I would like to write something that I would have written when the thread had derailed sometime back
, please, this is not fair, everyone had their share of rant...me too
hyeah:
So, I am happy to see some curious questions regarding high end gears put forward by Hiten and few other members. I think technically a lot has been answered, like you cannot challenge the laws of physics, every design has its limitations no matter how much money goes in etc etc. Yes, these are all valid but I would like to put forward a different perspective to this whole game. Something that will give you an idea of what is happening in the high end circles and what you should and
should'nt be expecting when you think high end.
For this discussion, I will simplify and define "high end" as any gear that costs USD 10k and above.
Any high end gear can be classified into one of these 5 major categories:
Either it is:
1. A bargain for the money
2. Good value for money
3. Worth the money (neutral)
4. Okay, not junk for the money
5. Junk
With my limited exposure to I have heard till date, IMO high end has lots of junk !! If you take into consideration all the gears that fall in category 4 & 5, you have covered 80% of high end already. Finding a piece of gear which is worth the money is serious achievement. You see so many reviewers declaring a piece of high end gear as "Bargain", here is a simple rule that if you apply to a typical review you will hit it right most of the time, whichever category the reviewer thinks a gears falls into, downgrade it two notches and you have the actual category. So, if a reviewer says it is a "Bargain", you can consider it is "Worth the money" in general, and if he says it is "Worth the money" take it as "Junk" straight away:lol:. This is high end for you! The only way to find a really good product which fits into category 1 or 2 is by auditioning or at least knowing the brand and its product well (which again takes auditioning).
So, if a Lars costing Rs.50 Lakhs even falls into Category 4, it is a huge achievement, it is "okay" even at 50 lakhs
!!! It may not have reached level 2 or 3 that is the reason even almighty meaning 'Bhagwan' preferred to skip it.
And yes, what Srajan says is okay, he may not have liked the product. When you do not like a product every little issue seems like a big issue and exactly reversed when you like a product, you forgive sometimes much bigger issues..big deal ?
If you look at high end from this perspective a lot of your curiosity will die down automatically
. There is no magic as you go higher, just that you have more options so the chances of finding a good option increases. If you think about it, it really takes a genius to make something magical, how many geniuses do you think can exist at a point of time in a field ? Just a handful. In cars only the genius can survive, others go out of business because of the cost of running the production. In audio it is a lot cheaper so there are too many manufacturers, but the real class belongs to a handful. Rest are all category 5
.
And I totally disagree the comparison between a Mercedes E series owner to a high end audio owner. It is very clear that those cars are owned mainly for "social status" and to make a statement but high end audio is far from it. People dont do it to show off, mostly not. What will you show off ? Most people do not even know what the hell is "Lars" even after you play it for them
. Brand consciousness I agree but that is not the same as "show off". Audio is rather a very personal matter and hobby, most people keep it to themselves and their close circles. In Singapore, whenever I visited an audiophile with a very high end setup, at the exit I hear a disclaimer, "Please do not discuss my setup outside", it has happened thrice already. Do they say the same thing about the Porshe that was standing in their portico, nope
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