Why use audiophile gear instead of pro gear?

[recycle]

Why do people instead of using pro gear use consumer audiophile gear, which costs more and is worth much less? I'm talking about preamps, ADA converters, monitors etc
I can't find an answer to this

 

[Geert]

One of the reasons is that they don't look as nice. Lots of audiophiles are also convinced that pro equipment is to analytic and not musical.

And in the past pro audio gear wasn't as easily available as it is today, most of the products weren't even known to the general public. As an example, I've been using Genelec monitors for about 30 years. For how long are they popular for home use now, 10 years?

 

[Multicore]

Audio gear designed for domestic use is not more expensive than pro audio gear. So I guess when you say "consumer audiophile gear" you mean expensive. So I think you're muddling categories and/or labels.

If you meant to ask, why do some people like to buy expensive audiophile gear as opposed to more utilitarian but high performance gear at lower price (pro or domestic) then you may get a lot of answers but I would respond: Why do people like to buy themselves expensive wrist watches or hand bags? I don't try to answer that. It's simpler to accept: because it's what they like.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Many reasons. Take one. Pro gear does not have remote controls.

 

[SSS]

Home and Pro audio equipment have huge price ranges. So it can't really be compared. The assumption that audiophile gear is more expensive than the Pro is to my opinion not valid. Good pro stuff is as far I looked at the price tags more expensive, but built for 24/7 usage without problems.

 

[wwenze]

For the same reason I don't use Xeon CPUs? Pro gear can be expensive and not necessarily measure good because they have other features that also require money.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Another reason, pro gear has many inputs and 8 or more channels. Consumer audio gear has no need or use for it so a consumer wonders, what would I do with that? I'm paying for something for which I don't have any need.

 

[Mart68]

I've looked at buying professional equipment in the past, but it isn't really any cheaper and it doesn't have better specs.

Okay, some domestic 'Audiophile' equipment is expensive junk, but a lot of it isn't. It isn't hard to avoid the rip off stuff.

 

[MaxwellsEq]

There's definitely been a blurring between the categories.

In my experience, many production and broadcast electronic engineers have long been sceptical about "golden ear" reviewers and the equipment they have promoted. I've thought that this was in part due to excellent access to original source material (before it is degraded in the process of "mastering") as well as exposure to the real sound of instruments in studios.

Pro gear is rarely designed to fit in with domestic environments. I think that the growth of "desktop HiFi" in recent decades has made this less of an issue - before that, the HiFi stack was in the living room and needed to have some element of furniture about it. Also, with desktop audio everything is within physical reach of the operator and so pro user interfaces are acceptable.

 

[Sokel]

Not all pro gear are cheap and not all home audio stuff are expensive.
What is true though is that in pro gear you get what you pay for.

Lower price stuff are pretty basic,here's an example:

Cheap analog electronic crossover

Additional "asking for a friend" questions: Would the DC PSU Motronix sells be quieter than an AC transformer? Should the PSU be kept separate from the crossover (mounted in a separate box)? Should the box be metal or is plastic OK? Are there other considerations for keeping things quiet (hum...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Now compare this performance with the cheap thing of the thread.
Yes,the Behri has a gazzilion more functionality,features,is balanced (not that it saves anything though) ,etc.
But that comes with a penalty a lot of folks (even for the visuals of the charts) don't want to pay.

 

[LTig]

There are very few hifi shops which sell pro gear, so customers don't see it.

 

[boxerfan88]

Pro gears typically just look functional.

Consumer HiFi gear almost always designed to look nice visually. Wealthier HiFi buyers like to showcase their HiFi kit to visitors, therefore HiFi gear visual styling is very important. (probably also why visually nice looking cables sell well too)

 

[restorer-john]

• Noise has never been a primary focus for professional sound reinforcement gear. Noise is acutely important and audible in a domestic environment. That noise can be mechanical (transformers/fans etc) or electrical (hiss/hums/buzzes etc).
• Wide and flat frequency response is not a priority for "pro" gear. The last thing they want is instability so BW is often tamed.
• Harmonic distortion is hardly a driver in power amplification in professional gear- it's all about sheer wattage.
• Size and weight is not an issue in home high fidelity equipment (for most audiophiles)- it is a major consideration for travelling or pro installs.
• Susceptibility to transport/impact damage between home HiFi and Pro gear is completely different and expectations for same are too.

