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.
@jdl8350: The picture images look like Ai images to me, isn‘t it??
@madmad8582: Being part English , I use to use speakers made in Great Britain like Wharfdale iI still have a pair in my collection and my Marshall Guitar amp uses Celestion speakers , my Great Grandfather was a Standbridge so in recent times i have bin searching information on the Standbridge's on what they did in the ancient past , i know they built a church in Bedfordshire , they even had a manor house my great grandfather was in the army and he was at Vimy in france in world war one, and i have a great deal of respect for the people's of great Britain big time my grandfather was in the Royal Canadian Navy , I have enjoyed your video today , oh another thing a piano is only as good as the person who tuned all the strings same with guitars or any stringed music device
@madmad8582: speakers made out of foam are not that great a lot of people over power them and they can fail or burn out , same with foil speakers I have heard them all , and my EV's blow them away . that's why one has to look at the past to see what was truly Hi Fi like I say I have heard them all .
@madmad8582: Plus I am the Speaker Doctor of Canada , and I repair all makes of speakers . plus I play guitar and I tune my guitar from ear , and yes a good speaker should reproduce such frequency's perfectly to be a great speaker .
@madmad8582: The best speakers ever made was in the 50's bye Electro Voice no other company can compare to how EV made there speakers The speaker enclosures where made bye Paul Klipsch like the Aristocrat corner horn speaker and it is what I have , and to power them I have a EV Stereo receiver model number EV 1382 and the sound from the little amp in side is amazing , the unit is Hand made , same as my EV amplifier is hand made as well , the EV receiver is 40 watts per side , the EV amp is 10 watts per side , EV speakers are very loud and don't need a lot of power to drive them plus i have a pair of Sentry 2 EV Studio Monitors from the early 60 's all of this gear is very rare and hard to find , even till this day Klipsch still use EV drivers on the Klipsch Horn Speaker , EV are built to last a long time , in Japan EV has a new version of the Aristocrat , not as nice as the ones I built from hand using plans from EV ,and this platform of Audio is rather Cheap compared to some of the Audio gear they build today , the Electronics from the past is the best way to go , some use EV or JBL and Altec for great sound .
@Robbierob880: Yeah yeah...
Rant rant..
@bull419: To each their own but the first time I heard separate components compared to my compact stereo in the 1970s I was blown away. I'm in the minority of Audiophiles in that I don't have money to throw away. I didn't hear much difference between a power amp, a pre amp and a high end integrated amp through the same speakers but I appreciate this man's message. Many of us Audiophilies have our own equipment and musical journey so whatever works for you rock on. I have two 12 inch speakers with mid range and a tweeter connected to a high end integrated amp with a turntable, CD player and a tuner for radio, just basic stereo sound like I had in the 70s and I've had this system for years and still love it, no need to upgrade and plugged the tv into the amp and movies sound amazing, this old geezer sits in his room with a big smile.
@toneaudio178: so why do you hate hifi so much?
@AudioMasterclass replies to @toneaudio178: I don’t hate hi-fi. I save my hate for arsehole commenters.
@stepf1041: I'm all in on my Technics SL-1300G! It's a great turntable.
@oscargonzales7948: Endlich mal jemand der den Punkt auf das "i" bringt. Danke schön.
@samaradaf6640: new religion cables.is very strong.never thought that so many dumb people will appear in the world
@hawaiidispenser: 13:30 I've come to realize speaker audio coming from another room almost always sounds great. It's a psychological thing.
@DeadBird-wp9of: Good valid points you made. I tried Quobuz as a service next to others - my result: The quality recording mastering matters more than the sampling-rate and due to copyrights it is a total desaster here in Germany (couldn't here Doo-Wop a.s.o.); even if I've found common recordings that had the same quality as my vinyl the rooster of records were a poor choice (mostly cymbal weren't there, just a sizzling). I use a RME-DAC with digital-Phono-Preamp next to A&H-Mixer, a Technics 1200 G (this thing has SME-Headshells and can Pitch 78's to real recording speed - surely there are better 33rpm-album-players, but not that versatile). On the speakerside I have KH310 (I heard the K+H O300 and expected the same sound quality - that is not the case) - the upgrade I would make is a pair of PMC's, but it would be ten times the cost - instead it's better to have the best positioning, ISO-Acoustics-Stand and some room treatment.
@Roberta80: I'd love to listen to this video but I'm still out at work at 3 a.m. making the money to buy the new 99.9999999999999% pure copper cables I need to hear it properly. They're only €4,500 per meter.
@DonPotenzo79: Perlen vor die Säue in German.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @DonPotenzo79: I didn’t need Google translate to know the English equivalent is ’pearls before swine’. We normally don’t bother with the full Matthew 7:6.
