How much is too much?

[DaveyF]

Sonus Faber "weighs" in with a 636lbs each @200K entry in the mega speaker derby. Even they are embarrassed by the price and promise a trickle down version very soon.


" As we speak [read/write] the brand new Guarnen Evolution is on the way to us at a price 1/10th that of The Sonus Faber. "Tas October 2011p.118 Manufacturer Comment.

Amazingly, after I read the RH review in the current issue of Abbo Sound,I got the impression that SF wasn't really over-pricing this speaker The R&D that went into it must have been major and the cost to SF to construct and bring to market a limited product like this must have been VERY high.
Apparently they only made 30 pairs and all are spoken for
The SF Guarneri Evolution is high on my wish list to listen to. Is it going to be a 'better' speaker than my beloved SF Guarneri Hommage or is it going to be another Guarneri Memento....basically IMHO a cop-out and cheaper built version of the original

 

[Gregadd]

"Abbo Sound" I love it.

 

[fas42]

"Abbo Sound" I love it.

But don't use it in my part of the world : the indigenous people were given a hard time with that as a slang word ...

Frank

 

[Whatmore]

But don't use it in my part of the world : the indigenous people were given a hard time with that as a slang word ...

Frank

Indeed, it's on a par with the 'n' word

 

[DaveyF]

To our friends 'down under', meant no disrespect..

We've been using that term to describe the mag for as long as I can remember....I didn't invent it
but it seems to fit and is pretty common now....at least among the long term readers

 

[Gregadd]

Fair enough I don't know what it means and don't care.

 

[fas42]

fair enough i don't know what it means and don' care.

Simply an abbreviation of "aborigine", but it carries strong derogatory connotations. Don't get fussed about it, just for your information.

Frank

 

[JackD201]

"Some" mini monitors? Sure. A Ferrari among mini monitors? It wouldn't stand a chance. The old BBC monitors are good, but they were out-classed long ago.

Tim

The little kitten coffins may be old but they can still pull off a lot of tricks at least down to 70hz that a lot of modern speakers can't to this day Tim. This speaker was the result of a R&D program with no holds barred from end to end for specific purposes. Even with the better passive parts, drivers and cabinets today, I'd say there are too many companies that slap monitors together out of a parts list and textbook schematics for crossovers without any real development efforts because the objective is simply to meet certain price points as opposed to solid, objective and practical design criteria.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

The little kitten coffins may be old but they can still pull off a lot of tricks at least down to 70hz that a lot of modern speakers can't to this day Tim. This speaker was the result of a R&D program with no holds barred from end to end for specific purposes. Even with the better passive parts, drivers and cabinets today, I'd say there are too many companies that slap monitors together out of a parts list and textbook schematics for crossovers without any real development efforts because the objective is simply to meet certain price points as opposed to solid, objective and practical design criteria.

Of course, but those wouldn't be Ferraris among monitors. I'm familiar with the old BBC monitors, and yes, they were very good in their day. They've been bettered, I think, by their antecedents like Spendors and Harbeths, and completely trumped by the best actives. But I take nothing away from them. They were very well thought-out, very well done, led the field for a long time and hold their own pretty well to this day.

Tim

 

[mep]

They were very well thought-out, very well done, led the field for a long time and hold their own pretty well to this day.Tim

I think that is kinda sorta what Jack said.

 

[JackD201]

Yeah, I thought so too Like Ferrari's they also hold their value better than anything from their respective eras. Would you believe that there are people that buy multiples of these as heirlooms? I guess that's what happens when you get history along with performance. Many a time it's the history more than the performance that creates the demand. In this particular case, it looks 50/50.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

Yeah, I thought so too Like Ferrari's they also hold their value better than anything from their respective eras. Would you believe that there are people that buy multiples of these as heirlooms? I guess that's what happens when you get history along with performance. Many a time it's the history more than the performance that creates the demand. In this particular case, it looks 50/50.

I'm never surprised any more by what people find collectible.. Haven't got the instinct myself. I've started a few collections over the years, but I was never able to sustain interest in the concept of collecting.

