Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ogicse!uwm.edu!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!info-high-audio-request From: hudson@falcon.nrl.navy.mil (Dan Hudson) Newsgroups: rec.audio.high-end Subject: A Weakness in the System? Message-ID: <7468@uwm.edu> Date: 6 Nov 90 18:29:23 GMT Sender: news@uwm.edu Lines: 57 Approved: tjk@csd4.csd.uwm.edu Originator: tjk@csd4.csd.uwm.edu Is there a weakness in the system? Please excuse any slight inaccuracies; I'm going for concept, not specifics... Since we read rec.audio.high-end, I assume it is more than a passing interest among us to create the most experience possible within our homes. Along these lines, we have gone to great lengths to assemble an audio system to perform this function. Part of the fun of high-end audio is planning the "ideal" system. I know I pour over back issues of Stereophile and Absolute Sound, weighing the pros and cons of Divas vs 801s and Audio Research vs Krell. But unfortunately, I do not have the luxury of choosing between such thoroughbred pieces of equipment. For those of us with a limited budget (me!), deciding which components to purchase is an agonizing decision. "How much should I spend on speakers?" "Electrostatic or Dynamic?" "Solid-State, Tube or Hybrid?" It's enough to drive a guy crazy! It is here that services like this newsgroup and the high-end publications provide an invaluable service. It gives us the opportunity to help one another assemble a system that will best satisfy our individual tastes while providing the most "bang for the buck". But of late, I perceive a possible weakness in the system. Unfortunately, I think we've created a barrier that prevents us from considering many components that might offer a good "bang for the buck" ratio. I find it both refreshing and disturbing that some of the "cheaper" components reviewed in Stereophile recently (the new ADCOM pre-amp and the ROTEL CD player come to mind) offer Class-B performance at a cost well under $1000! When I see components in this price range offering performance comparable with the "big boys", I start to wonder what else I might be missing, simply because we fail to consider it. As an example, consider this... Might it be possible that in, say, the $500 to $750 range, a company considered "mid-fi" in most cases by the average audiophile, such as Onkyo, offer a product comparable, or even superior, to a "vanilla" high-end component like the highly thought of Creek integrated amp? If smaller companies, like ADCOM and ROTEL, can produce components which impress the critical ears of our valued Stereophile editors way beyond what their price tags would otherwise indicate, is it so unlikely that a major "mid-fi" company might not produce a superior product, even occasionally? I think we all really need to step back, take a few moments, and check out some equipment that we otherwise would write-off. Perish the thought, but this might even require a visit to Circuit City... Any comments? Dan Hudson hudson@falcon.nrl.navy.mil