Because they either know or think that some moron will actually pay that price.
185.000 $ CD player !!
- Thread starter Revel Salon 2
- Start date
I don't believe in that price! I'm sure it is a gross mistake as nobody would ever pay that. It simply don't add up! C'mon now!
There must be a discount. ...You always have with electronics. ...I would check at Audiogon for a used one, or ebay.
* Just think for a sec! $185,000 can save an entire country of salvation!
There must be a discount. ...You always have with electronics. ...I would check at Audiogon for a used one, or ebay.
* Just think for a sec! $185,000 can save an entire country of salvation!
Well, the Ongaku was half that price. and that is Kondo-san I'm talking about---and was an integrated.
I'm not sure this is a smart buying strategy even if you have the money to burn. DAC technology and analog output stage tech changes rapidly. As a result I don't think that is the best place to go for reference level gear.
Look at the resolution of modern CD players, they are vastly better than even five years ago. So you run the danger here of a killer CD player that is somewhat or totally obsolete in a few years.
Look at the resolution of modern CD players, they are vastly better than even five years ago. So you run the danger here of a killer CD player that is somewhat or totally obsolete in a few years.
But that is what Ultra High-End is all about, in the now! ...Then in six months you put it on ebay, and get yourself the next biggest and baddest new toy! 
Careful now. There might be a member of this forum who is ready to buy one. And someone will buy this rig. I don't know if I could keep a straight face when a customer asked me what it cost though.
A couple of more gems: http://hifi-unlimited.blogspot.com/2010/05/10-qs-for-peter-qvortrup-of-audio-note.html
Bruce B
WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
And gems they are. I didn't know power cord safety was a concern. I thought we figured out how to build safe power cords many, many years ago. This guy ever heard of Underwriters Laboratory? Hard drives aren't good for storing digital music files?
I LOVE it!!!
The interviewer is just great. He asks him why their gear is expensive and after the guy goes on for a while he asks again, "OK, so why is it so expensive!" Clearly he didn't buy his non-sense.
Then it gets more interesting as he doesn't need much to have the guy hang himself:
"I do not download, absolutely zero music files! I just don't think it sounds good enough for audiophile grade high fidelity purposes. The problem lies in the way the files are stored in the hard disk. For the maximum storage efficiency, a hard disk stores bits of music all over the place, then recalls all the bits and pieces when the song needs to be re played. Music is a continuous sine wave. You can't break it up all over the place, store it, then re-assemble it quickly for replay! It just doesn't work that way! "
Does this guy know anything about anything? He really thinks audio degrades because it is stored in blocks and are gathered before playback? Does he know that audio files are stored on hard disk before being transferred to CD?
"Transistors have the same problem because they break the continuous sine waves in to two halves, just imaging the hard disk doing the same thing but only many times over and faster! The music and sound quality suffers as result."
Transistors break up the sine wave?
The reviewer cleverly nails him with: "CDs are digital, yet they are good enough?"
His answer: "It's not a question of digital or analog, because in CD's the music is still stored as a continuous, if some what squared, sine wave, in the form of ones and zeros." Right.... He thinks CD is an analog medium with no A/D and D/A.
" If the hard disk store music in a continuous sine wave like CDs do, then the storage volume would be greatly reduced, imaging like instead of 5000 songs, you'd probably only have 300 songs! "
The what??? He has never heard of lossless audio compress or storing the files as wave files? I would say he is confusing MP3s with lossless storage except that above he claims the loss is due to storage style, not compression.
To save the CD business he suggests this:
"I think the music industry should look in to re-packaging music CDs, so that it is desirable....At the moment, the CDs packed in those nasty clear plastic cases just looks so throw away, who'd wanna buy something that looks like soon to be tomorow's rubbish? I don't like music down loads either because they're like the fast food of music, very consumable but never memorable!"
For sure you can save the CD market by increasing the production cost and making the boxes bigger. If you thought you were losing retail shelf space with small boxes, wait 'till the boxes grow this way!
I was going to give them the befit of doubt but after reading this interview, I am not sure I can. They are a technology company and have people who can't spell the word it seems.
I hope this doesn't violate any copyright but thisneeds to be pasted/pOsted here :
Emphasis is mine .. I like this the most ...
All great reading to say the least. Even Humorous.
They ( meaning Audio Note ) must love all the free publicity, good or bad. Just free advertising to them.
Just more profits in their pocket & less to spend on advertising. I don't care how good this player sounds, the price is Insane
They ( meaning Audio Note ) must love all the free publicity, good or bad. Just free advertising to them.
Just more profits in their pocket & less to spend on advertising. I don't care how good this player sounds, the price is Insane
PQ:.......I can't think of any other thing that I'd love doing more, until I roll over and drop dead!
BG: Just in case that happens, which will happen sooner or latter, how would you like to be remembered? What would your legacy be?
That blogger is hilarious! You can't make this stuff up! He should stop blogging and write screenplays!
BG: Just in case that happens, which will happen sooner or latter, how would you like to be remembered? What would your legacy be?
That blogger is hilarious! You can't make this stuff up! He should stop blogging and write screenplays!
Amen Tim...a LOT of moxie. I've a feeling the product was a commissioned work by a loyal client and is for all intents and purposes sold already. I'll bet 10 bucks he doesn't sell more than 5 sets.
Bruce B
WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Don't bet Jack ... I would have bet the same about $30,000 speaker cables 10 years ago ... I would have lost ... Even after the nonsense uttered in the interview, he will be heralded by some audiophiles and reviewers ... and some well-heeled person will acquire the ...err .. thing in which CD have continuous sine wave in them but only as one and zero ...
Did he really design this thing? What I gleamed from the interview doesn't display any understanding of digital ..
The price is outrageous, but the misrepresentation of digital audio isn't even unusual. This, for example...
...bears a very strong resemblance the the argument made against digital sampling by analog audiophiles on the internet almost daily. Does it represent a complete misunderstanding of how digital works? Yes. Does it indicate that the man either doesn't understand his own products or is a shameless snake oil merchant? A thousand times yes! But is it uncommon? Sadly, not even close.
Tim
...bears a very strong resemblance the the argument made against digital sampling by analog audiophiles on the internet almost daily. Does it represent a complete misunderstanding of how digital works? Yes. Does it indicate that the man either doesn't understand his own products or is a shameless snake oil merchant? A thousand times yes! But is it uncommon? Sadly, not even close.
Tim
Here's something to think about...this product is aimed at the consumer who makes a $1M a month....you might be surprised as to how many people that applies to, not just in the US but in many other areas of the world...like the USSR, China etc. I suspect that AN knows exactly where their buyer lives and could well have sold all these out already. My point...if you make $1M a month what's $185K...chump change
....you might be surprised as to how many people that applies to, not just in the US but in many other areas of the world...like the USSR, China etc. I suspect that AN knows exactly where their buyer lives and could well have sold all these out already. My point...if you make $1M a month what's $185K...chump changeSimilar threads
