Hi
I do not mind the search for visual aesthetics when it come to High End Audio. I find it actually appealing. What bothers is the pretense of elevated/superior performance.
Rolex or Patek Philip wouldn't dare claim that their wares are more accurate than a $50 quartz Seiko watch... Watch magazines do not pretend that it is about accurate time keeping. They concede that it is an artistic/artisan endeavor. Not so with High End Audio, ... what they claim is fronted and supported by countless magazines (often under the guise of unbiased "reporting") and web forums. It has created a field of falsities and lies that is simply unhealthy to not say unethical. DACs costing $100K may not fare as well when it comes to fidelity as a $300 Topping D50 ( Please, Amir! find a way to compare the Topping (s) with one of those audiophile Darlings >$20K, the entire Audio Industry will hate you even more for that
) . They are pushed as more revealing and more veil lifting over and over ... Distortion-machines such a the WAVACs cost close to half a million USD while routinely sporting THD in the 10% , yet are put on an altar of "musicality" ... and (gasp!) true to the source ... There may not be a better example of con artistry.
Interestingly Goldmund, one of the most prestigious company in High End Audio dropped the pretense of High Fidelity a while back .... they're now "Luxury Audio" ....
After writing the above I noticed that Goldmund.com is no more ..are they dead?
sometimes the truth hurts too much