[ThePianoMan]

^ +1

Very well said. It's what works best, no matter other factors.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

hello,

there is something to be said about some high end audio products however, regarding build quality and reliability.

at one time i sold a car to buy a two channel system build around a McIntosh receiver.

it was built like a tank, cost way more than the competition, and sounded wonderful.

lost it in a divorce.

hope the ex is still enjoying it.

which is more than likely true.

Ouch, can relate, lost my beloved SoundLab 845's in my divorce. She hit me where it hurt !

 

[Wildcatsare1]

A bit more on system synergy.

I know I'm not alone on experiences like this...

A long time ago (about 20+ some odd years ago) I had the opportunity to listen to and experience a pair of $15K floor standing speakers.  Now mind you that these speakers were lovingly setup in a well conceived listening room with plenty of power to drive them and some of the finest source components of the day.  Out of not being disrespectful, I won't name the maker of these speakers.

No matter what we did to these speakers to try and "dial" them in, they just never sounded quite right. A few months later, we able to try out a pair of Thiel floor standers which were about $4K if I remember correctly.  And wouldn't you know it, the proverbial light switch went on.  I mean everything sonic wise just lit up and came to life.  These just sounded great!  Nothing else had changed, same amps, cables and sources.  Same positioning in the room.  Just a different pair of speakers which happen to cost a lot less.

So when it comes down to it, sometimes with audio, less can be more.  It is more about putting the right things together to get that good synergy.

So true, I have heard several systems that were put together by "good reviews" for the individual components, based on "brands"/price that had absolutely no synergy. On the other side, I have heard many modest systems that were built to be synergistic, that sounded awesome, no matter the financial cost.

 

[cjl]

  A long time ago (about 20+ some odd years ago) I had the opportunity to listen to and experience a pair of $15K floor standing speakers.  Now mind you that these speakers were lovingly setup in a well conceived listening room with plenty of power to drive them and some of the finest source components of the day.  Out of not being disrespectful, I won't name the maker of these speakers.
 
No matter what we did to these speakers to try and "dial" them in, they just never sounded quite right. A few months later, we able to try out a pair of Thiel floor standers which were about $4K if I remember correctly.  And wouldn't you know it, the proverbial light switch went on.  I mean everything sonic wise just lit up and came to life.  These just sounded great!  Nothing else had changed, same amps, cables and sources.  Same positioning in the room.  Just a different pair of speakers which happen to cost a lot less.

That reminds me of my recent experience helping my father pick out a pair of new speakers. I won't name names for the high end gear, but suffice it to say we listened to several $10k and higher (some as high as ~$25k/pair) floor standers, and none of them sounded quite right, either in the shop or in a home audition. After a bit of frustration, and quite a bit more research, my father decided to try out the SVS Ultra Tower floorstanders ($2k/pair), and for his room and setup, they sounded better than any of the other speakers we had tried, despite costing ten times less than most of the other ones we tried. High cost definitely does not always equal the best sound in many cases in audio.

 

[senorx12562]

I have never spoken to anyone who didn't think it was nuts to spend even $500.00 on a pair of headphones or earphones. In fact I've never done so either, although I might if I could.

 

[crazychile]

Jasons "Schiit Story" should be required reading for all College Business Students. Better yet, save yourself the tens of thousands of dollars and skip school and just read the articles/book. Decent jobs are scarce now and you'll likely have to make your own job through entrepreneurship anyway. You'll learn more about business from this than 4-5 years of college. Especially if you've already done any retail/customer service jobs while in High School. You'll already have most of the business basics from that. At least that was true in my case. As far as what I actually learned in business school that was helpful in the real world, it probably boiled down to <20 hrs of real content.
 
Coming from someone who has degrees in Business and Software Engineering. Engineering is different story. But Business school is kind of a waste unless your only after the piece of paper.

 

[ThePianoMan]

Jasons "Schiit Story" should be required reading for all College Business Students. Better yet, save yourself the tens of thousands of dollars and skip school and just read the articles/book. Decent jobs are scarce now and you'll likely have to make your own job through entrepreneurship anyway. You'll learn more about business from this than 4-5 years of college. Especially if you've already done any retail/customer service jobs while in High School. You'll already have most of the business basics from that. At least that was true in my case. As far as what I actually learned in business school that was helpful in the real world, it probably boiled down to <20 hrs of real content.

Coming from someone who has degrees in Business and Software Engineering. Engineering is different story. But Business school is kind of a waste unless your only after the piece of paper.

Heartily agree with this. Much of business is common sense and experience. I know business scholars that became business scholars because they'd failed at real-life business. And some people who were completely unschooled who made it big.

 

[wine-fi]

  Jasons "Schiit Story" should be required reading for all College Business Students. Better yet, save yourself the tens of thousands of dollars and skip school and just read the articles/book. Decent jobs are scarce now and you'll likely have to make your own job through entrepreneurship anyway. You'll learn more about business from this than 4-5 years of college. Especially if you've already done any retail/customer service jobs while in High School. You'll already have most of the business basics from that. At least that was true in my case. As far as what I actually learned in business school that was helpful in the real world, it probably boiled down to <20 hrs of real content.
 
Coming from someone who has degrees in Business and Software Engineering. Engineering is different story. But Business school is kind of a waste unless your only after the piece of paper.

I absolutely agree!  Book knowledge vs. business experience.  You do need the book knowledge to get the degree, but there is nothing like real world practical experience.

 

[aamefford]

  Jasons "Schiit Story" should be required reading for all College Business Students. Better yet, save yourself the tens of thousands of dollars and skip school and just read the articles/book. Decent jobs are scarce now and you'll likely have to make your own job through entrepreneurship anyway. You'll learn more about business from this than 4-5 years of college. Especially if you've already done any retail/customer service jobs while in High School. You'll already have most of the business basics from that. At least that was true in my case. As far as what I actually learned in business school that was helpful in the real world, it probably boiled down to <20 hrs of real content.
 
Coming from someone who has degrees in Business and Software Engineering. Engineering is different story. But Business school is kind of a waste unless your only after the piece of paper.

Regarding the whole post - my take (BSME and MBA degrees), college teaches you some stuff - great.  The invaluable lesson of college is learning how (and where) to learn what you need to know at any given time.  Well, that and how to maintain in front of your peers when you slept for less than an hour and a half the night before and your head hurts so bad you had to wake and bake just to make it out of bed in the morning (crap - did I say that out loud?  And it's been about 30 years since I've done any of that behavior.  No - Really!)
 
Regarding the bold text above - aren't we all?

 

[7ryder]

we're all after pieces of paper (with dead presidents on them) 

 

[Currawong]

I have never spoken to anyone who didn't think it was nuts to spend even $500.00 on a pair of headphones or earphones. In fact I've never done so either, although I might if I could.

 
I don't tell anyone anything. I keep this hobby between myself and a few, local addicts. 

 

[7ryder]

   
I don't tell anyone anything. I keep this hobby between myself and a few, local addicts. 

And I never tell SWMBO the actual price of any of the stuff I buy. Life is much easier since I started rounding down!

 

[SoupRKnowva]

And I never tell SWMBO the actual price of any of the stuff I buy. Life is much easier since I started rounding down!

"Rounding down" lol I like that...

 

[EraserXIV]

More like dropping a zero or 2 

 

[Argo Duck]

But of course you round up on the glittery stuff you buy her right?

And I never tell SWMBO the actual price of any of the stuff I buy. Life is much easier since I started rounding down!