Anyone here owns any megabuck gear? 10k+ speakers, amps ect.. (1 Viewer)

[Keir H]

Just how much does someone have to spend on equipment for it to be considered hifi or "audiophile" quality? I have not noticed many on this beloved forum talking about gear they own that's on the same level as B&W Nautilus, LINN Komri, Meridian 861, Krell's megasub, ect.. Can anyone describe their experiences with some of those popular but very expensive hifi items if they own any of them?

 

[James Bergeron]

Maybe because people that can afford that kind of equipment don't really care about Home Theatre. It's not a passion it's just something to spend money on. Of course I could be wrong and maybe there are 100's of people on here with that type of gear. Most people here are normal folks looking for great bang for the buck.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Hi Keir,
Greetings from a fellow Houstonian!
You may have better luck posting this question at the Home Theater Talk forum. I think the “clientele” there tend to have higher-end stuff.
By the way, I have more than $10k in my rig, and I have nothing approaching that kind of equipment. You may want to “up the ante!”
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Larry B]

I have fairly high end gear but James is absolutely correct in his assessment that music lovers are far more attracted to such stuff than HT fans. (My HT system is modest (to say the least), but suits me just fine.)

Larry

 

[James Bergeron]

Wayne, I think he means 10K+ per item. I have WAY over 10K in my setup but not that much on any one component.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

I wouldn't spend all that much to reproduce compressed DD/DTS soundtracks. SACD or vinyl, the hi-rez stuff, is a different story, of course.

 

[Scott Oliver]

I have several mini-buck components. There are some mega-buck pieces I lust after, but I think my system is getting very high on the scale of diminshing returns.

Most things I lust after are for stereo reproduction only the only HT piece I desire at the mega-buck level is the Casablanca 2 :b . The quality of HT sound just isn't demanding enough to warrant the extra expense.

My mini-buck gear:
Art Audio Concerto MKII amp (KT-88) $4800
JM-Reynaud Offrande speakers $4500
Theta CasaNova $4000ish depends on options installed

Lastly Mega-buck gear does not automatically equal "Audiophile" sound it's all about system component matching and it is also possible to put together a great "Audiophile" system for less money than one mega-buck piece.

 

[Andrew Santos]

am i the only one that feels that lots of the mega buck equipment is bought by people who don't really care much about how it sounds? yes, i'm sure there are the few that save up and buy equipment because they want it, but it seems that the majority are just really wealthy people who just want to have something attractive looking in their house. for example, although not the best, the martin logan speakers in Friends. i'm sure they didn't pick those out for the show because they sound good.

Another example would be on the MTV show Cribs. many of the people on that show have some decently high end stuff, but i have a hard time believing that they picked them out themselves or can even fully appreciate what they have.

 

[Jeffrey Chin]

read my signature. nuff said

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Neat.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Of course the vast majority of the population who watch TV, a few movies on VHS and a few more on DVD, would consider the amount of money spent by HTF members to way over the top, and not value-for-money.

 

[Larry B]

Andrew:

For example, although not the best, the martin logan speakers in Friends. i'm sure they didn't pick those out for the show because they sound good.

I hate to one the one to break this to you, but the people on "Friends" are not real.
Larry

 

[KeithR]

I agree with LarryB...people with hi-end systems tend to have an addicition But they are in love with the music, and that carries them there.
Also, hi-end is also relative to income. For example, if I mad 10mm a year, a Ferrari isn't that expensive to me. However, making 100k a year, a Ferrari seems expensive. Just like in audio, i know guys with 80k in a 2 ch. system--but the cost isn't a big deal to them.
Also, how do they even afford the apartment in friends---i lived in nyc for 3 years, and none of my places were that big, and i wasn't a coffee waitress but an investment banker. It's all fake...

 

[Keir H]

Not mentioned that the ML speakers on Friends seem to be setup terribly!

