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

[Mr. Widget]

In what sense are they "bad decisions"? It depends on his financial situation and whether he enjoys the purchases.

While I agree with you 100% on the value added if he enjoys the purchase, the line conditioner and fancy cables are hard to make a case for.

A handsome setup for sure and I'm sure it sounds very nice.
But all that money and he's still restricted to 2ch's
That's a shame.

I think it's safe to say given a check for what ever amount he spent, we would buy different gear and "know" we had made a better choice... as he "knows" he made the right choice.

Personally I question his acousticians... there are no diffusors that I can see and only a number of 200Hz and up absorbers and minimal bass traps. Yeah maybe, but probably not.

 

[Chrispy]

While I agree with you 100% on the value added if he enjoys the purchase, the line conditioner and fancy cables are hard to make a case for.

I think it's safe to say given a check for what ever amount he spent, we would buy different gear and "know" we had made a better choice... as he "knows" he made the right choice.

Personally I question his acousticians... there are no diffusors that I can see and only a number of 200Hz and up absorbers and minimal bass traps. Yeah maybe, but probably not.

Acousticians or hifi salesmen?

 

[Sal1950]

I think it's safe to say given a check for what ever amount he spent, we would buy different gear and "know" we had made a better choice... as he "knows" he made the right choice.

My 2ch post was made before his multich thread came up.
Personally I would have combined the money into one absolutely SOTA rig, but I don't have the kind of cash to
purchase dual rigs like that. A real abundance of toys can be fun.
I can see he's wasted a lot of green on cables, etc;
But I'll tip my hat to him for not throwing away money on dragging a rock thru a ditch, 1960s tech. LOLOL

 

[Mr. Widget]

Personally I would have combined the money into one absolutely SOTA rig...

That was my thought as well. But heck, he is happy and at the end of the day... that's what it's all about.

 

[Chrispy]

That was my thought as well. But heck, he is happy and at the end of the day... that's what it's all about.

But is it about celebrating system selfies like this?

 

[Madlop26]

His new hometheatre system

7.2.2 Revel set up, hmm… mine is 7.2.4, also Revels, should I make a YouTube video? …nah

 

[DonR]

In what sense are they "bad decisions"? It depends on his financial situation and whether he enjoys the purchases.

I think it boils down to "he could have gotten at least as audibly good for a lot less" and McIntosh is a very personal taste, despite the stellar reputation for build quality and overall sonic performance (mostly). The nonsense stuff just looks silly to most members here, however. I think some more money is needed on some art to dress the room up a little. He is neglecting the room atmosphere.

 

[Sal1950]

But is it about celebrating system selfies like this?

I don't know Chrisp, I can't really blame him.
He does have a fortune wrapped up in those rigs.
It's gotta be kind of like having one of those TOTL custom cars or bikes and
wanting to have it in the mags, on the net and TV.
I can understand the pride of ownership.

 

[Chrispy]

I don't know Chrisp, I can't really blame him.
He does have a fortune wrapped up in those rigs.
It's gotta be kind of like having one of those TOTL custom cars or bikes and
wanting to have it in the mags, on the net and TV.
I can understand the pride of ownership.

I suppose I can, but only for private use. I just am not into photos in general, been that way since too many cameras were pointed at me as a kid, just developed a habit of avoidance for the most part. However, seeing that room just doesn't do a lot for me otoh. The $250k porsche thing helps explain this guy a bit more. Is he a lucky guy, earned it or inherited it?

 

[Chrispy]

I don't know Chrisp, I can't really blame him.
He does have a fortune wrapped up in those rigs.
It's gotta be kind of like having one of those TOTL custom cars or bikes and
wanting to have it in the mags, on the net and TV.
I can understand the pride of ownership.

I can see the brag part of it, just not why is it relevant to fans of audio particularly? We just want to see this particular over the top iteration with audiophoolery intertwined? Not my taste....more what is silly about audio setups from "audiophiles"

 

[BobbyTimmons]

I think it boils down to "he could have gotten at least as audibly good for a lot less" and McIntosh is a very personal taste, despite the stellar reputation for build quality and overall sonic performance (mostly). The nonsense stuff just looks silly to most members here, however. I think some more money is needed on some art to dress the room up a little. He is neglecting the room atmosphere.

