The difference between cheap and expensive equipment

[kongxh 0]

About 2 hours ago, i was contemplating between which interconnect/amplifier to get - based on the usual yardsticks such as sound quality and price.

 

However, after reading some articles, i have radically altered my view. Is there a significantly audible difference in sound quality with equipment of vastly different prices? Or is it largely that we perceive what we want to perceive?

 

 

These are the articles that gave me some serious food for thought:

 

http://sound.westhost.com/cables.htm

http://sound.westhost.com/cablewhitepaper.htm

http://sound.westhost.com/amp-sound.htm

http://www.provide.net/~djcarlst/abx_wire.htm

 

 

Edited September 3, 2007 by kongxh

[sghound 0]

the cablewhitepaper is written by Roger Sanders, who's selling Sanders Sound cables. it figures, obviously.

Edited September 3, 2007 by sghound

[tbln 0]

$$$$$$$$..... of course .

 

There will always be people who cannot hear any difference (or refuse to believe there are) between either equipment or cables. Lucky people, I say.

 

For the rest who believe that there are differences, the real question to ask is whether the differences are worth it? I can safely say that a $1000 interconnect will not sound 20 times better than a $50 one. But in a top notch system, this costly interconnect might be the final component to bring it all together.

 

Only you are able to determine if the differences are worth coughing out the extra cash for. If you are not able to hear any difference between affordable and more expensive equipment, good for you. Save the money from the equipment and spend it on more music.

 

Isn't that why we are all in this hobby?

 

 

[sghound 0]

$$$$$$$$..... of course .

 

There will always be people who cannot hear any difference (or refuse to believe there are) between either equipment or cables. Lucky people, I say.

 

For the rest who believe that there are differences, the real question to ask is whether the differences are worth it? I can safely say that a $1000 interconnect will not sound 20 times better than a $50 one. But in a top notch system, this costly interconnect might be the final component to bring it all together.

 

Only you are able to determine if the differences are worth coughing out the extra cash for. If you are not able to hear any difference between affordable and more expensive equipment, good for you. Save the money from the equipment and spend it on more music.

 

Isn't that why we are all in this hobby?

 

spot on.

 

LOL many will even buy without listening.

 

[tbln 0]

spot on.

 

LOL many will even buy without listening.

 

 

Sad but true.

 

However, buying blind is sometimes the only choice available due to lack of opportunities to try.

 

In those cases, use the search buttons in the different headphone forums, digest slowly, take a decision and bravely take the plunge!

[tassardar_ 0]

Will say each person take on equipement will be different. I will say the biggest issue is that audio is not something u can gauge with a linear chart. As equipement gets better, not every one can tell the difference. Infact I will say unless its side by side comparison, most people cant tell why is a $1000 worth its price.

 

A good example i will give is a friend of mine who never used any decent equipement. So one day I brought him to my house. On first try he cant tell why is my system worth the price. Its only when I lend him a headphone of much lower quality can he tell the difference.

 

In the end, its really how u percieve and your personal taste the governs if its worth or not. Without a side by side comparision and really careful listening, you may never be able to tell if a $1000 equipement is decently better then a $100 one. And since quality does not improve linearly, it will reach a stage of personal preference instead of percieved quality.

 

Anyway I did bought a pair of argento silver cable. The cable blew me away on first try with no comparison lol. Of course the ex cable i used was just the generic type so its really cannot be compared in the first place.

[nofing 0]

Yea. And audio follows the law of diminishing returns sometimes overly zealously in fact.

[warsurferX 0]

take a regular panasonic/sony/ibud then a Super.fi 3 and a UE10. Listen for yourself.

 

Why don't you do a blind test and ask yourself if there's any difference. Price-wise... that's another issue altogether

[ezzo 0]

Music is like food. Everyone has their own preferences.

To me, its almost like a vicious cycle. First you get better headphones, next you would want a capable amplifier to drive it, then comes a good source...oh wait there is still the interconnect. Lol.

(many will not agree with me)

 

If you can afford, go for it. 1k is a considerable amount. Might be better spent off something else.

 

Otherwise, lets not be so materialistic. Haha.

 

Well, you dont need a great system to enjoy great music. Enjoy!

[Rameish 0]

I use this yardstick - if I have $5000 worth of music (in CD?LP purchases) then I would like to budget for a $5000 system. That is spend half on the source and half on playback. Of course if you're just starting out and have just a few CDs (like say 20 to 30) then a minimum sum needs to be budgeted for the next 5 to 10 years.

 

Lastly trust your ears - the memory of how a system sounds lasts longer than you think. I'll give you a simple example:

 

A friend of mine lent me a pair of Grover S cables (not the latest version) for a few months. I was quite impressed with it but stayed away from doing A-B comparisions. Eventually I did and found it held it's own against the Kimber Silver Streak SE (with WBT Topline RCA's) (PS I dont quite like the Silver Streaks with WBT Midline RCA - there's a glare to the top end which I find irritating). Not bad at all. I then tried comparing it with Kimber Select 1030 I could tell the Grover S was beaten but hey still not bad. Then I returned the Grover S and hooked the KS-1030 back on and started listening to probably the same 50 of so CDs - over the next few feeks I realised how much better the KS-1030 really was - but at S$2k it is an expensive interconnect and the Grover S is/was a more realistic option especially if you are hooking up a S$1.3 CDP to a $2.6 amp because it costs about S$240-250.

 

The Kimber KS-1030 is still better but it would only make sense wehn your CDP costs about $4 - $5k upwards and likewise for your amplification. In other words allocate about 25% of your budget for interconnects.

 

For CDP based systems you can allocate you budget like this:

 

25% for source (CDP)

25% for Amp

25% for Headphones/Speakers

25% for interconnects/power cords etc

 

This is not a hard and fast rule BTW.

 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with allocating

20% for CDP

25% for amp

35% for headphone/speakers

20% for interconnects/power cords

 

In a nutshell get a system thats within your budget that will enable you to enjoy the music you like even more. If you can hear the difference, consider yourself lucky and enjoy the music no matter what other people (and especially reviewers) say.

 

 

[sghound 0]

25% for source (CDP)

25% for Amp

25% for Headphones/Speakers

25% for interconnects/power cords etc

 

i like this pie split. well said rameish.

[Robin Jia 0]

CD-player: SGD 4000

Headphone amp: SGD 1000

Headphone: SGD 500-1000