AUDIO PRICE INSANITY PRICE VS. PERFORMANCE WORTH IT?

Much to be said for this post I think....  " Myself, I collect and use the best vintage gear from the Golden Age of High End - 1965 - 85! That was when the most innovative (and affordable!) stuff was made! Since then prices have only risen for NO real advances in sound quality! "

Recently auditioned a $5K and $7500 preamps by Audio Research to possibly replace my 25 year old AR LS2B MKII R.  the store was using a $100K + 4 box CD player and probably $40K in cables, very expensive amps and speakers and full room treatments, playing CD's I brought and am familiar with.  My first comment was what happened to the sound stage, it's all constricted size wise and well off in the distance.  Then they changed the speakers to a $35K set on stands. ..  which were not the equal of my 25 year old acoustats.  All my gear is 25+ years old and stands up superiorly to direct comparison.

Even with expensive gear. If it isn’t matched right it can suck. The crash course I went on taught me matching.  I got my main components and used my cables to tweak a little. Knowing the characteristics of all of your gear is important. 

I disagree, calvinj.  Knowing the sound of live, unamplified music (jazz, chamber, classical) in good spaces is critcial in choosing each and every piece of equpmnet.  Put them all together with neutral cable.  Then take steps to balance the sound.  In a living room, diffussers?  No, floor to ceiling bookcases full of books.  Back wall "bounce", treatment?  How about a woven Mexican or Indian rug, or a wall tapestry.  Knowing what to listen for and what to fix to get "live sound" is the solution.

Fine audio, like everything else, is relative. As much as I loved my Quads, I found that they were no longer practical when I moved from a home with a large and open listening environment to a much smaller space. After auditioning many smaller speakers, that fit my budget, I found that the Gershman, Cameleons suited me quite nicely. Now back into a larger, more audio friendly space, I find myself very pleased with with my Maggie 1.7s. In my space, I I sometimes feel that I could even do well with the 3.7s, but that would cost a good deal more money and I would need more power, which would mean still more money. Sometimes, when what we have and how we have it tweaked, sounds very good (within our space and budget) we should spend more time enjoying the music and less time wondering about what might sound better......Jim

To each his own.  My experiences have led me to the system I have now and it’s worked for me. I listen to live music. I’ve tuned my system to my liking and I have added what I need to get it just right for my ear.  Enjoy the music not the process.