@generalzod7959: speaker cables are the biggest scam in the business.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @generalzod7959: Surely not? https://www.google.com/search?q=Ansuz+Speakz+D-TC+Gold+Signature
@rongreen4536: In the mid 70s I was on a mission to get the best sound possible. One evening my sister brought her new boy friend over who was a sound engineer. I pulled out the latest specs I had picked up on the new piece of gear I was thinking of buying. He took a look and said your hear can't hear what they are hyping. You have the best gear now your going to get, it's not dialed in for this room. I ask him when I would know it was dialed in without the tools he used at work. When you like what you hear it's dialed in. I stopped chasing gear and started enjoying the reason I started buying the gear in the first place "MUSIC".
@dabirdcageofdoom: Audiophiles seem to have little knowledge of how our hearing actually work.
@everydaytenor: As a long time classical musician that plays in two orchestras I would say that the each orchestra sounds different, and any orchestra will sound different in various halls, and in any given hall the sound will vary depending on where one sits.
Classical music played by fine musicians will vary greatly depending on the acoustic, where one sits in the hall, the level of background noise (air conditioning, traffic outside, and the guy beside you snoring).
Further, the mood of the listener comes into play, as sometimes audiences will clap for rubbish and other times sit on their hands through brilliant performances. After all, live music is a cooperative experience between players and audience.
Anyone who regularly attends concerts will know all this.
Because musical sound is so variable, I think one should listen to the music itself rather than the equipment. I have an old 78 player that is a dinosaur but the experience of winding it up and putting on say an original Rachmaninov recording is still magic. And I have good ears, but I listen past the noise and hear the music.
My 2 bits therefore, is to go to live concerts, and perhaps learn to play an instrument.
And by all means, establish an audiophile setup at home......just don't be too critical of whatever you get, as even live music is.....variable. And don't be too critical of live performances either as we musicians are not perfect either.
The main thing is to enjoy what you have. I love my stereo system but I am usually making music rather than listening to it, and often I wish that was reversed......hifi is fun.
@madcrabber1113: I learned not to spend stupid cash on this stuff way back in the 80s. The original recording makes more of a difference than everything and anything. Learned the hard way.
@manjsher3094: I can't hear anything over 11k now...56 years.
@brettfincher3332: I think it was previously stated but audiophiles waste money chasing the unobatanium. There is always a new amp, Dac, pre-amp, streamer, turntable, speakers and speaker wire. All designed to seperate you from your money all in the name of the best rendition of music not played live. Subjective thought that says i have to hear the greatest detail as if I were there while it was being recorded is chasing a dream that cant be caught. Thats just my opinion.
@davidnicholas1436: The whole notion of “better than your ears” needs more discussion. There’s a large difference between one’s ability to hear a full-frequency recording (particularly high-frequencies) versus being able to detect reproduction flaws in one’s own hearing range…and those are very different hearing issues. I suspect many, er, older listeners have lost a good deal of their >10kHz hearing but have not necessarily lost their ability to hear phase / distortion irregularities in the music in the frequencies they can appreciate. As in most things in life, there’s a law of diminishing returns on every audio component you can buy. I suggest if you get 80% of the way towards the top performance end of any component (in terms of specs, not price) then you’ve reached that inflection point.
@stephenleigh2530: I use a pair of Tannoy audio monitors when I'm mastering audio for my video productions. However I picked up a pair of M-Audio cheap self-powered speakers to bring with me for a remote editing gig. Honestly I prefer the sound out of those cheap speakers when im listening to music or watching a good show. I actually really love the way they treat the audio. It may not be accurate but it sounds beautiful. I guess my ears prefer the cheap stuff ! Lol
@ChristianSeufert-zo4ew: I personally use the Spendor A6R for general purposes. The D7.2s are noticeably better, and if I ever find myself with very limited storage space, I want to have the 2/3 R2s for the rest of my life.
@Seiroh77wortz: That’s only your opinion
@RigVader: Everyone will have different abilities for discerning sound (inate and through conditioning) and different sensibilities. I’ve known plenty of people with amazing abilities to disciphere and reason about music (perfect pitch, highly evolved relative pitch and various forms of synesthesia), who couldn’t have cared less about the aspects of reproduced sound that keep an audiophile up at night 😅 In fact most musicians have shitty systems at home. Personally my tolerance for bad sound has regressed as I’m sure both my physical and cognitive ability hear have deteriorated. This, I think is not an uncommon experience. Dumbing the world down to one narrow minded individuals limited experience and understanding, is just.. well dumb.
@WillemdeBoerCoaching: My whole setup of high quality audio gear comes from thrift stores ...
@HansWurst-eg8xm: I wasted my money on the Audeze sine headphones. I mean... they sounded best in my ears by far in the sense of natural replication of voices, strings and such. Very accurate. But... they never sound big, always intimate and the ergonomics are just off: they are onears, but freakingly heavy, sliding around, even fell off multiple times from looking down. I tuned them with some overear cups years ago, but they are still too heavy.