 

[Mart68]

• Noise has never been a primary focus for professional sound reinforcement gear. Noise is acutely important and audible in a domestic environment. That noise can be mechanical (transformers/fans etc) or electrical (hiss/hums/buzzes etc).
• Wide and flat frequency response is not a priority for "pro" gear. The last thing they want is instability so BW is often tamed.
• Harmonic distortion is hardly a driver in power amplification in professional gear- it's all about sheer wattage.
• Size and weight is not an issue in home high fidelity equipment (for most audiophiles)- it is a major consideration for travelling or pro installs.
• Susceptibility to transport/impact damage between home HiFi and Pro gear is completely different and expectations for same are too.

Whilst all that is true I'd assumed we were talking about professional monitoring equipment, not PA systems which are a whole different ballgame.

 

[Purité Audio]

Another reason, pro gear has many inputs and 8 or more channels. Consumer audio gear has no need or use for it so a consumer wonders, what would I do with that? I'm paying for something for which I don't have any need.

RME have remotes at least the components which straddle the pro/domestic line.
Keith

 

[FrantzM]

Home and Pro audio equipment have huge price ranges. So it can't really be compared. The assumption that audiophile gear is more expensive than the Pro is to my opinion not valid. Good pro stuff is as far I looked at the price tags more expensive, but built for 24/7 usage without problems.

Can you name/show us, one just 1, exemple of:
a $500,000/pair pro speaker?
$350,000 pro amplifier?
$100,000, 8 feet, yes EIGHT feet Pro speaker cable?
$100,000 Pro DAC?

The list could go on

Peace.

 

[MaxwellsEq]

Can you name/show us, one just 1, exemple of:
a $500,000/pair pro speaker?
$350,000 pro amplifier?
$100,000, 8 feet, yes EIGHT feet Pro speaker cable?
$100,000 Pro DAC?

The list could go on

Peace.

Although not $500k, professional main monitors can be very expensive, e.g. https://www.rspeaudio.com/pmc-loudspeakers-qb1-xbd-a-main-monitor-with-xbd-cabinet-pair

 

[FrantzM]

Although not $500k, professional main monitors can be very expensive, e.g. https://www.rspeaudio.com/pmc-loudspeakers-qb1-xbd-a-main-monitor-with-xbd-cabinet-pair

M point wasn't that there weren't expensive pro items. Simply that audiophile wares are vastly more expensive.

OTOH, one must realize that subjectivism is as widespread in Pro corners as it is in the "audiophile" sector. As such it creates a fertile environment for overpriced products, even BS products... I have this nagging feeling: perhaps such as this very PMC exemple? ... Audio Subjectivism and prejudice...

Peace.

 

[Sokel]

Whilst all that is true I'd assumed we were talking about professional monitoring equipment, not PA systems which are a whole different ballgame.

On the other hand these monitoring equipment operate in often $100k (or much more) treated rooms and they rely very little to EQ because of that.
We must see the broader picture here.

 

[MaxwellsEq]

M point wasn't that there weren't expensive pro items. Simply that audiophile wares are vastly more expensive.

OTOH, one must realize that subjectivism is as widespread in Pro corners as it is in the "audiophile" sector. As such it creates a fertile environment for overpriced products, even BS products... I have this nagging feeling: perhaps such as this very PMC exemple? ... Audio Subjectivism and prejudice...

Peace.

Subjectivism in the pro world is subtly different. For the engineers operating the mixing panel etc. there's a general acceptance that some cable is better than other cable, but the choice is often on noise, microphony, robustness, flexibility, rather than "veils being lifted".

For the music creators (artists, producers), there's more subjectivism, but often that is not audiophile in nature but more about "this compressor sounds better than that compressor". Often what's being compared is a box that's designed to mess with the sound.