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We are buying and reviewing gear all wrong

So let's assume that cables, power conditioners and electronics all contribute noticeably to the sounds we hear.

In that case, maybe the idea of buying individual gear, reviewing individual gear, etc. is all messed up.
We should review entire systems, and buy entire systems.

This idea that we constantly shuffle interconnects, speaker and power cords for all our lives is messed up.

We shouldn't be looking at audio stores or reviewers as recommending gear, but themes. Styles. Entire collections all at once.
erik_squires
inna
5,245 posts
 
Sure, but that's not for audiophiles. Audiophiles might ask for an advice but they want to be able to assemble their systems by themselves. Which in this dealer's reality would mostly involve moving boxes, cables and speakers. Real audiophiles are rarely best customers except perhaps for a handful of boutique dealers. There used to be one - HI-Fi Farm in Virginia selling very esoteric pieces. High Water Sound in Manhattan maybe.
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
"Buying entire systems"...Most of the audiophiles I know already own equipment.And few of us are in a position to throw out $40K worth of stuff and walk into a store and say sell me a whole new system for $50,000 that is better than the $40K one I had....So IMO no one here is in the market for an entire system. Period. Maybe??? One in five hundred, (the guy who landed a new job, the inheritance, might be out to buy a whole system. No dealer could ever make a living selling only complete systems. (except for the few years everyone wanted a ’home theater’. but that fantasy died already.)
When I retired I took a pile of cash I got and blew it on stereo junk. Did I buy a ’whole system’? no way. I bought a lot of bits, but still had plenty of old bits. And eight years later, in 2018 again spending a pile, I only replaced even fewer way more expensive individual parts.So where is the sense of reviewing something FEW ARE BUYING?There are no threads here about wanting a wholes system. They mostly are about individual choices. Single items.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
4,908 posts
 

Well, adding a single component to an already existing system is also a service offered by a hi-fi-retailer. In that case, the consumer would likely be the instigator, the retailer providing guidance and advice and potentially a loaner piece for the client/customer to take home to audition in his system. The problem with that is that many consumers have no such local retailer that provides that kind of service.

But now we are back to the issue and premise of this posting! It is a fortunate consumer who has a relationship with a hi-fi-retailer possessing enough integrity to resist a short-term sale in the interest of a maintaining a long-term relationship with a repeat customer.

elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
The premise of the op was whole systems should be reviewed. Nothing about relationships with HiFi dealers. However that is a good point, that fewer people have a local HiFi dealer. The difference is now, we all have the internet. Back in the day, before the internet.. All you had were the magazines to tell you what was available.. or local dealers. I remember plenty of dealers would say terrible things about other brands they did not sell!               
And back then, particularly in the heyday of TAS, a review could make (or break) a company. Not so anymore. Now online reviews and forums sites offer endless added opinions. So to my mind, it is WAY BETTER today, then in the past for being able to find discussions and reviews of particular equipment one is interested in. Plus repair problems, terrible factory responses, Great customer service.. You name it. So I say now if the best time to discover EASILY new equipment, others experiences with it, and what it may sound like.. all without doing more than moving your fingers on a mouse and keyboard. Then finding the product... And with used equipment so easily found... Hey what is not to like.
michaelgreenaudio's avatar
michaelgreenaudio
643 posts
 

I've been doing complete systems for a lot of years now, it's a nice niche. For one, you don't have to travel the same road as many HEA companies do. They always are dependent on other designers to pull them through. I don't have to mess with that. The other thing that is nice is the relationship you get to build with listeners.

Once somebody starts with "The Method of Tuning" and it becomes second nature to them, they never have to return to HEA's revolving door. They can stay a collector if they choose but it's no longer necessary, to get the sound they want.

Another nice thing about Tuning is how inexpensive it is. Most Tunable systems out there cost less than a typical HEA amplifier. If the listener does want to go ultimate system they go with The Tunable Room. With The Tunable Room you're literally sitting inside of a large musical instrument.

Michael Green 

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