Best I have for the moment, maybe gonna waist my money on some heddphones d1 next year.
@bradblalock3057: Why is anyone worrying about someone else wasting THEIR money?
@Megellin: I'm 41 and I got my technics SL-1200 from my father way back when. I love that thing! I have changed the cartridge a few times over the years, and the cables, but the direct drive on those is just awesome!
@kobiaboody: A look a little bit like Paul McCartney
@jameskirk2579: The most important : LISTENING TO MUSIC FIRST and not listening to equipement......
@community-first: I love your overviews ❤ I had an AR deck, I got rid of it. Couldn't cope with the crackles, my records were not the best source for me. So digital for me, other than paying for my monthly subs (£15) and wifi (£31). In the past I bought 8 track, then tapes, then records, then CDs, used them, got rid of them, fell for the con. Now I pay to hear what I paid for years ago 😂
@jonathan2287: Of course peoples hearing is different but you don't have to be pitch perfect to appreciate quality sounding music. In fact pitch perfect has nothing to do with being an audiophile. What you need to be able to do is recognise the different pitches that make up a piece of music. The better the equipment is at reproducing those different pitches then the easier it is to recognise and appreciate the music. Why do people who have hearing aids pay more for better quality equipment, because they sound better.
@dedskin1: and you are wasting you breath . One comment wont change years of propaganda .
@georgeed3627: I don't think any expensive hifi can restore the sound from my vinyl after too much beer has been spilled onto the turntable at various student parties 😢
@northtone288: Went down that rabbit hole around 2010. Settled on a real nice "mid price range" setup. Stopped there, Couldnt be happier. No more chasing ghosts. Particularly the ones you cant hear anyway.
@HighDefDude: The most important is the balance between low, mid and high frequencies. And the most differences are in laudspeakers. And then there are the ears: Its not the question how good ones ears are, its the moment when someone is satisfied with the sound quality!
@SaltShack: Frequency doesn’t provide the only possible enjoyment from music. Experience, sound stage and imaging are a thing. A piano is for all practical purposes is a machine. I can play an A flat not as well as Mozart by pressing the A flat key. But when you put two pianos side by side nuances exist. Play two pianos side by side and another dynamic opens up. Place the same two pianos in different parts of the room the experience changes again. My point is stop chasing lows and highs, dynamic range may enhance or detract from the experience of the music depending, but experience from note separation and clarity may be more important. The last thing is you can train your ears but that requires consistency. Live with what you’ve chosen for a time and if you can don’t ditch old gear until you’re sure the new equipment is actually providing a better experience.
@meckanicall: I completely agree about the fact that loudspeakers are the weakest link by far in any HiFi system. I find it amusing that people make judgements of other items of their system as if they had loudspeakers that were a direct, perfect and fautless connection into their ears. Then again what are we listening to? Every recording. I repeat, every recording is not a real instrument wrapped up on a vinyl record or CD, it is is just an electrical signal, captured by an imperfect microphone and usually masses of electronics and in the case of vinyl, lots of imperfect mechanical processes! This means you are never going to hear reality at home, just a sound that is similar to a real instrument/s. Bottom line, the loudspeaker is where all effort and expense should be aimed at to create a sound that you find acceptable ...
@BtownFlyer: as someone new to the hifi audio world i am flabbergasted that youtube isn't full of videos of people doing blind listen tests. One of the things that has plagued me in buying a setup is asking the question "would i really hear the difference". I am disappointed that there are not a bunch of tests on here that show people doing to blind AB testing on a $200 amp and a $500 amp. I am of the opinion that the tuning curve on the amp is much more important than the actual amp/dac chips used. Which is why i settled on the side of features which included the ability to tune the dsp and do eq.
@Alvinthefrog-qq6yq replies to @BtownFlyer: Kid...what age fella are ya ? Im an old F er. i started doing this audio nonsense in 1945... designed and built equipment from 1960 to 2009, when I walked off into the woods pulling whats left of my hair out. I shipped all over the world and am regarded as the world standard. My company made, according to McIntosh, the cleanest Amps in the World. We also licensed Nachamichi to make them...Ever heard of the ' Stasis ?
Yeah, they screwed that one up too.
Now, dont mistake me for someone who is smart or knows anything....but I can explain the 68+ types of distortion to you and how they are related to amplifier design, speaker type and actual sonic reality. And...ever after all this, why people will still disagree and say youre full of shit
Watching and listening to someone on YouTube is likely not going to help you much.
If you would like for me to expand and save you a lot of time
..I can
..But first...stay away from these British audio guys...This particular one right here provides a good explaination og why British audio is the way it is.
