Worst "high-end" equipment you've heard - Page 2  

I don't have enough time with the G08 to comment, but I am a fan of Exemplar Audio's sources. I own a loaded 3910, and his new DAC (A modded Xindak DAC5) for use with the Exemplar music Server, and his new SCD3000 (Modded Shanling SCD3000) SACD/CD player. So I basically agree.

Whew! I dodged your bullet here, since my table is a Super Scoutmaster and you didn't dis it.

Wow! How can we agree concerning the Exemplars and disagree so much concerning the K701's?

Totally agree! State of the art digital with a mediocre output stage is still mediocre.

Agreed! Have you seen the latest TAS? Everything in it is the best thing ever, including the Benchmark.

Or Stereophile where one month a writer says that the Sony Playstation is dramatically over hyped on the internet, and then a couple of issues latter another reviewer thinks its the best that he's ever heard. I've heard the Sony Playstation and the most that I can say about it is that it's innocuous.

In case you can't tell, I'm trying to make 1500 posts tonight.

i agree.

wouldn't be surprised if some of these posts were edited/deleted.

I would challenge the community to accept varying points of view provided the person has
A) heard the gear in question
B) states the reasons for his/her sonic issues
C) does not engage is bashing for the sake of bashing

Yikes, I thinks its great to agree to disagree sometimes. I really wanted to like the 701s really I did I even went out and bought a pair and kept them for months trying. I am a leading edge of the note fan but also can't stand harsh highs it's a bit of a balance to acheive and often I have missed but when the gear locks in it is sweet.

John Tucker makes some of the best sounding gear I have heard and his room at VSAC was a cut above just about every other room at the show by a clean margin with the sole exception on the crazy horn room. Not to mention he is one of the best guys I have had the pleasure of meeting in audio.

Headphones:

GS1000 - overbearing treble and not as overbearing bass but still exaggerated. For the top of the line Grado I'd expect more.

Amps:

Apache - Gave spent a decent amount of time with it at a meet and it just sounded dull and lifeless. Completely underwhelming for a reference level product that is $3000.

Source -

GO8 - Dull and unexciting, for over $4000 new I'd expect a lot more.

Good call I updated my posts.

A few years ago, I attended the high-end audiophile show here in NY. There was this one room where there was a long waiting line to hear the system being played. After waiting for a 1/2 hour, I was finally escorted to my seat to listen to audio nirvana. Please don't rake me over the coals here because I can not remember everything in the system, but I do remember that a $75,000 Rockport Turntable was the primary music source. The speakers were around $150,000 and were made up of 20 or so drivers running vertical in each speaker. I wish I could remember the name of them but I can not. I have to say I was quite excited to hear what state-of-the-art " analogue" music reproduction sounded like. In a word; average. The reason why I was stunned into dismay was this was a $300,000 audiophile system that was just "average" to me. Yes, the room acoustics were a factor and probably not ideal for the system. Then why set it up in the first place? It was so average, that I could actually pinpoint the sound of piano keys directly to the drivers. Not a disappearing act by a long shot. It was strange hearing the sound of a piano emanating from near the top of the ceiling. Furthermore, I wanted to see if a vinyl based system could achieve that " black empty space between notes" recordings on CD's do. Nope. The music sounded like it was coming from a record player. I think since then, it has put a sour taste in my mouth for high-end audio. I no longer subscribe to Stereophile or the Absolute Sound. I sometimes pick these magazines up at Barnes & Noble and read the articles. Same-ole, same -ole. "As close to the original sound as possible at this time". They have been saying this for so long, they should have been reproducing the original sound 20 years ago by now. As far as I am concerned, audio engineering is progressing at a snails pace. Every year I go to the audiophile show. Every year, the same. Impressive! Brilliant! New! Stunning! Reproducing the original sound? No.

two semi-high end headphones (or at least headphones that cost a decent sum) i have yet to take a liking to, and which some consider to be very good, are the Ed.9 and GS1000. i have heard both many times and on different setups and i always feel that they are lacking to some degree.

The Ed.9 is very isolating. it feels like you are wearing an IEM. it is a bit off putting at first. it is a very closed headphone. the music through them did not sound bad, but the bass was strong and seemed to saturate - or intrude upon - the rest of the sonic frequencies. the sound stage was not very large either. another complaint is that the construction looks and feels, to put it mildly, less than high end. there is no heft to them and the chrome looks like it would scratch easily.

As for the GS1000 i have always had the same complaint with it - a hollow, recessed sound. not sure what grado was going for here. the sound stage is certainly very large, but it does not seem to excel much at anything else. one thing i could say is that it has always sounded better to me with tubes than on solid state. the best i have heard the GS1000 was on a WA4 with some classical music. i don't think it sounds necessarily bad, but i also do not see myself purchasing one.

Darths.

I guess they have "impact"..... but I do not get why people want subwoofers on their ears at the expense of just about everything else.

They do look nice......

Were they simply bad or were they bad because of mismatch ?

If that question was to me.....

The only mismatch was with my ears. The only way they sounded "right" to me was with massive EQ to get the mids somewhere near an appropriate level, and even then they were savaged by the bass.

For me, it's Grado RS-1s. I heard jp#s' balanced pair out of his EC amp with 909's Reimyo as the source. The amp and Reimyo are top notch. I also know that jp#s loves his RS-1s. For me, the treble was ear piercing. It was like having needles being driven into my eardrums. However, it's just a matter of taste.

Now the Grado HP-2s are a different story. I heard jp#s' and fell in love with them. They're mine now! Thanks John.

I heard Peak Consult El Diablo floorstander speakers that cost almost $70K. All I have to say is that I know quite a few speakers that are around $5K that I'd rather take over the El Diablo, regardless of price. I wouldn't say 'the worst ever', but very underwhelming.

That Sooloos music server, in my estimation, is the worst rip-off EVER! Anyone who buys that thing gives music lovers a bad name. You have to run it through an outboard DAC anyway, so why don't you just use your Mac Mini or Squeezebox or something?! Only people I envision purchasing this are the old fools who have wives that have collagen lips and fake boobs.

Not going to be a popular sentiment, but for me it has to be the R10. Not that it's a bad headphone, far from it, but it doesn't justify the price IMO. A balanced HD650 (in a good balanced rig mind you) will outperform the R10 in most areas except midrange tone and will cost much less. The R10 has a certain magic to its midrange, a stark realism of tone together with a very romantic liquid presentation, but for a headphone that sells over $4k I'd expect more. I'd say it performs at the $1k pricepoint.

Funny post! : )