Music Lover vs Audiophile

[tube fan]

Even I can see that, in , say twenty years, high res MC will TOTALLY dominate the audio world. Yes, in twenty years, a great MC system will cost very little (compared to today's stereo high end cost).

[E-Stat]

Even I can see that, in , say twenty years, high res MC will TOTALLY dominate the audio world. Yes, in twenty years, a great MC system will cost very little (compared to today's stereo high end cost).

So, you believe that the cost of all high performance sources, cabling, amplification and speakers will drop by more than half? While that notion is certainly desirable, it does not reflect what has happened over the past several decades.

[Byron4]

So, you believe that the cost of all high performance sources, cabling, amplification and speakers will drop by more than half? While that notion is certainly desirable, it does not reflect what has happened over the past several decades.

Actually with the new global economy combined with the number of outstanding American made high value products made by Quicksilver, Rogue, Vandersteen, Magnepan, the list goes on, I feel high-end products have become very affordable. However, when reading some of the comments there are still a substantial number of audiophiles that equate quality with price. I read a long time ago that high-end audio is an attitude of the manufacturers design of a product not about price. Also The April 2011 issue of Stereophile has an article called "The Upward Price Spiral" which discusses the issue of pricing. It is available on their website.

On a related note, after rereading my initial post, I would like to clarify that Stereophile does a very balanced job of covering their entry level products, especially with their introduction of "The Entry level " and some of the new reviewers hired the past few years. Like I said earlier Sam Tellig exposed me to the Quicksilver line of reasonably price tube amps. I am only suggesting they review a few more floor standing speakers instead of the mostly stand mounted speakers to appeal to a wider young crowd. And no these do not have to be muddled bass speakers for loud modern music. There are probably some new companies out there we have never heard of that could use the exposure.

[RGA]

Actually with the new global economy combined with the number of outstanding American made high value products made by Quicksilver, Rogue, Vandersteen, Magnepan, the list goes on, I feel high-end products have become very affordable. However, when reading some of the comments there are still a substantial number of audiophiles that equate quality with price. .

It depends what your standards are. Rogue makes over $10k amps, Magnepan makes $15,000 loudspeakers and Vandersteen makes a $50,000+ loudspeaker.

Sure they make "affordable products" but just keeping it within the company line - the more expensive models tend to sound a lot better than their less expensive models.

MC presently would make my increased cost dramatic. The old 2 great speakers and a great two channel SET amp to let you listen to 99.99999% of all recorded music in history or buy 6 to 11 lesser loudspeakers and some sort of SS surround system to play the remaining fraction of a percent of music seems off to me.

That's in an "either or" scenario. It does not have to be - you can always buy BOTH. Have a lesser priced MC set-up with "good" speakers and play MC back on that.

It depends on what sacrifices you wish to make. Using Maggie as an example - 3 pairs of 1.6 speakers for $6k in multi-channel or one pair of 3.6 for two channel. I'd probably go MC given the choice.

If it was stuff I liked I could run 3 pairs of AX Two standmounts with one or two Genesis subwoofers for H/T and MC. I can buy mono-block SET amps as power amps for each speaker (and then run an MC SS amplifier with a bypass to a SET preamp for 2 channel).

[Byron4]

[QUOTE=RGA;383456]It depends what your standards are. Rogue makes over $10k amps, Magnepan makes $15,000 loudspeakers and Vandersteen makes a $50,000+ loudspeaker.

You have a point. Still the Rogue integrated amp complete with phono stage for under 2k is intriguing and I have read some really good things about this amp. Someday I would like to hook them up to my Alon speakers to hear how they compare to my ASL/Quicksilver combo especially because they both have a similar tube complement.