Anyhow...I can see you wandering in the woods...Remember
..Education is a shortcut to success.
@WiliiamNoTell: Ultimate dialog fatigue
@nicholasng319: I can and it took me more than a month with daily auditions through mix and match to arrive at my perfect set up. My budget went up by 100% just because I could hear the difference. So for me, it was very important for me to get the sound that I wanted.
@letsride2057: Back in the mid 70's I bought a Phase linear amp and pre amp Speakerlab 3's and Dual turn table. 30 years later I bought a Carver amp and pre amp. Played through the Dual and Speakerlab 3's. I noticed that the older Phase linear was a warmer sound. Still have both and listen to them now and again. Home theater Yamaha natural AV Reciever, 7.1 Yamaha main speakers with separate Yamaha natural amp and Yamaha natural sound amp for center channel. Speakerlab Super 7 towers, Polk audio center and 6 surrounds,
B and W powered sub
@nico3064: Some good points in this video but one very important point isn't mentioned. Personal preferences. Most people aren't pleased the most by the most perfect and linear sounding setup. Also, there are things that can't be measured or aren't measured, that greatly impacts the sound
@mimi1girl2dempsey3: Is there a perfect speaker? Difficult to answer. I bought some Monitor audio G7 tower speakers with dual 8 inch woofers and found them perfect once I treated the room with bass absorbing insulation in every corner and treble dispersing ceiling tiles. I believe room treatment is the best investment for audiophiles.
@rbaxter286: Audiophiles aren't necessarily rich, the rich ones are probably just the sub-class of 'Conspicuous Consumption Closet-Booboisie OWNERS of outrageous hifi systems', the ones who think they can buy Prestige ..., until they go to jail for fraud and similar business crimes ....
Audiophiles who spend more on equipment than on LIVE PERFORMANCES are, as pointed out elsewhere, merely "borderline electricians".
Audiophiles who have never bothered to learn an instrument are almost always just "Piccolo Cherubinos", signaled by waving a pinky finger at them ..., unless there is a physical problem involved.
The problem is, you can't just sit there and pontificate because there are those of us who DO have better ears, and who are OCD enough to want to eliminate things like wow, flutter, tape hiss, ground loops, etc. because those things bugged the hell out of us when we had only cheap portable record players and cheap plastic headphones to listen to at night time.
You also are just playing on the inevitable point where EVERYBODY'S hearing becomes worse than their stereo.
@gargamel8480: I think theres 'better' and then theres 'synergy' and thats where you can maybe justify the costs above what the ear perceives as 'better'
@danmar007: I got A. Back to hearing school!! Some people waste money looking for the perfect mate, and some do it looking for the perfect sound.
@tuesdayjam5905: Christ sake! you need to sort those adverts out m8
@AudioMasterclass replies to @tuesdayjam5905: Ads are how I get paid for this. YouTube selects what ads to show, how many and how often. If you don't like it, complain to YouTube and tell them that everything on the internet should be free.
@fondolon: This is true and unfortunate. The issue I have is now on my older age I can afford good equipment as opposed to before (when my ears were better) and I was broke. So damnit I'm enjoying buying "expensive" equipment.
@nigeltrigger4499: I have owned B&W 602 S3's and Naim SBL's connected to a Naim 5Si and the difference is striking! The SBL's played so much deeper (down to 30Hz) which I loved, but lacked any kind of bass punch compared with the B&W's. Also The B&W's sounded amazingly good at representing brass instruments. The SBL's sounded muted, my friend said they sounded like cardboard (He owned 602 S2's). THe SBL's were £4000 new, the B&W 602 s3's were ~£500. Is there is speaker that cover 30Hz to 20 KHz and sound great and doesn't cost more than a small car?
@JohnCurtisDownunder: A most interesting video - thanks. Did I waste money on hi fi equipment? Yes and no. Back in 1977 I bought a Linn LP12 with Hadcock GH228 arm and a Denon DL103. The Linn was badly made, and sounded terrible, but I didn't lose any money on it as I returned it to the dealer and bought a Michell Reference Electronic with SME 3009 S2 FH improved arm and Ortofon MC20 + MCA76 instead.
@JohnCurtisDownunder: I own a 2009 Michell Gyro SE + HR PSU with SME M2-9 Tonearm and Audio Technica AT-OC9ML/II moving coil cartridge - replacement value around 7500 GBP. That's probably above my "ear level" so I won't be "upgrading". But it is a strikingly beautiful bit of kit, which, after having a Michell Reference Electronic/SME 3009 + Ortofon MC20/MCA76 for 32 years with its gold plated platter weights, I simply had to buy. No other brand/model would have cut it.
