Pinipig523
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2004
- Messages
- 1,742
You guys shop for audio gear like women shop for purses and shoes. If it costs more, it must be better and I must have more of it and more expensive stuff than the other guy
For 15k, I could buy a $2000 worth of audio equipment that has 95% the capabilities of your stuff and a new Yamaha R1 to get out of the house and really enjoy life on.
Had one guy from the Polk forums come by and tell me straight up, "I think that there is no reason to buy any speaker over $2000 because they all sound the same from then on in." Well, we had my $2000 Strata Mini speakers hooked up and the $10K Martin Logan Summits hooked up as well... in A/B fashion, the guy listened to several recordings (btw, he also brought over his $1K Polk LSi9 speakers to A/B/C). His comments were, "Well.... I guess I have to eat my words. Apparently, if I had the money, I would get the Summits as they were undeniably better in every facet of the reproduction. There's no point in even buying the $2000 Minis..." Another forum guy (from headfi) came by and left with one phrase uttered several times.... "... mind boggling."
My belief is that about $10K brings you to the table of complete sound reproduction (full range and what not), the biggest difference between speakers beyond this range, IMO, will lie in your own preference as to how something should sound when reproduced. Of course, there are exceptions as there are $27K Magico Mini bookshelves which are not full range, nor complete in its reproduction... though reviews seem to point to a nirvana in sonic reproduction.
Bottom line, I dont think you can easily dismiss hi-end like that. It exists for a reason and there are products out there (in the expensive bracket) that actually give the owner back every cent back (relatively).... just as there are budget speakers that perform beyond their price bracket.