Mark Levinson on today’s audio industry

PeterA said:

What do you mean no one seems to care? I care a lot about how electricity gets to my components. That’s a different topic though from this thread.

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Kingrex said:

Yes you do. I remember offering to show you how to do it correctly for no charge but you wanted to do what DDK told you to do. Thats fine. I don't like the stranded wire and aluminum panel you used. But then again, I have a suspicion horn systems can be bright and stranded wire can be heavy sounding. So maybe DDK is intentionally trying to shape the sound with the wire in the wall. The aluminum panel is more a glare, but it can be confused with full. When you hear the clarity, clean and dynamics of all copper, you won't go back.

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Kingrex said:

Not by Ron.
I was asked to do a presentation at Pacific Audio Fest. But I needed to have a power point ready before they would schedule me. I did not have one. Don't know I have time at the moment. Not this year. I would like to do a seminar at a show. I should probably do Axpona and Munich.

Audiophile Junkie had me on a couple episodes.

OCD and I talked but I thought his setup while for the most part done ok had some eccentricities that were not code. Also nothing a user would be able to install, so his perceptions of what something sounds like may be skewed. Part of why I go for all copper. Its UL listed and labeled and anyone can install it as I specify.

I have 3 pending reviews with social media or publications. I sort of shot myself in the foot with the biggest magazine when I asked the reviewer why not take care of the walls with double rock or other such stuff while we had it open routing new wire. That process has dragged out for near a year now. Now that I am moving to Vashon Island, I don't know I will have the ability to do the work myself which I was intending to do. It was going to be a 3 part install. Here is stock electrician parts. Here is all copper parts. Here is Romex vs my grain oriented twisted wire (Have not made any in over a year). Here is an isolation transformer as well as unfiltered circuits to compare filters.

I really need to write a book. I have a lot of marked up images from over 100 jobs to explain how I want the wiring attached. My specification is specific to each job, but my master spec covers it all.

I have enough parts to make about 15 more all copper SqD NQ panelboards. Then I may be running into SqD following suit of all the other manufacturer and not provided copper throughout the panel. Commercial users are cheap. They only want low cost parts. Just the mechanical copper lugs on the input to the panel are costing me $350 a set. And I have been waiting now for 8 month to get more. I sort of think they are never going to make another manufacturing run. Owe well. I have enough to do my new home. I can always strip the important parts if I move and replace them with stock aluminum. There are certain parts that are special and make it come together. If someone were to purchase a panel from me and move, they could remove a few key components and put them in a new NQ interior and have a great panel again. It would only take and electrician about an hour to remove and replace with stock. Leave the rest. The can, interior and cover are all readily available.

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PeterA said:

I compared stranded to solid years before I had horn speakers. At that time I prefered JPS labs in wall wires but then I compare them to what David recommended and I preferred David’s. My horns are not bright.

I have two panels. The one I use for Audio circuits have copper connections with some kind of coating. My electrician and I scraped off the coating. You saw the panel I use for the rest of the house before I added the new panel dedicated to Audio.

My only point was that some people care about power delivery dissagreeing with your claim that nobody does.

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Kingrex said:

What did the JPS sound like?

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bonzo75 said:

“Today, what I feel is that the high-end audio world has become a racket, a mafia that tries to take as much money as possible from music lovers. It has nothing to do with the original spirit of the whole thing, which was to use engineering and craftsmanship in the service of music and reproducing recordings,’’ Levinson asserts."

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ssfas said:

I spent a total of about $25,000 on my new electrical installation, $5,000 of which was a new connection to a 3-phase supply under the street and the network charge quite a bit for diggers, resurfacing, H&S etc. My speaker cables cost $140.

Back to the original post, I think Levinson make several good points.

I recently did a Garrard 301 build the artisan route he suggests, it was a lot of fun and I got a great turntable out of it.

I also have a local record store, the owner Alan knows my tastes and sometimes picks out records for me. I still buy mostly online from Juno.co.uk. I was speaking with a record store owner in Osaka, Japan, a few weeks ago and he said he also buys a lot from Juno.co.uk. That's how it is.

A lot of high-end, such as cables and fuses, is totally marketing driven and total nonsense.

Going to live music keeps it real and relateable. Tonight's ticket is $350, although it's Pappano's final performance as director of the Royal Opera and Jonas Kaufman is in the lead role. Thankfully the wife is going to yoga. Friday is Swan Lake (Royal Ballet), another $440 for the two of us. Sunday is Steven Osborne at Snape Maltings, a massive $30 for a morning of Schubert in a truly great concert hall. Add $100 for lunch afterwards.

So close to $1,000 on live music in the next week, but I find that much better value that hifi and $300,000 on a hifi system seems mad to me given it could fund perhaps 10 years of live music. Hifi may get incrementally better, but it will never get close to the sound of Schubert in the main hall at Snape Maltings. My modest system gets me at least into the realm of something that sounds vaguely real.

Here's Mitsuko Uchida at Snape talking about her multi award winning recording of the Diabelli Variations made there.

Mitsuko Uchida Records The Diabelli Variations

On 8 April, Decca Classics will release Mitsuko Uchida’s new recording of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations. Among the most celebrated living interpreters of the

www.deccaclassics.com

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Carlos269 said:

My feeling is that is okay to get scam if you realize it and willingly accept it, but the issue is that most don’t realize that they are getting scammed.

Even a good apple can turn into a bad apple if you let it.

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Audiohertz2 said:

Its not a scam if one buys willingly into a known known ..

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Audiohertz2 said:

Obvious Price Gorging by some aside , the development work and dedication required to bring these Audio products to market should not be overlooked , in actuality making a great sounding product is easy vs creating a successful business model out of it ..

A lot of audiophiles buy into the business model for safety instead of all sonics from an iffy proposition ..

Nothing to gain tearing down those who can keep it going IMO..

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