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An encounter and lesson in speaker prices ...

Not to long ago, in a shop I like but will remain nameless I got to observe a customer evaluate a pair of systems side by side. The buyer had an eastern European accent. First they listened to the larger system, $50k speakers, equivalently priced amps and digital.


It sounded _really_ good. Then we moved to another system. Slightly smaller speaker pair, around $20k, completely different DAC and amp. Sounded like crap. The digititis was unbearable and the speakers were clearly out of phase. On top of that, the treble and bass balance were now all wrong.


The buyer was "I like them, what colors do they com in? " and that was that.

After the buyer left I looked behind at the amp. Yep, I was right, the pahse was reversed. The darkness of the room and angle made this an easy and common mistake to make. But the rest was unbearable.


What is my point? The people buying the top end gear are not necessarily the one’s with decent ears, so we really cannot trust price points to be any sort of guide to value. If you develop your taste on your own, independent of prices, you can score some fabulously performing gear at a fraction of what this buyer was going to end up with.


Best,

E
erik_squires
tuberist's avatar
tuberist
79 posts
 
Erik,
Interesting anecdote, thanks for sharing. I think many people equate cost with "quality" and seasoned listeners like us know you have to let your ears be your guide. We all have different tastes and hearing abilities. BTW, I enjoy your posts, always food for thought....keep em' coming.
Larry
genesis777
59 posts
 
Maybe they wired them wrongly intentionally to make the $50k pair sound far better.
dentdog's avatar
dentdog
300 posts
 
mr-m,
Funny you should mention. Listened last night to RW's Amused to Death LP no less. Sitting there in the money seat I start hearing the conversation accompanying What God Wants and it's coming from the back left corner of the room. 
As to out of phase speakers, yes the sound is large and all encompassing. Sounds profound for about two seconds. Wonder if the buyer gets them home and the sound is so much "smaller"?

newtoncr
20 posts
 
Speaking “out of phase” . I have a Bose 901 series vi in my basement which my kids use when they have friends over . The music through thoose even at low volumes gives me a headache and sound so incoherent. Does anyone know if those speakers are wired out of phase to make the sound larger. 
glupson
1,794 posts
 
It seems like a win-win-win situation. Buyer bought what he liked, seller sold what he could, Audiogon gets to pat itself on the back for being better than the fool who does not know what is good.

He somehow manages to know what he likes without prejudice and technicalities and is even capable of seeing his purchase from more than one side. He can multitask and include colors, too. Kudos to an honest and capable buyer. Now, if more people would be like that...
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