[E8ArmyDiver]

I've been thinking on this a few days now.Researching a new amp for incoming HD800S & watching a review of a boutique tube amp from Central Eu the amp is,by today's standards downright CHEAP.The dealer made an bold statement he did NOT like the term entry level attached to the amp just because it was inexpensive & that the performance of said amp absolutely smokes many amps from name brands costing thousands of $ more & should be considered nothing less than world class!
This tracks right along with the main reason I choose the Sennheiser HD800S as my end game headphone.Review after review after review & the general consensus is that they are by today's standards,World Class headphones,capable of such amazing sound reproduction only a very few headphones on the planet can better them & MOST,if not all of these are much more expensive,yet at an msrp of just $1700.00 they are within reach of all but the most financially challenged among us..
Far to long has the more $ = better performance mentality dominated the audio industry& I am curious what other gear out there is considered TOTL End Game but isn't priced like it?

 

[gimmeheadroom]

More expensive gear is usually better in build quality and materials and often in quality of support and often in terms of resale value. It is often not objectively better than cheap gear in terms of measurements. THX amps can cost 200 bucks and outmeasure amps costing tens of thousands of dollars. Yet there is not much correlation between measurements and subjective sound quality and pride of ownership.

The only rule is to get what you like in terms of sound quality, build quality, etc. at a price which you are willing to pay.

 

[E8ArmyDiver]

^^^ I am NOT interested in the sub conscience justification/puffery of "more $ = more/better blah blah blah"..Your statement is the absolute garbage that permeates the industry!!!
I thought the concept was pretty easy to grasp..Based on gear like the HD800S,that is semi affordable & universally considered TOTL/World Class/End Game,what other gear in our hobby carries the same level of acceptance as TOTL/End Game but is affordable to all but the most financially challenged....

 

[DeepSouth]

Schiit YGGDRASIL at $2500 is often compared to a $10,000 Dave by Chord and other TOTL DACs like Esoteric.
I'm not saying I agree with yggy being better than dave, I've never heard them both at the same sitting. But they're compared a lot.

I've heard of Rogue audio to be as good as Audio Research for far less money. I loved Audio Research and I was on the fence about getting it. I went out of my way to hear Rogue and I was extremely disappointed. While I don't agree with you get what you pay for, I do agree that you get around what you pay for with few exceptions. Schiit's exception is they're direct to consumer, and as such a yggy and a dave could very well cost the exact same to produce (for all I know). Chord is a manufacturer, who has distributors, who has local dealers, who sell to the public.

Some would say Blue Jeans Cables are as good or better than the TOTL cables. I bought a pair and they're terrible. I needed them, and I needed a certain length. When I got a cable demo in my own house with Analysis plus and Nordost, I decided quickly it was worth the $$$$ for high end cables. It wasn't even close in the higher frequencies. The only reason I've kept my blue jeans cable, is to give away or use as a temporary cable if I break my Nordost banana.

Going back to you get what you pay for; this hobby is infatuated with the best, and the best TOTL gear is severely affected by the economy of diminishing returns.
A dave dac may be better than a yggy, but it's not 4 times better.

I had a friend build his own amp out of a clear plastic shoebox with a kit. That amp costed him $80 to make, it sounded better than most amps costing several thousand dollars. But there was a catch. It only shined with 8 ohm, and small speakers, I don't know how long he could listen before it failed.

 

[Thenewguy007]

Technically the Sennheiser HD800 was priced as end game. It's just afterwards a slew of newer headphones came out with higher & higher prices, while just being side grades to the HD800.