That's the same with $250,000 Porsche. Assuming he even uses it at the race track and not just for grocery shopping, he can get better performance at the race track from a Nissan Skyline for $120,000. If it's not specifically used at the race track a $30,000 Toyota Corolla will do it better. If he bought the Toyota Corolla instead of $250,000 Porsche, he would have $220,000 leftover to spend on Shunyata cables. The Toyota Corolla wouldn't be a worse car than the Porsche objectively. In some ways the Toyota Corolla is a better car than the Porsche. If we did blind testing of cars many people would prefer to be driven in one and it could be a smoother ride.

 

[DonR]

That's the same with $250,000 Porsche. Assuming he even uses it at the race track and not just for grocery shopping, he can get better performance at the race track from a Nissan Skyline for $120,000. If it's not specifically used at the race track a $30,000 Toyota Corolla will do it better.

If he bought the Toyota Corolla instead of $250,000 Porsche, he would have $220,000 leftover to spend on Shunyata cables. The Toyota Corolla wouldn't be a worse car than the Porsche objectively. In some ways the Toyota Corolla is a better car than the Porsche.

Far less likely to get stolen.

 

[CleanSound]

In what sense are they "bad decisions"? It depends on his financial situation and whether he enjoys the purchases.

This is ASR, so in the sense of science these are bad decisions, such as the cables.

 

[ferrellms]

Apart from bragging rights and visual symmetry the separate 1200 watt amp for each speaker could seem over the top. In all fairness they give his system an attractive visual symmetry. The oversized heatsinks and dials on the amps give an almost dangerous aesthetic to the system hinting at the potential hazards and risks of overheating and only just averted industrial disaster. It makes it seem more like he is a running a small nuclear power plant down there than playing an mp3.

Editing to add a run down of some of his system which might be helpful for his wife (or future ex-wife's lawyers) if she reads this post.

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) SPEAKER - $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 MCD12000 SACD/CD Player - $12,000​

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

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

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

1 AURAlIC ARIES G2.1 Streaming Transport - $5,699

https://www.audioadvisor.com/acarieg21-blk

Shunyata Alfa V2 Speaker cables - $5000 per 2m

https://shunyata.com/products/audio-cables/alpha-series-audio-cables/alpha-v2-speaker

Shunyata Alfa Power cables - $2500 each

https://shunyata.com/products/power-cables/reference-line-power-cables/alpha-v2nr/

Shunyata Alfa Interconnects- around $3500 per 1m

https://www.dedicatedaudio.com/products/shunyata-research-alpha-v2-xlr-interconnect

He could save a lot of African children by giving this ridiculous amount of money to GiveWell charities that would use it to buy mosquito nets for them. He does get the PT Barnum award, though.

 

[Sal1950]

That's the same with $250,000 Porsche

Porsche, BLAH, simply way over-priced and way over-valued fugly Volkswagen Bugs.
I'll take a good American Z06 Corvette any day.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Does anyone know what is the Continuum driver made of ?
It's a little ridiculous they don't say what it is.

 

[Sal1950]

Does anyone know what is the Continuum driver made of ?
It's a little ridiculous they don't say what it is.

 

[Anton D]

He could save a lot of African children by giving this ridiculous amount of money to GiveWell charities that would use it to buy mosquito nets for them.

So could you.

You don’t know him. He may routinely give more than your net worth to charity.

People accuse him of over compensating. I’d say it seems people on this thread are making a poor showing via dumb ass virtue signaling.

 

[Justdafactsmaam]

B&W are the most popular audiophile speakers on the planet so you can't really "blame "him for buying them
No mainstream audiophile would choose a Genelec or a JBL M2 or a KEF Blade over them.

Not to derail the thread but where can audiophiles even audition JBL M2s?

 

[Justdafactsmaam]

That's the same with $250,000 Porsche. Assuming he even uses it at the race track and not just for grocery shopping, he can get better performance at the race track from a Nissan Skyline for $120,000. If it's not specifically used at the race track a $30,000 Toyota Corolla will do it better. If he bought the Toyota Corolla instead of $250,000 Porsche, he would have $220,000 leftover to spend on Shunyata cables. The Toyota Corolla wouldn't be a worse car than the Porsche objectively. In some ways the Toyota Corolla is a better car than the Porsche. If we did blind testing of cars many people would prefer to be driven in one and it could be a smoother ride.

I would caution against blind testing of cars.