1. Home
  2. misc-audio
  3. 146740-20253

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
stevecham
3,298 posts
 
Tech HiFi, Tweeter, Etc. and a few other stereo stores in the Boston area used to offer deals on pre-assembled systems. In 1973, I bought, with a little help from my parents, one of Tech HiFi’s $199 systems comprising the house branded TDC 1 sealed speakers, a ~6 wpc Cambridge Audio receiver and Garrard turntable with "magnetic cartridge!" IC’s and a couple of 6 ft strands of zip cord were also included.

It sounded pretty good for my small bedroom and for the first time I was no longer chewing up my records with a crappy flip-style Astatic piezo cartridge. A year later I bought a Pioneer turntable from a local dealer that greatly improved vinyl playback. That system lasted me from spring of sophomore year in high school until I graduated from college six years later. I later gave it away to friends as I was able to afford a better rig.

Systems are what we listen to, but how we get there is the path of individuality and experimentation, and I don’t think you’re going to change that. Either that or it’s Bose Wave Radio.
dgarretson
2,394 posts
 

At various times in the odyssey I've gravitated to several components from a single manufacturer(first BAT and more recently Pass), but this pretty much ceased after discovering that almost anything can be improved or successfully re-voiced with DIY modifications.  As to cables: once the speakers and electronics have been brought up to a high level, a carefully researched DIY recipe with pure annealed silver wire and branded terminations is the finishing touch.  My greatest regret in the hobby is an expensive drawer full of commercial cable purchases.

I can't think of a single manufacturer with whom I would buy into the construct of single-sourcing purchasing-- including Linn, ATC, and Naim. 

cd318
404 posts
 
@dgarretson , 

"My greatest regret in the hobby is an expensive drawer full of commercial cable purchases."

"I can't think of a single manufacturer with whom I would buy into the construct of single-sourcing purchasing-- including Linn, ATC, and Naim."


I'm with you on both statements. I'd throw in Rega too regarding the latter as I fear they've lost the way a little with their RX speaker line. 

I guess it's difficult but if anyone can crack it in the future it will be ATC. Their loudspeakers (especially actives) have been amongst the most highly regarded for decades.

elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
One company which CAN sell the whole line and folks buy... Is McIntosh. Plenty or dentists, doctors and lawyers have all MAC systems.  
My problem with reviews is they never compare anything. Some guy was 'up in arms' because I refused to (formally I guess,) review a product (just for his pleasure) but to me, without other equally valued products to compare it to... No way can I state much about the one I own except. I like it. And that is a fact for all the magazine reviewers too. Maybe they think it will alienate manufacturers? But a shootout is the only way to compare stuff .And in more than one person's home! So to do a real review, one would need several equal items, and at least two separate listening rooms with really sorted high end stuff. Maybe even multiples of electronics. The Reviewer 1 gets the test items for a few months, then the second. They each write up their own reviews. published at the same time. They would have to pay those guys a lot more...  And as Stereophile does, do tests and publish them too.
dgarretson
2,394 posts
 
@cd318 I’d like to believe in ATC as a full-service supplier, were it not for a dealer demo I heard several years ago with ATC speakers fed by an ATC preamp. The combination was opaque and sterile, whether owing to the speakers or the preamp I know not. Maybe they are outside their depth in the preamp space. There are few if any manufacturers that can cover all bases.
More to discover