djbnh
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2004
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I do not necessarily feel high priced sources always equals better audio sound. One can take a look at some of the sources in my home audio gear, and see that while not exactly inexpensive, none of them is over $1,000. Please note I've also bought quality used gear, when available and to my taste, to stretch the $.
I feel system synergy, tweaking, power supply, acoustics, psychoacoustics, listening preferences, and other factors come into play in each person answering the question, "Does higher priced sources mean better sound?" I personally try to get as much bang for the buck with each audio purchase, and do support the notion there is a tall curve of diminishing returns once you get past a certain point. For some persons, having that last 0.5 - 1% of audio nirvana is absolutely necessary. I'm not one of those persons, nor is my wallet. I think some components match more optimally with some gear, for whatever reasons, and that should be taken into account as well.
Let's look at one source, for example my Rega P-25 turntable with RB-600 tonearm, and Denon DL-103R cartridge. While not asking one to say this is the best available turntable, tonearm, and cartridge combination, it is undoubtably musical and has myself and visitors tapping toes to its pretty faithful analog reproduction. Some of the vibration and isolation tweaks applied to this turntable were no-or-low cost, and brought noticeable improvement to the sound. I purchased the Rega used and saved $, some which I pocketed, some which I used for the cartridge and tweaks (for example, one of my tweaks involves using BluTak and lead fishing weights, total cost = $3.00. Another tweak involves using a 1.5" thick marble slab for isolation, cost = $0 as I found the marble in the dump heap of an in-town stone cutting business.). Yes, I could have purchased a $5,000 turntable and $2,500 cartridge, but the Rega/Denon combo works very nicely in my system, are thorougly enjoyable, and are easily maintained.
The same philosophy goes throughout my system. I note I have found after numerous speaker auditions and listening sessions that I still enjoy my old Polk SDA 1-C speakers over other, newer gear that I could afford. Friends share my sentiments, and would love to purchase the old Polks if I ever decided to upgrade my speakers. Yes, I've done some minor tweaking to them over the years, but nothing major.
Modest tweaking can do wonders to cost-effectively get that last iota of performance out of your system. I personally like the Chris VenHaus/VH Audio line of PCs, and feel they give great bang-for-the-buck performance. Speaking of tweaks, the best single tweak I have ever done to my system is use Walker SST to all my ICs, PCs, IECs, RCA plugs, cartridge plugs, speaker cables connectors, etc. Well worth the $65 I paid, truly an amazing product. I most highly recommend that before you consider getting new gear, try and apply this product throughout your system (carefully, per Lloyd Walker's directions; no unsteady hands, or alcohol or substance use while applying SST) and you should be amazed at the results. A tiny bit goes a looooooooooooong way, so if you've got nearby friends, it's easy enough to split the cost of the small jar and share it out. There's a newer, more $ version of SST, but I haven't tried it and am fine being blown away with what the regular SST does for my ears and gear. If anyone is near me in NH, drop a pm and we can see if we can get you a dab of the SST; I have barely used a smidgen of the amount that stuck to the underside of the jar lid!
Happy listening!
I feel system synergy, tweaking, power supply, acoustics, psychoacoustics, listening preferences, and other factors come into play in each person answering the question, "Does higher priced sources mean better sound?" I personally try to get as much bang for the buck with each audio purchase, and do support the notion there is a tall curve of diminishing returns once you get past a certain point. For some persons, having that last 0.5 - 1% of audio nirvana is absolutely necessary. I'm not one of those persons, nor is my wallet. I think some components match more optimally with some gear, for whatever reasons, and that should be taken into account as well.
Let's look at one source, for example my Rega P-25 turntable with RB-600 tonearm, and Denon DL-103R cartridge. While not asking one to say this is the best available turntable, tonearm, and cartridge combination, it is undoubtably musical and has myself and visitors tapping toes to its pretty faithful analog reproduction. Some of the vibration and isolation tweaks applied to this turntable were no-or-low cost, and brought noticeable improvement to the sound. I purchased the Rega used and saved $, some which I pocketed, some which I used for the cartridge and tweaks (for example, one of my tweaks involves using BluTak and lead fishing weights, total cost = $3.00. Another tweak involves using a 1.5" thick marble slab for isolation, cost = $0 as I found the marble in the dump heap of an in-town stone cutting business.). Yes, I could have purchased a $5,000 turntable and $2,500 cartridge, but the Rega/Denon combo works very nicely in my system, are thorougly enjoyable, and are easily maintained.
The same philosophy goes throughout my system. I note I have found after numerous speaker auditions and listening sessions that I still enjoy my old Polk SDA 1-C speakers over other, newer gear that I could afford. Friends share my sentiments, and would love to purchase the old Polks if I ever decided to upgrade my speakers. Yes, I've done some minor tweaking to them over the years, but nothing major.
Modest tweaking can do wonders to cost-effectively get that last iota of performance out of your system. I personally like the Chris VenHaus/VH Audio line of PCs, and feel they give great bang-for-the-buck performance. Speaking of tweaks, the best single tweak I have ever done to my system is use Walker SST to all my ICs, PCs, IECs, RCA plugs, cartridge plugs, speaker cables connectors, etc. Well worth the $65 I paid, truly an amazing product. I most highly recommend that before you consider getting new gear, try and apply this product throughout your system (carefully, per Lloyd Walker's directions; no unsteady hands, or alcohol or substance use while applying SST) and you should be amazed at the results. A tiny bit goes a looooooooooooong way, so if you've got nearby friends, it's easy enough to split the cost of the small jar and share it out. There's a newer, more $ version of SST, but I haven't tried it and am fine being blown away with what the regular SST does for my ears and gear. If anyone is near me in NH, drop a pm and we can see if we can get you a dab of the SST; I have barely used a smidgen of the amount that stuck to the underside of the jar lid!
Happy listening!