Yes, if you look at Stereopile (is that really misspelled?) They measure a lot of stuff and a lot of high end. The sad fact is that usually you get no better performance than mid-fi can give you like a Denon AVR. Now that is not regarding amp power. So if you are a regular person who most likely lives in the AVR world, you would never dream of spending big bucks for no real performance gain. Oh, and then you run into the 2 channel issue. Two channel is dying and will continue to die off. Lots of two channel gear is way over priced and doesn't sound as good as a mid fi AVR. So, you are asking Amir to spend time trying to get gear tests for a category of equipment that is on the way out. Just my two cents.........
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Why practically no hi-end audio companies electronics tests?
- Thread starter DHT 845
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Why is two channel dying? Over 90% of the music recorded out there is still two channel.
And a good NCore two channel amp is cheaper than a mid-fi AVR.
You must calculate the price by kilograms.
Same as a high end watch I think. One doesn’t by a JLC, Rolex, or AP because they keep better time than a $10 Casio.
I do own a McIntosh amp that performs decent. I also have several Hypex and purifi amps in my HT. I like the McIntosh in my 2-channel system as it looks very nice and sounds great. In addition, I can sell it after say 10 years and recoup my money back (my late MC275 was an example).
It is similar to buying furniture. You can get the minimum to sit on, but you sometimes pay more for looks, feel, quality of materials, or whatever ticks your fancy.
I will take the $3,000 purify monoblocks any day and with the remaining $96,000 I'd buy a small appartment for my kids.
DSJR
Major Contributor
Not sure home theatre is prevalent so much in the UK any more. There was a flurry twenty years back but this was mostly cheaper 'What HiFi' stuff. The top domestic systems of this type tend to be full-home automated home and multi-room installs, where the sound quality is accepted and discrete systems hidden away out of sight mostly.
I was told in no uncertain terms a few years back by a niche manufacturer that in his forcible opinion, bench testing was for R&D and nothing whatever to do with the end user at home who only wants to listen to music. Many people feel that way, so in the domestic high end (I keep saying 'domestic' as I'm assuming pro's may feel differently), there's no reason at all to promote good specs if 'adequate enough' will do!
I was told in no uncertain terms a few years back by a niche manufacturer that in his forcible opinion, bench testing was for R&D and nothing whatever to do with the end user at home who only wants to listen to music. Many people feel that way, so in the domestic high end (I keep saying 'domestic' as I'm assuming pro's may feel differently), there's no reason at all to promote good specs if 'adequate enough' will do!
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If that was true, people wouldn't buy audio magazines or go to hifi shows or join ASR if all they wanted was to listen to music through an iphone and a bluetooth speaker.
maxxevv
Major Contributor
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Eh... didn't we test some pricey stuff like the TotalCrapDAC and the Mola Mola Tambagui with very contrasting results ?
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...and-measurements-of-totaldac-d1-six-dac.8192/
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-mola-tambaqui-dac-and-streamer-review.10770/
Of course it would be interesting to see something from the likes of DCS being tested here too.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...and-measurements-of-totaldac-d1-six-dac.8192/
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-mola-tambaqui-dac-and-streamer-review.10770/
Of course it would be interesting to see something from the likes of DCS being tested here too.
LightninBoy
Addicted to Fun and Learning
IMO it is the multi channel world that is dying (and oddly the manufacturers respond by doubling down with gazillion channel ATMOS monstrosities). Two channel is the last holdout for the hi-fi hobby mostly propped up by the headphone industry. I've got no real data to back that up. Just my impression when looking at what seems to drive interest both in the enthusiasts and mainstream world.
maxxevv
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I don't quite agree with the analogy though.
For JLC, unless you have a special edition piece, the resale value isn't all that great. Similarly for AP. Both will lose a big chunk of change even though the so called percentage is "not high". Even at a loss of only 10%, off $10K~30K, that is $1K-3K. I can write off a $100/- Casio and still be better much off in the end. Rolex keeps their high prices simply because they raise they retail prices annually and artificially create a shortage by limiting supply of their most desirable models to the retail outlets.
Similarly for high end audio stuff. You may lose 20 - 30% off a well maintained Macintosh or Accuphase, but that amount of money is still way more than writing off say a Purifi amp completely in that same time frame, which may get back 30~40% of its original value, which we have yet to see as they are not that "old" in the market.
As for aesthetic enjoyment , yes that I can agree. Inherently, everyone has a right to decide what they consider to be objects of beauty and desire that they enjoy.
Robin L
Master Contributor
On the other hand, testing one of the Wilson Audio Mega-Kilobuck speakers will probably result in multiple hernias.
Be careful of what you wish for.
Be careful of what you wish for.
DSJR
Major Contributor
People in the UK DON'T buy audio magazines like they used to in the 70's and weren't even in the 1990's apart from What HiFi. Gramophone magazine used to sell well but more for the music reviews I gather. Titles like HiFi News and HiFi Review have very small circulations, or at least once did (I haven't researched it recently) and both definitely have had their favourite brands and suppliers over the years. No idea about HiFi Choice these days and I must admit I no longer stand in WH Smiths scanning said mags as I once did, although a pal who gets HFN monthly passes some of them on and in all honesty, I feel nauseus at the prices asked for so little inside...
Most people outside of our tiny bubble DO listen via their phones (some of them can or could be very good via their headphone outputs and the Apple dongle performs very well all round if not state of the art) and as for little table top 'blobs' with music coming out of them with some voice activated, a lot of people use these too...
True. Unfortunately for those of us serious about music reproduction, for popular music the top two reproduction venues driving revenue are certainly headphones/earbuds and motor vehicles. I suspect the third most popular venue has become smart speakers, considering the many millions of them that have been sold. I don't have any data to support this guess, but people listening to music in HT systems with 5.1 or greater capabilities must be a niche.
