$40,000 speaker? (1 Viewer)

[Phil A]

I agree 100% Shane. I've been in someone's house who has the same speakers I do (Thiel 7.2s) and has somewhere between $30-40k in cabling (at retail) and power cords in a 2 channel only system. He thought it was wonderful and that's all that counts. I would not even consider it (even for a much lesser cost) but it is not my money or my system. I had a friend who worked at a high end shop and for about a 5yr. period I did virtually every delivery/set-up with him. It was not uncommon to see over $100k in a 2-channel system. The most expensive speakers (at retail list - he bought them used) I saw in someone's house was $85k. We moved out a pair of $12k speakers, which, in my opinion sounded better in the person's room as it was way too small for the new speakers. The most overlooked component in high end audio is the room itself. Many get hung up on magazine ratings of equipment vs. really resolving how to maximize the listening position to get good sound.

 

[Jacob C]

I completely agree with the room comment. Depending how bad your room is to begin with it is often better to spend money on the room instead of new speakers, amps, or various other components. A set of good speakers in a good room will sound much better than amazing speakers in a terrible room. It makes me wonder why more dealers do not take advantage of this and treat all of their demo rooms and not just the high-end ones.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Until Stereophile® sells add-space to Home Depot® we can assume they will continue to monger their expensive baubles instead of room extensions.

 

[JeremyErwin]

On the room issue:

I used to spend a lot of time at the Freer Gallery in DC, when it was nearly deserted. The Freer Gallery combines East Asian art with some American artists, notably James Whistler. The museum has high ceilings, and is constructed of stone. I enjoyed the place mostly for its tranquility-- the sounds of everyday life seemed t disappear, However, every time another person came in the room, every sound could be heard very clearly indeed, interrupting the tranquility that had seemed so inviting before. And, of course, if a toddler was in tow.

I'm not so sure that the Freer's architecture would be suitable for an audio installation. Nevertheless, it served as a sot of reminder that a room free of ambient noise would be very nice to have around.