22906
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2005
- Posts
- 385
- Likes
- 12
After a couple years hanging out on these forums, I think there is something that can greatly improve the usefulness of many discussions:
That is comparing headphone amps (and actually all components) to units that are VASTLY different in terms of price and target audience.
Too often do people who own expensive amps simply DISMISS the sonic merits of amps that cost much less or arent built with robust enclosures, AND vice versa. There are also people who own relatively inexpensive amps and simply refuse to acknowledge that something that costs more may actually offer an increase in sound quality.
The reviews that are published by the more experienced members that are fairly rigorous also tend to include only components from within a certain price bracket. However, there are members on these forums who own components that differ up to two orders of magnitude in price. This makes it very hard for people who own less expensive equipment to JUSTIFY an equipment purchase beforehand. Of course, people will say just buy the more expensive amp and then you can sell it if its not a significant upgrade, but this is a HUGE risk for many people who have limited budgets. If they are not able to sell the amp for as much as they bought it for, they risk losing several hundred dollars just for the opportunity to test expensive equipment, and maybe find it to be not worth the extra cost.
For a high-fidelity audio novice, inter-category comparisons are pretty much the ONLY important comparisons because those are the ones that will be able to justify the most significant upgrades in sound quality. Inexpensive upgrades, including mods, are generally already well documented on the forums, and some end up becoming huge fads (e.g. T-amp, Zhaolu DAC). Not only that, but inexpensive upgrades are easy to access for most people, and can be sold back to the community for very little monetary loss, making them easily reviewable.
Basically I am trying to express a need for more rigorous comparisons between products that are in different price classes so that people may become more confident in spending LARGE amounts of money on gear that will hopefully improve the sound quality of their systems. This is also largely applicable to comparisons between DIY designs and commercial designs, which are not very common. I for one am find it hard to see comparisons between the AMB Beta-22 and commercial amps. These comparisons are revelant however, because many forum members can build these amps and they may offer a better value than commerical amps. However, many regular forum-goers may not be fully convinced because of the lack of direct, rigorous comparisons between DIY amps and commercially available ones.
Anyways, that was a long post. Please contribute your opinions.
That is comparing headphone amps (and actually all components) to units that are VASTLY different in terms of price and target audience.
Too often do people who own expensive amps simply DISMISS the sonic merits of amps that cost much less or arent built with robust enclosures, AND vice versa. There are also people who own relatively inexpensive amps and simply refuse to acknowledge that something that costs more may actually offer an increase in sound quality.
The reviews that are published by the more experienced members that are fairly rigorous also tend to include only components from within a certain price bracket. However, there are members on these forums who own components that differ up to two orders of magnitude in price. This makes it very hard for people who own less expensive equipment to JUSTIFY an equipment purchase beforehand. Of course, people will say just buy the more expensive amp and then you can sell it if its not a significant upgrade, but this is a HUGE risk for many people who have limited budgets. If they are not able to sell the amp for as much as they bought it for, they risk losing several hundred dollars just for the opportunity to test expensive equipment, and maybe find it to be not worth the extra cost.
For a high-fidelity audio novice, inter-category comparisons are pretty much the ONLY important comparisons because those are the ones that will be able to justify the most significant upgrades in sound quality. Inexpensive upgrades, including mods, are generally already well documented on the forums, and some end up becoming huge fads (e.g. T-amp, Zhaolu DAC). Not only that, but inexpensive upgrades are easy to access for most people, and can be sold back to the community for very little monetary loss, making them easily reviewable.
Basically I am trying to express a need for more rigorous comparisons between products that are in different price classes so that people may become more confident in spending LARGE amounts of money on gear that will hopefully improve the sound quality of their systems. This is also largely applicable to comparisons between DIY designs and commercial designs, which are not very common. I for one am find it hard to see comparisons between the AMB Beta-22 and commercial amps. These comparisons are revelant however, because many forum members can build these amps and they may offer a better value than commerical amps. However, many regular forum-goers may not be fully convinced because of the lack of direct, rigorous comparisons between DIY amps and commercially available ones.
Anyways, that was a long post. Please contribute your opinions.