@JohnCurtisDownunder: So what do you think of the Tiefenbruns' latest, the LP12-50? Approx. 10,000 GBP more than the most expensive Klimax, but only better hinges for the dust cover and a new on/off switch to show for it? All LP12s still have the subchassis mounted ON TOP of coil springs, which is unstable, unlike the Michell Gyro/Gyrodec/Gyro SE, still have a motor within the plinth which is more likely to cause vibration and magnetic radiation to travel to the cartridge than a separate motor a la Michell, and still have a belt to a subplatter rather than the perimeter of the platter. It's a bit like a 1948 Morris Minor to which you've given alloy wheels, radial tyres and fuel injection. It's a little souped up, but still a dog. Or to put it more crudely, a turd is still a turd no matter how much you polish it. You've probably worked out by now that I'm not much of a Linn fan. Maybe Dire Straits would call it Linndustrial Disease?
@thenaylor: I love my pmc fb1's. But i think some people would think theyre too controlled.
Some people like distortion, it tricks them into thinking its loud.
@frankmathiesen1779: Regarding Speakers i had some different speakers but for non Audiophiles and even people who are not into hifi at all they all agreed on the Wharfedale Linton 85's was very pleasing to listen to who got most positive response. Im not saying the lintons are the most perfect Loudspeaker ever but found it quite interesting however
@The-Spotlight-Kid: Nice stuff to hear on the video. I'm 65 & loved hearing certain music since before being 6'ish & + years old but at 6'ish, (+/- 1?) i began collecting 45' rpm 7"inch singles discarded by older teenage extended family members, my 7'yr older sister was, is the same age as 2 aunts & 1 uncle (my gran' had 7 kids) we were then all local to P/booro' u.k. Our dad was alone in having a relatively huge radiogram which i was banned from touching, not the older teenage kids tho, so our house was where they'd come to hear their Saturday-bought 7"inch 45 'rpm singles after choosing them from Thursday eve's BBC T.O.T.Pops. (all in hindsight) & they always eventually discarded them a few weeks, some slightly longer after buying them, i guess in hindsight that after a month or less, they'd buy the very latest top-20 singles they liked & forget about the previous 45's. I'd ask "can I have that / those after noticing them in places that they'd never leave them if they imagined playing them again, under beds, under furniture etc.
From 6'ish yrs'old when that collecting process started, i didn't know the concept of A & B sides & with a tall 8'ish inch dia' circular biscuit tin, I'd bung em in it with no sleeves, I got into many songs circa 1960's Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys, Credence, Donavon* (*I was addicted to his "hurdy gurdy man" & "first there is a mountain" singles. I shall Spotify them now I thought of them, easier than finding the tin-full in the attic! after moving houses tho not played for maybe 45'yrs+ now. My actually important point is: "I got to love, listen to, knew all the words from those singles that I was only allowed to play on a Phillips plastic toy-like record player, it had a 5 or 6" inch plastic "tonearm", a 7"inch platter, the plastic lid attached by a length of wire had one central (maybe 4"? from memory) ..speaker in it to lift off & point towards you, (open baffle!) it could & heard it play L.P.s but uber-rarety, they'd wobble up'&'down around & overhang the whole unit on 3 sides & the pitch would vary but I learnt to love & enjoy great music (much of, I now own L.P.s of my fave from that plastic lowest-fi mudic. It would have made a Crossley suitcase stereo look & sound hi-end fantastic. I've just thought maybe "it's the brain that hears & our ears produce the bio-electro impulse links to our brain's audio senses. (my Theory) But improving the playback system definitely correlates to a better enjoyment of the mudic, but there's something fundamental in enjoying music that goes beyond how deep or high or how life-like the frequency & reproduction quality of our systems, or I should have hated all the singles I heard waay back on a plastic toy (but real) record player weighing less than half a bag of sugar, inc' small single plastic lid fitted speaker
P. S. I was "gifted" with my father's post-upgraded Thorens 150 / SME 3009) V15 upon moving into my first flat, a late 60's made Camb' audio P50 integrated, but my low wage typical of all electrical engineering apprentices back then, only allowed me to buy s/h stereo, the Camb' Audio P50 was soon superceded with older made valve amplification. I was surprised anyone still knows of the Leak TL'12's ("12+" ?? ..memory!) my first s/h mono amps, cheap s/h prices in 1975 (a v.g.c. pair will fetch £1000 now, on eBay prices) Valve gear was cheap s/h when many went to, (at first..) "stone cold running "pure 'class B'" tranny amps. All valve pre-power sets I had beat the crap out of early & later transistor amps, or the ones I heard with good reputations, not so good sounds. (I know run an all valved pre-amp, a fully valved phono stage, inc' the 4'valved regulated p.supply box, not 1 chip or op'amp inside either, into a pure class A solid state power amp with not 1 valve in it!) I ran the Quad II's mono's with matching pre, & even bought 1 power amp, removed all valves except the GZ'32 rectifier to separately power the Quad pre-amp, because with it's standard production wiring linking the Quad pre-amp & 2 mono power amps & Quad FM tuner, causes the pre & tuner to take all their power from only one of the two mono power amp supplies, the Quad 22 pre-amp having no power source within itself, it only routes the mains input to the power amps & receives power back from one amp alone, did it make a difference? ..I thought so & theoretically, yes but it only cost me a tenner s/h back then for a non-worker (that worked enough to put out the pre-amps & tuner's power alone. My fave's valve power was a Radford *STA 25.. (*that or close to) ..valve stereo chassis Poweramp with 2 EL34's per channel. Regretted selling that one for ages when the Technics that replaced it, just didn't do "it" near as good as that Radford. Gr8 Vid, took me well back in time.
