[nileppezdel77]

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I don't care how it sounds $5000 or more on speakers is dumb.
 

 
I'm going to have to agree with Willakan on this, it's personal preference where to draw that line. For you, it may be true, but I've heard $5000 speakers that absolutely bowled me over and wouldn't hesitate (if I had that kind of dough set aside for speakers) to pick them up. Just like some would think you're stupid to have $300 headphones, if it sounds good to you, it's worth it.
 
Quote:

@NilePP
I'm an objectivist when it comes to audio, so my ideal amplifier would be a helluva lot cheaper! I'd probably have a Benchmark as my preamp also, and would laugh heartily at anyone who claimed my setup was unmusical. There are lines of diminishing returns and as far as amplifiers and DACs are concerned, we've prettymuch hit them. Who is going to be able to hear the difference between 0.0005% and 0.000005% THD? 
 
@bcasey:
 
"I don't care how it sounds, more than $5 on headphones is dumb."
 
It is simply a matter where each person draws the line of diminishing returns. Personally, I would put a lot of value on a stereo which can provide a reasonable "I'm there" sort of feeling. My headphone setup is very pleasurable to listen to, but I couldn't really fool myself into thinking the performers were in the room!
 
EDIT: Just looked up the amplifier you mentioned. If I wanted to add 0.1% THD to my sound, instead of using antiquated technology, I would do it with digital signal processing, grab a cheap, neutral SS amp and save myself a bomb. The Carver Challenge makes for interesting reading...

 
I was joking, I just found the most expensive one I could in 2 seconds on google. I wouldn't spend a quarter mil on those speakers I suggested either... That wasn't really clear in my post at all, sorry about that.
 
 

 

[Willakan]

Fair enough, you can never be sure when someone is serious/joking on the internet 

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

 


Nope and can't say I want to. What a tube amp does to the sound is nothing magical and if I wanted it added I would do so in software.
That said, I'll wager that many tube amps sound surprisingly similar to their solid state brethren (they may measure badly, but not necessarily badly enough for it to be obviously audible) when the blindfolds are brought out.

Oh, I see, humour!
I thought you were serious!

 

 

[Xtralglactic]

Well how about Nakamichi? Any thoughts on them?

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

Well how about Nakamichi? Any thoughts on them?

I used to use a Nakamichi cassette deck, it was surprising how good it sounded compared to other cassette decks. It was three head deck.
There is a line of old Nakamichi pre amd power amps designed by Nelson Pass, that line has a reputation for outstanding sound for the money.  I think he also designed a line of receivers for them.  This stuff would date from the mid to late 80s. 
 

 

[nileppezdel77]

Quote:

Well how about Nakamichi? Any thoughts on them?

Don't they make car radio stuff?

 

[Xtralglactic]

There's a Nakamichi shop here in Sydney. They have a broad range of items in their showroom. I would think they're the Japanese version of BOSE

 

[driver 8]

If comfort's a factor for you, OP, and isolation isn't, those IE2's you got could be worthwhile.  I thought the general consensus on them here was that they were fair for $99?  I could see the AE2's being justifiable for their convenient form factor and comfort.
 
bcasey, if you can't think of any reason why someone other than yourself may want better speakers, you really need to put more fore-thought into your posts.  Are you just trolling?  I really can't tell sometimes.

 

[rroseperry]

Well how about Nakamichi? Any thoughts on them?

I don't know what Nakmichi is like now, but I have a CD player and tape deck from the 80s that are built like tanks and sound great.

 

[beerguy0]

Quote:

Well how about Nakamichi? Any thoughts on them?

Awesome cassette decks, loved mine I had back in the mid-80s. (Nakamichi 680, IIRC)
 


Quote:

I used to use a Nakamichi cassette deck, it was surprising how good it sounded compared to other cassette decks. It was three head deck.
There is a line of old Nakamichi pre amd power amps designed by Nelson Pass, that line has a reputation for outstanding sound for the money.  I think he also designed a line of receivers for them.  This stuff would date from the mid to late 80s. 
 

I thought the same thing when I had my Nak back in the 80's. The Nakamichi deck was the first I found that could record piano and get it right.
 

 

[Sylverant]

I don't think badly of Bose headphones or speakers in particular as far as sound quality is concerned. The OE2's sound quite nice. The problem is that their build quality is atrocious and $150 is way to high a price for that build and sound. My grandfather owns Bose 201 Bookshelf speakers. They really do create a live, large and spacious feel just as advertised. However I don't know much about speakers and can't say whether or not they're overall clarity is worth $200 compared to offerings in the audiophile market.
 
