Funny...i was going to say the same about launch codes...but look carefully...it has 2 hinges on the side like a door hinge. and there are two handles on top. Whatever this leather 'case' is, it unfolds like a desk or a chair. I thought it might be one of those portable massage tables that sports therapists take to clients, but who knows?I don't know if i should laugh, cry or die of envy !But i would like to know what is in the briefcase !
At an audiophile gathering on the past Sat, I talked with two friends who had visited the music room of this M9 HK owner.
One of them a famous HK audiophile with a top system (Q7 Mk2) and the other a very experienced hifi dealer (not Magico nor Wilson).
Both said that the M9 was the best loudspeaker in the market currently.
In fact the HK M9 owner owned the Wilson XVX earlier!
That hifi dealer auditioned the XVX in the same room too. He said that the M9 was significantly better, particularly in term of coherence.
This really surprised me! I thought that the time accuracy/coherence of drivers is all along Wilson's specialty.
One of them a famous HK audiophile with a top system (Q7 Mk2) and the other a very experienced hifi dealer (not Magico nor Wilson).
Both said that the M9 was the best loudspeaker in the market currently.
In fact the HK M9 owner owned the Wilson XVX earlier!
That hifi dealer auditioned the XVX in the same room too. He said that the M9 was significantly better, particularly in term of coherence.
This really surprised me! I thought that the time accuracy/coherence of drivers is all along Wilson's specialty.
The one thing I take away from these photos is about a common criticism some have laid at the feet of affluent owners of high end equipment...where its just about bragging rights and not about music or true commitment to great audio reproduction.
I have to say, in this case, I see a lot of very typical audio-obsessiveness that most 'blank check writing people who dont really care' would never do. Look at the audio cables being routed on Furutech cable stands all the way around...symmetrically...the treatment of the room, ceiling and the door, the level of commitment on the isolation racks (CMS Olympus level). The Stromtanks?...really?...who the heck but an audiophile who really is into high end would get 2 Stromtanks? This is not an ultra high net worth who bought a bunch of [nearly] million dollar speakers and then hung a Gaugin in front of the left tweeter.
Whether you like this audiophile's taste in music or equipment or whatever, this person looks every bit the fanatic committed audiophile who CARES about his music system. That he has the means to invest to this level is simply great news for him...and anyone who might be able to purchase something from him/his dealer 2nd hand if he off-loads it!
I have to say, in this case, I see a lot of very typical audio-obsessiveness that most 'blank check writing people who dont really care' would never do. Look at the audio cables being routed on Furutech cable stands all the way around...symmetrically...the treatment of the room, ceiling and the door, the level of commitment on the isolation racks (CMS Olympus level). The Stromtanks?...really?...who the heck but an audiophile who really is into high end would get 2 Stromtanks? This is not an ultra high net worth who bought a bunch of [nearly] million dollar speakers and then hung a Gaugin in front of the left tweeter.
Whether you like this audiophile's taste in music or equipment or whatever, this person looks every bit the fanatic committed audiophile who CARES about his music system. That he has the means to invest to this level is simply great news for him...and anyone who might be able to purchase something from him/his dealer 2nd hand if he off-loads it!
Wow...good to know! And the fact that he already owned the XVX speaks to my post just now about getting hand-me-downs from him over time! Sounds like it comes quickly!At an audiophile gathering on the past Sat, I talked with two friends who had visited the music room of this M9 HK owner.
One of them a famous HK audiophile with a top system (Q7 Mk2) and the other a very experienced hifi dealer (not Magico nor Wilson).
Both said that the M9 was the best loudspeaker in the market currently.
In fact the HK M9 owner owned the Wilson XVX earlier!
That hifi dealer auditioned the XVX in the same room too. He said that the M9 was significantly better, particularly in term of coherence.
This really surprised me! I thought that the time accuracy/coherence of drivers is all along Wilson's specialty.
Or...his dealer really cares
The system setup, yes...but the room? Not. Giving someone a room where you go in just to sit in one chair...no art on the walls, (i cannot see the whole room but probably no bar, no entertainment area for dancing, etc)...when you have no desire to actually do so? I cannot see that happening. I COULD see someone who wants to put a superb system in the massive party room, have it all neatly set up by someone else...but then it would not look the way it does in its own dedicated (and isolated) room.Or...his dealer really cares
Everything is possible...but the look of this one feels pretty committed by the owner, not just his dealer.
- https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/audio-hobby-is-like-tasting-wine.29446/post-609324
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It depends on personal taste to choose favorite wine.
2. Law of diminishing return apply to both audio and wine.
100$ wine is not 10 times better than 10$ wine.
1,000$ wine is not 10 times better than 100$ wine.
3. You need experience to acknowledge good audio or wine.
I am not wine connoisseur.
But I could taste some nice wines through one of my rich friend who is willing to treat nice wines in his listening room.
He treated 700$ wine to me last year. It is the best wine I had ever tasted.
I had never bought wine more than 150$ myself, since I do not have confidence in selecting right one.
Some rich guy paid huge price for big audio system.
It plays loud but not in the balanced way or without any nuanced flavor of nice wines.
Money can not buy you nice system.
You need experience to match right components and cables.
4. One keeps looking for different flavor.
Most people do not want to drink same wine everyday.