@aquapoolko: Indeed, there are many staff you can waste your money in audio. But also, happens that someone wearing glasses -5 diopters argues with the good eyesight person that there is nothing ahead of them... The thing is that music gives many of us endorfines. For some it's enough to play loud boombox in a room, to others strong, sharp transistor which kikck the ass, and for some others velvet sound of tube amp, playing in a room with double curtains which avoids echoes... AND for some others it's wasting of time, cause it gives no endorfin at all! Some people realized that some things matters for them and other stuff is a placebo. I would recommend letting people figure out for themselves what matters and what doesn't and what they have to pay for.
@vaninec: profit, it will "scruple not a crime at which it will scruple, nor a risk it will not run". This is often quoted to emphasize the idea that the drive for profit can lead to unethical and illegal actions within a capitalist system.
@forwardsdrawkcab: I highly doubt it's worth getting a turntable more expensive than a nice weighty Technics Quartz Lock Direct Drive from the 70s or 80s.
I have an SL-1200mk2 i once bought used for 300 Euros.
But it doesn't stop and return at the end so i got a semi automatic SL-1411 (from the 70s) which has a very similar motor and the same arm (but without the height adjustment) and a suspended sub frame (so you don't hear 'boom' when you close the lid).
It's much more important to get a decent cartridge with a micro line stylus for the most accurate mechanical transmission from vinyl to cartridge.
Yeah, the SME headshell mounting to the S-arm needs to be sorted out a bit, because it's cute for swapping headshells but certainly not ideal, unless you tweak it a bit.
@Remo860: Play some Motörhead on the Quads and then tell me how good they are…
@abcdef-qk6jf: I've got good ears but I'm not spending a fortune. I buy my gear from a workshop - second hand. I might have spent around 1,500 USD. It's as good as it gets. My local workshop is a mom and dad shop. They're definitely not audiophiles. They've got a good business based on their service and reputation. The kind of people being in it for the interest of music. I've recently bought a Marantz reciever for one of my children being very interested in vintage gear. They gave me a bargain - certain the reciever would do just great. I were a little anxious - but they've nailed it. It sounds great and a good reminder of the pleasures of having a trusted workshop. In the spirit of your video of not wasting a fortune. You should do a review on the Whaferdale Diamonds. They're small inexpensive bookshelf speakers with an extremely good quality of sound - they pack a punch above their size as well. They do prove your point of view. It doesn't have to be expensive to be great. Nor do they have to be big. You're a tad older than me. But I remember a 50Watt amplifier being BIG. A pair of JBL 100 (Watts) speakers were BIG... I could easily do with a Marantz 1090 amp and the JBLs... or the equivalent from Pioneer. I'm not an audiophile - just a simple man. There are no audiophiles among vintage gear lovers...
@Duijnkiller: Never lost a penny with second hand hi-fi equipment
@jamestaylor9258: Knowledge, not necessarily a better ear. ;)
@JoeMicroscope: What about $10,000 power cables. Thanks for your video.
@markgamba4495: Due to different manufacturer's of chips have different tolerances 1% all the way up to 10% the same things with the filters same thing, so if a sound sounds different from one system to another system it the filters, chip tolerances and cartridges from 50$ all the way up to a 1,000$ if you want to go crazy. Oh yea one more thing is the speaker tolerances same thing. Sort of like chasing quadratic equation while trying to play mix and match.
@darrellbeets7758: 99% of statistics are made up at the spot😂
The proof is in the pudding.
@AudioMasterclass replies to @darrellbeets7758: This is why most sufflés fail to rise.
@DecentSizedBalls: Still rocking with the headphones that came with my iPhone 7. Yeah, the ones you still have to plug in. When I need some more bass I just push them in a tad bit firmer than normal and I’m happy. I don’t/wouldn’t listen to anything better because I can’t afford it. I’m pretty sure there are better headphones but I’m not 100% sure. I don’t want to know either.
