where does high end begin (1 Viewer)

[Martice]

This is a very thought-provoking statement. Does "high-end" refer to the gear, or to the listener?

Both. Acutally, I think "high end" can only be realized if you first have "high end" software. All of this quest for "high end" gear has more to do with your desire to recreate in your room what has been recorded on a CD or LP. Now where the audiophile resides is that they see the music and the software and realize that the hardware (room included) is the direct link between them and the music. The difference between the audiophile and the casual listener is that the audiophile is as critical about his hardware as he is about his software that they want to connect too. In the name of sonic accuracy and signal integrity, money is just a means to realize a emotional connection to a "high end" recording. If you spend a lot of time between the left and right fronts listening to music critically, then more than likely you'll go the extra yard to see to it that your hardware meets a certain criterior pertaining to build, parts and design reassuring yourself that the hardware is capable of transferring the information from the source material to your ears with as little signal degradation as possible.

In comparison, the casual listener will make more sonic compromises in the form of features and flexibility which may (and a lot of times does) result in lower level of commitment to signal integrity and sonic naturalness. They tend to look for the hardware to entertain them as much as the software being played. This is not a bad thing but just a difference in approach to being happy.

Still, what makes something or someone "high end" is first off the quality software they listen too, how they listen to it and the hardware they trust to bring it to their room and their ears. Last and most importantly it is the desire within one's self to connect to the music on the source material and how realistic they desire the presentation to be. With out that thirst (Blade II) you'll be happy with just about anything and would be whistling with the rest of us. However, that does not mean because you like your system that it would be recognized outside of your home as "high end" when using the criterior described numerous times in this thread.

 

[Martice]

Another thing, build, parts and design are the most important aspects to sound quality and should not be taken lightly.

BPD (build, parts and design) is the difference between one subwoofer having greater control at reference levels then another.


BPD is the difference between the level of 'hiss' that one system has over another.

BPD is the difference between one room that has fewer acoustic problems then the next one.

So you may be happy with your system and that's wonderful but when evaluating hardware there is a "high end" especially when evaluating your system using the BPD method.