They wish to taste different flavor.
Audiophile is looking for new flavor in their audio system.
They keep changing components every year or do some tweaks like cable rolling, tube rolling and power isolation.
Sometimes audiophile do sidegrade rather than upgrade.
I'll let you know what it sounds like compared to his previous XVX in a week or so when I visit. The owner is a gentleman and dedicated audiophile with some really nice pressings. It is like a treasure trove with lots of goodies behind hidden doors.
Very interesting, ThomasK. I can see where you are coming from.
Personally, my approach has been slightly different...I see the system as a conduit for the music (which is where I get my 'varying flavors'). But the system itself is meant to play that music more and more faithfully (to my ears). And so when you look at our systems going back 20 years, they have all been the same goals...just hopefully better and better each time. I think I have recorded 5 'fully evolved systems' over the last 35 years. This most recent one has a few more updates in my mental mind's eye. Overall, the voicing of each is probably pretty similar...as is the approach...just done at a different level each time. Its not that I haven't really found great sound with other ways (I have), but not my 'first choice'...Apogees are amazing, some tubed amps, systems without big subs, the few horns I have heard...but I have returned to my personal first choices each time.
In some respects, you could see us as as quite boring! Interestingly, though we sometimes try new wines when out...our house has only one wine in it...Penfolds. some 389, 150, and primarily St Henri, with a handful of 707s and [yikes] Granges. We started out with St Henri as the ridiculous splurge for people who know zilch about wine and were blown away by the 2010...which it turns out was an exceptional year. And we have stayed with Penfolds for pretty much that entire time...slowly but steadily going up the range...pretty much stopping at St. Henri with those few splurge exceptions. But every time we try something else out at a restaurant (we would not buy a Penfolds in a restaurant), we come back to Penfolds at home.
Personally, my approach has been slightly different...I see the system as a conduit for the music (which is where I get my 'varying flavors'). But the system itself is meant to play that music more and more faithfully (to my ears). And so when you look at our systems going back 20 years, they have all been the same goals...just hopefully better and better each time. I think I have recorded 5 'fully evolved systems' over the last 35 years. This most recent one has a few more updates in my mental mind's eye. Overall, the voicing of each is probably pretty similar...as is the approach...just done at a different level each time. Its not that I haven't really found great sound with other ways (I have), but not my 'first choice'...Apogees are amazing, some tubed amps, systems without big subs, the few horns I have heard...but I have returned to my personal first choices each time.
In some respects, you could see us as as quite boring! Interestingly, though we sometimes try new wines when out...our house has only one wine in it...Penfolds. some 389, 150, and primarily St Henri, with a handful of 707s and [yikes] Granges. We started out with St Henri as the ridiculous splurge for people who know zilch about wine and were blown away by the 2010...which it turns out was an exceptional year. And we have stayed with Penfolds for pretty much that entire time...slowly but steadily going up the range...pretty much stopping at St. Henri with those few splurge exceptions. But every time we try something else out at a restaurant (we would not buy a Penfolds in a restaurant), we come back to Penfolds at home.
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This gentleman must be the same person I heard his XVX playing Malcolm Arnold in video clip. I think his sound now will top the previous one playing the tune.
Confusing. If it is all a question of taste, how can one possibly sidegrade?
The truth is that people can and will have different tastes, that does not change the fact that some products are better than others.
If somehow your taste does not align with ‘reality,’ that’s fine as well; ego is a big part of our judgment and perception, and therefore our own 'reality'.
At an audiophile gathering on the past Sat, I talked with two friends who had visited the music room of this M9 HK owner.
One of them a famous HK audiophile with a top system (Q7 Mk2) and the other a very experienced hifi dealer (not Magico nor Wilson).
Both said that the M9 was the best loudspeaker in the market currently.
In fact the HK M9 owner owned the Wilson XVX earlier!
That hifi dealer auditioned the XVX in the same room too. He said that the M9 was significantly better, particularly in term of coherence.
This really surprised me! I thought that the time accuracy/coherence of drivers is all along Wilson's specialty.
Coherence is Wilson weak link. I made this exact point in earlier post https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/magico-m9.30846/post-755802
I fully endorse the "brand" name ( Penfolds ) and the "model" ( Bin 389 ). As a "second" system, Bin 128 is equally rewarding!
Ked, I've noticed your Wilson bashing has become somewhat repetitive and stale lately. You don't seem to have the same zest for it that you've had in the past. Since this is a Magico thread there will always be a few (fan boys, Magico dealers) who applaud you for dissing a competitive brand. But it's kinda become a reflexive response - your heart doesn't seem into it any more. Do you have the Wilson sads? Maybe you need an XVX and Wamm audition to reinvigorate you.
Ked, I've noticed your Wilson bashing has become somewhat repetitive and stale lately. You don't seem to have the same zest for it that you've had in the past. Since this is a Magico thread there will always be a few (fan boys, Magico dealers) who applaud you for dissing a competitive brand. But it's kinda become a reflexive response - your heart doesn't seem into it any more. Do you have the Wilson sads? Maybe you need an XVX and Wamm audition to reinvigorate you.
CKKeung confirmed exactly what I wrote a few posts earlier, so I guess the XVX owner got the sads? So I linked that. Sorry it upsets you. Maybe get a horn so you don't get upset
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