To be honest, it can be a blessing when improvising on guitar or picking out specific chord tones as musical signposts, but on the other hand, it's a curse because you hear how out of tune most people play..the worst being string bends (Slash/Keith Richards are always sharp..nails on a black board...) There are so many recordings I cannot stand..It's made even worse with Autotune..Then there's car horns...'oh, that's G major'.
@PierreRaymondPouligny: Recognising a note as nothing to do with capability to hear sound, this is memory, not sound timber..
This is why more and more young player, used to compressed sound, can play rights notes right on measures but make their instrument sound uggly.
They just don t "ear" it...
Hifi is exactly the opposite I think.
And having Hifi at home helps train your children ears (and learning music via a true instrument of course 😅). Note that true instrument also have so many quality difference that true instrument is not better than hifi either.(sooooo many examples in heard/ears).
@AnthonyMansell-e1o: Honestly some of my best sounds come from my car stereo ..merc
@AudioMasterclass replies to @AnthonyMansell-e1o: I remember when Murray Walker, already in his 80s, was asked why he drove a BMW rather than a Mercedes. “Merc.. It’s an old man’s car”.
@FourTwenny: Here is the thing. Getting up and moving speakers makes the system sound different. You can get up and do something to improve your listening experience. Putting an area rug down on a hardwood floor will improve your listening experience. You can purchase something that will improve your listening situation. How much you are willing to do and spend to improve your listening situation is up to you. All of us do and spend some though.
@Keksdose2k: „99% of statistic are made up on the spot“, goes hard 😂
@jocar-1735 replies to @Keksdose2k: Strange, I had always thought that it was 88%.
@cutty-sark: Back in the mid 70s, Stereophhile magazine had a number of articles on amp comparison using double blind listening test. At reasonable volumes using amps/receivers between ~$300 to $5000, no one could tell the difference!
@dynomike73: Thank you for making this video. Says everything I've been saying for years. Applies to any other big-boy's-toys as well.
@jamesgadd931: Heavymetle bull with horns
@jamesgadd931: Horns
@jamesgadd931: Im likin all this🎉
@jamesgadd931: Been do ing itt 10
@jamesgadd931: Music im old
@jamesgadd931: Who got a record
@jamesgadd931: Remmver trun table pluged up
@jamesgadd931: Y amsha. Sterio ive found nice
@jamesgadd931: I clected all my musuc tools
@jamesgadd931: Im not happy wifi man