Bose for one thing isn't Skullcandy or Beats, they market themselves as a respectable audiophile brand yet don't quite deliver enough quality for the price they ask for. Their considered sort of a mock audiophile brand for those reasons, which is why the don't get respect here.

 

[Ishcabible]

Isn't Nak more the Bang and Olufsen of Japan?

And bcasey, so you've heard a pair of $1000 speakers in a proper room? Just because it's inconvenient for you hardly means it's dumb for everyone, especially people with their own house (with dedicated music room). If I had the space, I'd go through the extra trouble and extra 0 in price compared to headphones in a heartbeat.

But anyways, their Wave radio sounds super weird.

 

[Uncle Erik]

 
Quote:

I don't think badly of Bose headphones or speakers in particular as far as sound quality is concerned. The OE2's sound quite nice. The problem is that their build quality is atrocious and $150 is way to high a price for that build and sound. My grandfather owns Bose 201 Bookshelf speakers. They really do create a live, large and spacious feel just as advertised. However I don't know much about speakers and can't say whether or not they're overall clarity is worth $200 compared to offerings in the audiophile market.
 
Bose for one thing isn't Skullcandy or Beats, they market themselves as a respectable audiophile brand yet don't quite deliver enough quality for the price they ask for. Their considered sort of a mock audiophile brand for those reasons, which is why the don't get respect here.

Listen to some high-end gear.  You'll find Bose severely lacking in comparison.  I've heard Bose and I've been lucky enough to own good speakers and headphones.  There's no comparison.
 
Bose does not market to audiophiles.  At all.  They're quite aware audiophiles loathe the company and also aware that they don't make a good product.  Bose actually markets to women.  That's who their stylish little boxes are for.  Women make the majority of decorating choices in the home, so they came up with something women would accept.  That's also why there are no specs or technical info in their ads.  They make their crap out to be the "equivalent" of a real setup, so it can be argued that floorstanders are not necessary and the cute little boxes are fine.
 
That's not a knock against women, for the record.  Female audiophiles have great taste; I wish there were more.
 
And $5k is about right for speakers.  You can get top-shelf performance for that.  Anything more is usually just expensive furniture, since a few thousand or less will get you the best drivers in the world.
 
As for those $25k amps, they probably don't have more than $1k of parts inside.  Probably more like $700-$800.  Drop another $150 on some nice Par-Metal cases.  Those are yet another example of something that might be good but not terrifically expensive dropped into a fancy case and marked up a ridiculous amount.  Another reason people should buy a soldering iron and start building DIY audio.  If you want the performance, you can build a killer system for a few thousand.
 
But if you have to have a status symbol, prepare to be fleeced.

 

[Sylverant]

^ Thanks for that. I was under the impression that Bose sold their speakers to the elderly and audiophile wannabees that are only interested in riding popular brand recognition or don't know better. That's because I live around many elderly and lawyer types that have Bose and Boston setups. Particularly my neighbor has large Boston floor standing speakers that he had showed off at a party that he held at random on his house on a snowy day once.
 
Is boston also such a crap showoff brand? They make cheap mono radio's so I can't help but wonder.

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

 

Listen to some high-end gear.  You'll find Bose severely lacking in comparison.  I've heard Bose and I've been lucky enough to own good speakers and headphones.  There's no comparison.
 
Bose does not market to audiophiles.  At all.  They're quite aware audiophiles loathe the company and also aware that they don't make a good product.  Bose actually markets to women.  That's who their stylish little boxes are for.  Women make the majority of decorating choices in the home, so they came up with something women would accept.  That's also why there are no specs or technical info in their ads.  They make their crap out to be the "equivalent" of a real setup, so it can be argued that floorstanders are not necessary and the cute little boxes are fine.
 
That's not a knock against women, for the record.  Female audiophiles have great taste; I wish there were more.
 
And $5k is about right for speakers.  You can get top-shelf performance for that.  Anything more is usually just expensive furniture, since a few thousand or less will get you the best drivers in the world.
 
As for those $25k amps, they probably don't have more than $1k of parts inside.  Probably more like $700-$800.  Drop another $150 on some nice Par-Metal cases.  Those are yet another example of something that might be good but not terrifically expensive dropped into a fancy case and marked up a ridiculous amount.  Another reason people should buy a soldering iron and start building DIY audio.  If you want the performance, you can build a killer system for a few thousand.
 
But if you have to have a status symbol, prepare to be fleeced.

In my experience BOSE markets to wealthy, non-audiophile business people as well. Those noise canceling headphones are perfect for business flights. BOSE systems come as equipment options on many run-of-the-mill luxury sedans. I also remember BOSE systems being installed in the ceilings of homes of several of my dad's clients when I was but a wee lass.