Auxetophone, I think if you look the the chassis of the ARC, Conrad Johnson, Manley and many others you'll find they are just a simple folded steel or aluminium affair like the old NAD 3020. The Whest 30 chassis is a bit more complex than you might think as it is a hand-welded CAD designed chassis and is done that way for strength to allow the internal suspension to work properly. My mates Asthetix Rhea chassis is just a folded bit of aluminium or steel but has a fancy front panel.
Going down the 'boutique component spec' parts is always a dangerous thing. Over the years many companies have failed in giving us decent sounds even though their units are full of boutique. Personally I just trust my ears.
Before I went down the Whest route I owned a Trichord Diablo phonostage which used quite a few 'audiophile graded' components and the Whest PS.20 I heard against it still managed to better it by a mile!
'Boutique' does not make for a better sound....a great design makes for a great sound!
There is far too much crap and hype in this industry and trying to find the real gems seems to be getting harder.
One just needs to look at the whole interconnect/ cable industry and what can be had on ebay or DIYers. What do you do...go with a $2000 per metre IC because it's made with a material only seen on Jupiter and has won 5 awards or go with something that is independently recommended by 150 people that have nothing to do with audio industry and only costs $200.
I would listen to both BUT I've yet to hear a $2000 cable that is actually worth $2000!
Going down the 'boutique component spec' parts is always a dangerous thing. Over the years many companies have failed in giving us decent sounds even though their units are full of boutique. Personally I just trust my ears.
Before I went down the Whest route I owned a Trichord Diablo phonostage which used quite a few 'audiophile graded' components and the Whest PS.20 I heard against it still managed to better it by a mile!
'Boutique' does not make for a better sound....a great design makes for a great sound!
There is far too much crap and hype in this industry and trying to find the real gems seems to be getting harder.
One just needs to look at the whole interconnect/ cable industry and what can be had on ebay or DIYers. What do you do...go with a $2000 per metre IC because it's made with a material only seen on Jupiter and has won 5 awards or go with something that is independently recommended by 150 people that have nothing to do with audio industry and only costs $200.
I would listen to both BUT I've yet to hear a $2000 cable that is actually worth $2000!