Are SOTA systems worth the effort?
- Thread starter KeithR
- Start date
Hi Morricab,
Thank you...yes, my question was not trying to pick apart any single component as much as understand how far 'Kevin's vision' extends beyond what I heard at Spiritland since that was designed with his guidance and the speakers built by him.
If someone said...'yep, Spiritland's system is the best I have ever heard a system by Kevin Scott sound', then I get it...on the other hand, it seems more than a few have been respectful but critical of Spiritland...which gives me an understanding that there is a long way to go before I heard what Kevin Scott's vision is for great sound reproduction.
As for system building, I totally hear you. I understand why people go for killer speakers...because if they are already people who dont want to take the time to optimize a system, then they are already happy just getting whatever comes out of a pair of good speakers...rather than do no work and listen to whatever comes out of a pair of lesser speakers.
I suppose there is a risk that the sound out of a pair of great speakers happens to be WORSE than out of a pair of so-so speakers due the extreme setup in the rest of the system...but I think a 'rough correlation' is not unreasonable to assume. Again, we are talking people who dont want to bother anyway.
The great speakers will of course have higher ultimate potential but they also tend, as a result, to be very sensitive to the rest of the system and this can mean poor optimization could easily sound worse than a lesser speaker with a better system behind it.
Yes...I totally hear you...and in fact, my sense is that if a horn can operate on 5 watts of power, then it is also going to be particularly sensitive to system noise, etc as well. I have 0 real experience with them as an owner.
But I know that moving the upper modules of the big Wilsons or changing the resister on them makes a huge difference, let alone placement, electronics, etc...
Overall, my sense is that great systems have great POTENTIAL...but generally can sound quite banal if just thrown together. And that is where a lot of people ultimately end up very disappointed. These are effectively DIY systems because the owners are assembling them component by component and even often physically setting them up themselves...imagine doing that with cars, houses, coffee makers, etc...
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Thanks Brad. I think Al's point was that my recording was not posted by Bonzo and not of a system heard and endorsed by Bonzo. I do think the videos of Winterreise on that thread all sound quite different.
I think the other ones sound quite poor and Al has a good point at least with those recordings of Winterreise.
You have to remember that Steve sold hifi in NYC during the go-go 90s. as someone who caught the end of that time period there, you'd see guys walk into Singer or Innovative and blow $50k-$100k at a time with their bonus as living in Manhattan, they weren't buying cars. true story- the watch stores knew the exact day bonuses at various wall street firms were handed out as to expect calls and reach out to their best clients. I think the folks like yourself are actually the outliers and that none of the typical wealthy owners post on forums. these guys have their dealers do everything for them and just listen to music - and they aren't building barns in NYC coops
funny you say this as Ken Kessler is doing it right now with a multi-post exploration across the pond. Jeff Fritz did it two years ago by taking a $400k system down to a $100k one in a new space. Peter mentioned several others.
Wasn't there a fellow on these forums several years back who downsized from ?EA MM7s? to Magico Minis?
And as a one tt/one arm/one cart man, I feel I'm as "calorie controlled" a vinylphile compared to the likes of Mike and Tang w 3-4 analog front ends.
And as a one tt/one arm/one cart man, I feel I'm as "calorie controlled" a vinylphile compared to the likes of Mike and Tang w 3-4 analog front ends.
really what you are saying is that Steve's really out of touch with the intensity of serious hifi system building.......is stuck with a cartoon characterization of serious hifi......and not relevant to what we talk about here. if he stays in his lane and does not try to define that which he does not understand then ok.You have to remember that Steve sold hifi in NYC during the go-go 90s. as someone who caught the end of that time period there, you'd see guys walk into Singer or Innovative and blow $50k-$100k at a time with their bonus as living in Manhattan, they weren't buying cars. true story- the watch stores knew the exact day bonuses at various wall street firms were handed out as to expect calls and reach out to their best clients. I think the folks like yourself are actually the outliers and that none of the typical wealthy owners post on forums. these guys have their dealers do everything for them and just listen to music - and they aren't building barns in NYC coops
it's possible he does understand but it does not serve his purpose to explain that. in any case i don't pay attention to him.
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we did have 'Stereo' (visited me once) who had MM3's, then Magico Mini's then ordered the big Magico Ultimate's and was building a room in Paris. then he dropped off the radar before we ever saw the end game of it.
not sure about the other guy.
i'm contemplating some sort of downsize myself; has more to do with lifestyle choices, where i want to live in retirement, how big a boat i want and how much time i want to spend on it. but my 'downsizing' won't necessarily involve less assets devoted to hifi. just less footprint.
but i have no firm plans, no system change the most likely direction.
Mike, PeterA has a big hifi...and a boat. Maybe a big one.
It CAN be done Lol.
well....er......not sure i could spend 3 months in Southeast Alaska on Peter's boat. as i recall, while elegant and perfect for his purpose, it's an under 30 foot sailboat. i owned a 38 foot sailboat for 4 years in the 80's. a sailboat is not the right tool for Alaska unless you are really hardcore. which i'm not.
I hear ice fishing appeals to the same sort of inner OCD levels as audiophilia...it could come naturally to you Mike, Lol.
the good news is that the building investment in my barn will be returned to me many-fold if i sell. so there is no sunk cost for me to lose. but i know the barn is a once in a lifetime thing, so will my life balance improve or diminish if i leave it? i think about this question a lot.
makes me appreciate it all the more.
oh, not really. i just think Steve was clear he's heard it all and that level of system isn't a goal of his. what's wrong with that? but underlying his post is that audio is a luxury good now and i *strongly believe* that's the case.
jeff fritz point it out years ago and i'd think you would agree has "serious hifi" chops. i think what's important is finding what's luxury and what's real engineering.
The Luxury/High-End Conundrum: A Solution
ultraaudio.com
sure; no argument from me that serious hifi is a luxury item. it's indulgent and extravagant......and no problem. lots of other things are that too. in degrees.
my quibble with what Steve wrote was what he left out about why people build systems, and what they add of themselves. he just misses that part which is the main part. he just reduces it all to dollars.
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