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What is a "high-end" speaker?

fpitas

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The sound of real instruments in a recording studio is quite shocking! There's a great deal more of what subjectivists describe as "bright" and "hard". There's a lot less of what subjectivists describe as "warm" and "smooth".
After all the talk, I think many people just want unobtrusive background music.
 

chelgrian

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Yeah, about that...

"Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM"

Ok, that might not translate to youngsters. ;)
It's also not true in the Pro Audio market. Riders will specify specific brands of PA, if you are a receiving house then you are going to have a much better time with a d&b PA than trying to convince people to accept EM Acoustics despite the fact they are similar quality.
 

sergeauckland

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Yeah, about that...

"Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM"

Ok, that might not translate to youngsters. ;)
That's true, or at least it was at the time. However, at least IBM were reliable, and in B2B, that counts for a lot. That they will be there for long-term support will matter more than price.

The other side of this coin is that trying to sell against established competition can be dispiriting when one has the better and/or cheaper product but the customer wants to play safe.

Overall, I found B2B selling far more congenial than B2C, which was far too much a fashion business, influenced by magazine reviews and advertising than facts.

S.
 

Galliardist

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When Harry Pearson (is mentioning that name a banning offence?) coined the term high end audio, he stated as I understood it that he wanted a new term for high performance gear - committed above all to the best music making at the expense of all else, because "high fidelity" meant the old overpriced brands. So it need not be expensive at all. Of course, he then just got caught up in the then new overpriced brands instead...

ASR should reclaim that early definition. A high end speaker should again not be determined by price but by capability. It is the speaker that is dedicated to music production above all else, that measures well and/or passes muster in properly controlled listening tests.
 

fpitas

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When Harry Pearson (is mentioning that name a banning offence?) coined the term high end audio, he stated as I understood it that he wanted a new term for high performance gear - committed above all to the best music making at the expense of all else, because "high fidelity" meant the old overpriced brands. So it need not be expensive at all. Of course, he then just got caught up in the then new overpriced brands instead...

ASR should reclaim that early definition. A high end speaker should again not be determined by price but by capability. It is the speaker that is dedicated to music production above all else, that measures well and/or passes muster in properly controlled listening tests.
I think we do that pretty well already. Most people here want "value", my word for it. You may pay a lot, but you get something technically defensible.
 

Cote Dazur

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High end, as seem to be apparent from the answers in this thread does not mean much, if anything. It is one of those subjective term used to confuse when nothing substantial can be said.
When I was a subjectivist audiophile, high end made perfect sense, it was what I had. I could tell people who asked about my hobby, I was into high fi and I had a “high end” sound system.
So High end speakers or anything else high end does not describe anything meaningful or useful to anyone, except if you are manufacturing something and wish people would perceive high value from your products so you could ask a high price. Buyers beware!
 
D

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Thinking of high-end stuff I think of over designed over the top useless materials. Produced because they could, where priority has been design /materials at same or higher level than sound quality in the design phase. Like a Prada paper clip or a Louis Vitton handbag.
 

FeddyLost

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When I'm trying to find examples of "sane high-end", I'd say it's a luxury no-compromise piece of equipment.
My rational intent requires it to be also technically and subjectively well performing.
Something like Dynaudio Evidence/M5P or top Duntech.

But most of the time it's just expensive and good enough to be bought. Of course, there are lot of small companies with high expenses per unit, but still main point of being high-end is high price.
 

Joe Smith

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IMO labels such as this are basically meaningless, when there is such a range of options available in the world. I have good very speakers that I've bought for $80 a pair, and there is simply no limit on what they can cost, as we all know. It is simply a matter of musical taste, budget, and one's degree of obsession over the hobby and one's possessions.
 

Mr. Widget

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What makes and defines a speaker as
"high-end" vs just good a speaker?
Price?
Performance?
If so, what price? What performance?
What makes a song a great song or a painting a great work of art? We simply don't have adequate measurement techniques or definitions.

The same is true for speakers. We can make many measurements and recite pages of specifications, but these do not define "high end". At the end of the day, "The High End" is pretty much a meaningless term.
 

sdrichard

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It's clear that people have different tolerance for spending money on audio toys, and different definition of high end. I'm very curious at which point you feel like you are perhaps spending too much on one piece of equipment purchase.

At one point, my wife and I decided 0.1% of our liquid net worth (not counting house, mortgage, retirement savings) is what we can randomly spend without feeling too much guilt. For a piece of major audio equipment, I would say my tolerance is probably around 1%. What is yours?
 

Mr. Widget

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It's clear that people have different tolerance for spending money on audio toys, and different definition of high end. I'm very curious at which point you feel like you are perhaps spending too much on one piece of equipment purchase.

At one point, my wife and I decided 0.1% of our liquid net worth (not counting house, mortgage, retirement savings) is what we can randomly spend without feeling too much guilt. For a piece of major audio equipment, I would say my tolerance is probably around 1%. What is yours?
I actually am not sure what my total outlay on audio gear is and measuring it would be difficult since some pieces have been with me for decades and others only months, but for most of my adult life my stereo was worth more and cost me more than the cars I have owned.

How much is too much? If the expenditure affects other aspects of you life. While I am passionate about home audio, I also realize that at the end of the day it is only a hobby.
 

DonR

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It's clear that people have different tolerance for spending money on audio toys, and different definition of high end. I'm very curious at which point you feel like you are perhaps spending too much on one piece of equipment purchase.

At one point, my wife and I decided 0.1% of our liquid net worth (not counting house, mortgage, retirement savings) is what we can randomly spend without feeling too much guilt. For a piece of major audio equipment, I would say my tolerance is probably around 1%. What is yours?
More important to me is where my money is spent. I last bought speakers 11 years ago and they are still doing fine but soaked up about 50% of my budget for my HT system. Since then most of my spending has gone to content but lately, I am finding very little that interests me. The defining point for me is: does it improve the sound meaningfully? If it does I bring in the value-for-money criteria, if not I reject the upgrade. Luckily, as I get older (and this applies to everybody) my standards for what meaningfully improves the sound get lower and lower.
 
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