Quebec audiophile shows off his new Hi-Fi system, very expensive set up

[GXAlan]

One of the nice things for these influencers is that they probably can deduct some of this as a business expense (for US influencers, I don’t know Canadian tax law) and the video views adds helps to subsidize the cost…

 

[DMill]

Not sure this deserves a thread. It is some high end system, but clairly not "very expensive" for that specific market. I do not see that much of snake oil either (apart from the power conditioner). McIntosh amps are usually (objectively) good, while overpriced. The speakers are not crazy, the REL subs are subperformers at this price. And that's it. Clearly nothing to write home about.

Agree. Nothing very imaginative here. That said I’ll take the McIntosh stack if money didn’t matter. It’s eye candy, but at least good candy. At this point get the Nautilus B&Ws. Go big or go home. Or better yet a pair of Elac bookshelves for $600 and spend the $40k in Bora Bora for a vacation you’ll never forget. Come home and the music sounds just as good.

 

[DonR]

A run down of some of his system. I'll add it to the top as well. The $6,000 power conditioner! Relative to the rest he went cheap on the subwoofers.

2 McIntosh MC1.25KW Monoblock Amplifier - $27,000 ​

https://www.paragonsns.com/products/mcintosh-mc1-25kw

1 McIntosh C12000 2-CH Hybrid Preamplifier - $16,000​

https://scottwalkeraudio.com/store/mcintosh-c12000-2-ch-preamplifier/

2 BOWERS & WILKINS 801 D4 (PAIR) SPEAKERS - $40,000 ​

https://www.sundownone.com/product/...or-standing-loudspeaker-801-d4-rosenut-803444

2 REL Carbon Special Subwoofers - $8,000 ​

https://rel.net/shop/powered-subwoofers/serie-s/carbon-special/

1 McIntosh MPC1500 Power Controller - $6,000 (!!!)​

https://www.paragonsns.com/products/mcintosh-mpc1500

I wasn't far off. $600,000 will get you a run-down studio and this totals about 1/4 of that.

 

[Joffy1780]

Not sure this deserves a thread. It is some high end system, but clairly not "very expensive" for that specific market. I do not see that much of snake oil either (apart from the power conditioner). McIntosh amps are usually (objectively) good, while overpriced. The speakers are not crazy, the REL subs are subperformers at this price. And that's it. Clearly nothing to write home about.

Shunyata cabling, for me, is the epitome of snake oil.

 

[DMill]

Shunyata cabling, for me, is the epitome of snake oil.

I thought Shunyata was the Japanese translation for snake oil. But I’ve never been to Japan, nor studied the language beyond a pretty bad Styx album in the 80s. Bad on me.

 

[Somafunk]

Does it do anything that a wim pro or other streamer connected to a Kii Three/BXT setup couldn’t?, I know what I’d rather have.

 

[BobbyTimmons]

Shunyata cabling, for me, is the epitome of snake oil.

We have to accept a lot of the hobby is about the visual dimension like people who buy Ferraris and Lambos are not buying them for their performance on the race track. If we look at it from the visual angle those thick cables under the amps could be one of the most important parts of the system for the owner as he is doing sighted listening, not blind listening.

 

[Anton D]

On the plus side, no giant TV screen in the middle.

 

[DMill]

It is an interesting post in that I wonder how many of us are trying to blend our systems Into the room so they are not monoliths. And how many of us want the gear to a make statement. Probably good for a different post.

 

[restorer-john]

It’s a fabulous collection of some of the best gear money can buy.

Thanks for posting!

 

[antcollinet]

Looks brash and gaudy and crass.

It screams "Look at meeeeeeee"

 

[ob1]

He evens mentions in the video that it's not his end game setup, I think he has chronic upgraditis. Luckily there is a cure......ASR!!

I even suspect he is currently reading this thread with great interest.

How would I know? Simple, I live in Montreal Quebec

 

[Koeitje]

At least the McIntosh products are high quality and perform well, can't fault that. The rest is, how should I word it; an odd choice if your goal is high fidelity.

 

[BlackTalon]

Can't wait to see System 2.0 -- when he replaces the stack with the Fosi all-in-one they are going to develop soon.

 

[JustJones]

Next upgrade

 

[pinger]

LOL he's getting all sorts of praise on You tube! Too funny

 

[DonR]

He had the good sense to do room measurements. I always think that these audiophile single-seat "sweet spot" arrangements are rather egocentric and self-absorbed, however. His home theatre looks more sociable.

 

[@Christo]

Everything looks so massive. Perhaps a nuclear power plant is an apt comparison.

Well electricity in Quebec is cheap! (Hydro)

 

[BobbyTimmons]

LOL he's getting all sorts of praise on You tube! Too funny

At the end of the day, his system is still better looking and probably sounding than most of ours, even if it uses up far more electricity than strictly necessary and wastes thousands of dollars on speaker cables.

 

[DonR]

At the end of the day, his system is still better looking and probably sounding than most of ours, even if it uses up far more electricity than strictly necessary and wastes thousands of dollars on speaker cables.

Maybe but then again, probability says that it is unlikely to be audibly different from most of ours assuming a modicum of effort. He certainly seems to like bass.