@adrianvoogd: My perfect and affordable loudspeakers; Elipson 1303 FT.
@MegaBoldt: Im on Rega Planar 3 and still it is pearls for svines.
@Chris.Davies: Hearing is weird. It is the single most fault tolerant sense we have. And when I hear the 1964 recording of Oscar Peterson Trio playing "You Look Good To Me" on the worst bit of badly tuned AM garbage radio, my amazing human brain fills in all the missing detail, making it possible to "listen" to it.
And if you have heard a piece of music on audiophile gear, then you can hear it like that again, on a machine that does NOT produce what the audiophile gear. Your brain and memory does the rest.
This is one of the great ironies and paradoxes of the whole audiophile thing.
And as far as I am concerned, all audio system assessments should include the total amount of money the system costs, and the lower the price the better. I'm looking for bang-for-the-buck, and not big-bangs-for-most-bucks. Any fool with a wad of cash can do that. And when I think of Audiophiles, I'm reminded of the chronic western disease, Affluenza.
Affluenza causes the sufferer to experience an uncontrollable and non-stop desire to spend a lot of money they do not have, to buy a lot of shit they do not need, in order to impress a bunch of people they do not like. :P
@NeilLavitt: Many years ago as a Saturday lad working in a HiFi shop I had to help with a high end installation. At the house, the chap who must of been in his 50’s had only maybe 30 LP’s, less than even I, a 15 year old. It struck me that this was illogical in that I assumed it would be about the music. The other salesperson reminded me that it was about the music for him also but instead of breadth it was about hearing his favourite music in ever satisfying ways.
Many thousands of albums/cds and now streaming ubiquiti later, and having lost fine sounding equipment that can’t be repaired and not being able to truly repeat ‘that sound’ I can kind of understand what gets audiophiles going.
What I fail to understand is the endless cycle of tweaking that fires the confirmation bias and fomo traits that humans with the means fall for and defend it with their full blown intellectual nuance. Case in point, I bought an XLR cable from a good electrical retailer and had my wife swap it with a cable set 25 times the cost. After many swaps to make the test statistical, I couldn’t reliably tell the difference. An audiophile on another forum put it that I was unable to resolve the difference because I didn’t have the hearing capable. I just responded, unless we both do hearing tests to prove it, I’ll take that as wishful thinking on your part.
I’ve concluded, it’s all harmless as long as opinions are kept civil and grandiose claims and hyperbole are kept away. It’s all about the music in the end and most of that I’m convinced is emotion and memory triggering. Why else would a kid with a mono tape recorder love their bands tracks in the 70’s just as much as an audiophile system costing more than most luxury cars. Music reminds us of moments that matter, thought and opinions that resonate. Back to the 30 LP’s that guys had, perhaps those were his moments.
@harrybaulz666: Speakers over 10000$ is a ego trip
@markp8418: Great video - Rick Beato’s ‘Audiophile or Audio-fooled’ is also worth a watch
@RandyFarnsworth: Audiophiles are a lot like Coffee Guru’s much of the chase is in the process
@RandyFarnsworth: I asked ChatGPT if Audiophiles get their ears checked before spending 100’s of 1000’s? It laughed at me😑
@shawnbastien6161: I've been told, your speakers should be all the same brand, matching timber and whatnot . I use Goldenear mains with same in ceiling, with B&W sides and rears powered by Bryston 7bsst mono blocks and 2 9bsst Bryston 5 Chanell's. So this is a dual purpose setup for both music and home theater in mind. Then there is cabling, power cords, and hdmi, so if what you are able to hear is the most prescient consideration, then I have these questions, 1. is there a need to upgrade your power cords. 2. is there a need to upgrade your hdmi cables. 3. cabling RCA vs XLR. 4. Speaker cables, how much to spend?
@godfreytlhapane4066: I have a few pairs of speakers, Tannoy 605s, AR18s, Bose 901 series 1, Boston A400. I am still going to search for flagship amplifiers -Maranttz 22series, NAD 3020, Cambridge AX80-100, to test the match and will sell those will not sound to my preference.
@williampinnock2256: Interesting, and I don't disagree with your fundamental point about hearing degenerating. Medical science also agrees.
What I do find interesting is your "value of hearing analogy". At 50 my high frequency hearing is knackered, I remember it being fantastic in my 20s, being able to hear ultrasonic generators and so on.
On the other hand in the intervening years I've become a reasonably accomplished musician and singer, usually playing in acoustic environments. My ability to hear harmonies and overtones, and understand what I'm hearing, is vastly improved.
I wonder how much ear-training would influence "ear value"?
I don't buy into a lot of the more audiophile rubbish at all, but better quality digital formats are vastly superior to regular asasuming you have good enough kit to compare and I do like hi-fi and modern electronics in general.