 

[Lin Park]

One of the first mega-buck components I bought was a pair of Vandersteen Fives (gottem for $9800/pr and now they are around $12k/pr). Obviously, I got them for audio but they are incorporated into my HT and trust me, they do quite well in both areas. Do they sound better than $3k/pr speakers? You bet. Are they $7k better? In my opinion at the time, it was worth it. I compared a lot of setups before going with these and had to settle for a very inexpensive 2 ch amp at the time to swing the large investment (that's how I looked it at because I figured I wouldn't be upgrading these in the future). Several people on this forum sweared I was making a mistake and one guy even claimed that I'd return the speakers within a year to get something more reasonable (even claimed that over half the people who buy gear like this return it for something cheaper within a year, yeah right?). Their advice was to spend $10k on speakers, amps, and preamps by balancing the amount between all 3 components and then upgrading slowly.
I listened to the Fives for almost a year and really enjoyed them while using the inexpensive 2 ch amp. Then, I added a pair of QuickSilver V4 Monoblock Tube amps for about $4k by trading in the inexpensive 2 ch amp and the sound improved dramatically. Now, I'm looking at a $2k preamp from Audio Research with HT bypass. All throughout this process my HT has remained fairly stable and enjoyable at the same time.
I look at the entire thing as a constant upgrade but one that will eventually end (from an audio standpoint). I think someone said earlier that most high end systems really involve component matching and that is exactly what I've tried to do with mine. Are there more expensive systems out there? Absolutely. Do they sound better than mine? I would say they sound ... Different.
Also, as far as how much to spend to get audiophile equipment, there is no set amount and you should check out one of the Recommended Component issues of Stereophile. They usually have many different classes of equipment which vary greatly in price. You can get great sounding equipment that approaches what I have for a fraction of the cost. What I try to do is stay right on the edge of the diminishing return curve and I think I've done that with my system so far. But I think there are several points at which you can start claiming diminishing return and it usually has a lot to do with one's budget.
The best thing about having a system like this is going to the HE shows in NYC and walking out of every room knowing that you enjoy your system more than what you just heard even though it costs 10x more than what you have.
Well, I've rambled on enough now and I hoped I answered some of your questions in the process.
Cheers,
Lin

 

[Laurn]

Ok...reality check time.

If I had 12 grand to(expletive)away, I could put a down payment on a house; not in the burbs of LA or NY, but here in the tranquil, clean, safe, REAL world of the Upper Midwest. Lets see...for my wife of 23 years, a damm nice second honeymoon...start a college fund for our granddaughter...and still have enough left over to buy a simple Kenwood 600 watt HT system that sounds fantastic. I might even have enough left over to buy a case of Molson Canadian, and Pink Floyds DVD, "The Wall"

If some of you could only read what you type.

 

[Stephen Dodds]

I have Wilson WATT/Puppies, and have previously owned Martin Logan, Genesis and others.

While these may be classed as megabuck speakers, there is an easier way to get them. Just buy used.

Speakers last a long time, and some of yesterday's $15K speakers can be had for way under half.


Steve

 

[Mark R O]

I'd like to share a quote from my wife that explains why our HT is in the family room and one of the bedrooms is a dedicated 2 channel sanctuary (nick-named "decompression chamber" the small plaque on the door reads "Transporter Room 1".)
Her point of view, "Home Theater is great fun! Music is food..."

 

[Justin Doring]

"Audiophile Quality" is tricky. Although you generally get what you pay for in audio, money doesn't always equal good sound. For example, one could have a carefully chosen and well setup $5000 system that would destroy a $50,000 system that was poorly setup and made-up of randomly chosen, albeit high-end, components. Great components are a large part of the high-end, but time and effort are at least as important.

I consider my system (NHT 3.3s, Classe' CA-200, CP-50, Sony SCD-1 SACD player, Nordost and Synergistic Research cables) to be high-end, but not super high-end. I’ve heard a few significantly better systems than mine, and they’ve all been many times the price of my system, and I’ve also heard a number of rather disappointing and very expensive systems.

As far as the people who buy super high-end gear, many are music lovers with decent, but not huge incomes that simply have high-quality sound as a priority. Of course there are others who simply have no idea about what they’ve bought and simply write a check for it. Of course if it weren’t for the latter group, the gear probably wouldn’t exist in the first place, as those who truly appreciate it and can afford it are few in number.

As the above poster wrote, however, used is a great way to go.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

I listened to the Fives for almost a year and really enjoyed them while using the inexpensive 2 ch amp. Then, I added a pair of QuickSilver V4 Monoblock Tube amps

Hey Lin...Quicksilver, Vandersteen...sounds like you bought them up the block from me.