@calo6541: man i´m glad i don´t care for any of this. i bought an Pioneer sx 5570, some stone age old acoustic research 4xa´s and i´m just happy with my cheap cables, connect my phone or laptop analog out to the Aux input and enjoy the most sweet, deep, rich and soulfull room filling sound .
that´s enough for me.
i don´t hear loud anymore. Listen to all kind´s of music, gregorian chants, pink floyd, funk, Gospel, rock, blues, european, indian and arabic classics, just listening to the kingdom of heaven full soundtrack on Youtube, what a joy :-)
i was a pro musician for 30 Years, i´ve had enough of earth shattering bass (i´m bass player) and volume. i just look for soul now, i may buy me an Optonica SM3636 and i will be happy even more. i dont even need a dac bec it sounds so good as it is. and i don´t need to drown in sound waves and gutshaking volumes.
if you are blessed with the ability to FEEL the music and get the soul of music you don´t need all this "best" stuff.
I have some very expensive bass guitars but on stage i took me three songs to grab my old beat up fender jazz bass copy from the seventies bec the soul was missing somehow with the TOP basses that sounded so "spectacular".
but enough of my "esoteric" crap. enjoy your "best ever" equipment.
@andrewfoss7493: I for one know that I had Bugatti ears as a young man. Working in trades, firearms, car audio, and mid 20s bar life have caused me to have 2001 ford F-250 work truck hearing. This video is a big eye opener as to what my budget for my first real home audio setup should cost. Thank you sir. Cheers.
@SurnaturalM: Isn't spending a lot of money the whole point of being an audiophile?
@AudioMasterclass replies to @SurnaturalM: Some say that when you own a boat you feel like you’re standing in a cold shower tearing up £50 notes. Maybe there’s an equivalent audiophile analogy.
@MOHITroy999: Sir please, your voiceovers higher frequencies are just so distracting. Once I noticed it, I couldn't ignore. Honestly. And yeah I also do believe that expensive doesn't always means better. Getting the answer is way more complex than what the price tag says
@gabriel360: thank you for sharing your thoughts, much appreciated!
@connorsanders9053: as someone that’s never listened to a typical “audiophiles” turntable, i’d love to know how they compare to a technic 1210 or any of its revisions?
@AndrewUnruh: My 'perfect' speakers wouldn't be speakers, at all. Here is how I would go about it...
1. Measure the head related transfer functions of the customer.
2. Get earphones to reproduce those HRTFs for an elevation of 0 and an azimuth of +/- 30 degrees. This requires DSP to add crosstalk, eq, and delay.
3. Add adjustable room effects
4. Add a head tracker to stabilize the image when you turn your head.
This procedure can be approximated by making a binaural recording with microphones placed in your own ears. Try it. The results are truly astounding.
My Speakers: JBL Pro M2 Mastering Monitor clones played in an acoustically treated room. Before retiring, I was an audio algorithm developer and electro-acoustic engineer with access to very good anechoic chambers which made cloning the M2s possible. Why do I love them? They have controlled directivity which makes room integration easy. Rular flat frequency response. Very low distortion at high SPL. No trace that typical horn sound...just tons of headroom. Like PA meets Hi-Fi.
@Fred-q1x: I started getting worried when I had spent $250 on ALL my gear!!!
@Peremptor: Vinyl is such a scam but hey at least it gets you to listen to music while percolating in the fumes.
@asadabbasmirza9519: Sort on with super humour
@lophilip: Can we just pause for a minute and say how good the audio recording is in this video? It's incredible. The voice is so clear.
@TheOzthewiz replies to @lophilip: TRUE.
@eyushy: My hearings terrible (5khz best ) but my pet greater wax moth really appreciates the ultrasonic frequencies my tweeters produce at 200khz so i think its completely worth it
@rolfwalterspiegler6423: In general I agree and have down sized to my ears capabilities. But for Dac's there are differences I can hear, some I like better.
@FindlaighShaweUK: I don't know which is more worrisome, the reality of a "one thousand dollar cable" (socratic whimsy, surely) or my lust for such a thing.
If the road from youthful hi-fi to septuagenarian wi-fi was paved in gold, sharp-auricled pensioners would soar...
@tonyfrench2574: Get on with it. Don't talk down. Don't tease. Don't beat around the bush. Get in with it.
@niklauskallergis9148: 😂❤👍👍
@snapseven2323: Thought this mfer was Paul McCartney for a sec....
@Supergeologist: Just to repeat what I have said before. My Roksan Atessa turntable came with an offer of some 1/2 price expensive cables. I took the offer and wished I hadn't, the Roksan does not have a grounding point and I was getting an awful hum through the speakers. I tried grounding it to the amp with no effect. In somewhat desperation (to check the cables) I replaced them with some really old, cheap phono leads and guess what? The hum has almost disappeared.