Tim

 

[DaveyF]

I'm never surprised any more by what people find collectible.. Haven't got the instinct myself. I've started a few collections over the years, but I was never able to sustain interest in the concept of collecting.

Tim

Tim, I thought you said you had a VERY large record collection

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

Tim, I thought you said you had a VERY large record collection

Well, recordings, but nah, not large by this crowd's standards. We have people here with lots of records they haven't even listened to. But if they're going to get around to listening to them, if they bought them for listening and not just for acquiring, archiving...I wouldn't personally call that "collecting." Do you have copies that will remain un-opened? Have you acquired albums of recordins, all of which you own in other sets, just to be "completist?" Do you have more than two masters of any one recording...the second being the recovery from the error of the first? You're collecting. Enjoy.

Tim

 

[JackD201]

I thought I was a collector but I don't do any of the "collector" stuff on your list. Hmmmmm. Maybe I'm just a music junkie after all.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

I thought I was a collector but I don't do any of the "collector" stuff on your list. Hmmmmm. Maybe I'm just a music junkie after all.

I don't think there's any question about that. Perhaps it's just a personal definition. I don't consider amassing a sizeable quantity of stuff you use collection. It's when you begin filling gaps, picking things up for their rarity alone, collection functional things that you rarely, if ever, use....nothing wrong with any of that, of course, just not my thing. The last time I tried, it was guitars. I already owned a few reasonably rare guitars and amps, picked up a few more...but when it got to the point where they were sitting under beds or in closets, unplayed, I let them go.

Tim

 

[FrantzM]

Frantz,

As far as I know you are referring to the Beovision 4 103 - but it is a 103" plasma.

The Beovision 4 65 costs around 15000. Perhaps they also have a version with gold frame and a remote with diamonds that I do not know about...

You are right it was a 103 " inch ... Still ... 85 grand !! US Dollars ..

 

[Whatmore]

You are right it was a 103 " inch ... Still ... 85 grand !! US Dollars ..

At least it wasn't 85 grand Aussie Dollars.....

 

[DaveyF]

Well, recordings, but nah, not large by this crowd's standards. We have people here with lots of records they haven't even listened to. But if they're going to get around to listening to them, if they bought them for listening and not just for acquiring, archiving...I wouldn't personally call that "collecting." Do you have copies that will remain un-opened? Have you acquired albums of recordins, all of which you own in other sets, just to be "completist?" Do you have more than two masters of any one recording...the second being the recovery from the error of the first? You're collecting. Enjoy.

Tim

Ok Tim, You got me...Guilty

 

[Old Listener]

I don't think there's any question about that. Perhaps it's just a personal definition. I don't consider amassing a sizeable quantity of stuff you use collection. It's when you begin filling gaps, picking things up for their rarity alone, collection functional things that you rarely, if ever, use....nothing wrong with any of that, of course, just not my thing.

I can recognize the stages I have gone through in acquiring recorded music.

1. Acquire one recording of a work/performance so that I can listen to it and learn it.

2. Explore other recordings for music I really like. For some classical music, it has been a search for the performance that seems exactly as I think the music should be played (and the first one I acquired seemed lacking in some way.) Brahms symphonies were that way for me for a long time. For other works, I really, really like a recording I already have (such as the Fleischer / Szell Brahms PC no. 1) but I try other performances in hopes that I'll find something with a different approach that adds to my enjoyment of that piece of music.

3. Buy the latest, best remastering of a performance I love. For classical music, this is often a worthwhile improvement. I only buy re-masterings for the performances I really treasure.

4. Buy all recordings of really favorite music that anyone mentions favorably. Now this is collector behavior. Of course, until you have heard a performance, you don't know what you are missing.

5. Buy almost everything that favorite performers recorded (but just for music I like). Szell, Reiner, Walter, Monteux, Casals and Sandor Vegh are in that category for me. For Boradway shows, John McGlinn is in that category.

6. Buy first recordings of music I have not previously been interested in. I'm still filling out my library of chamber music.

7. Read a mention of music unknown to me that sounds interesting and buy it.

Music on CDs can be cheap enough to make this process almost guilt-free. If it costs less than $ 10 with tax and shipping, I buy the recording. More than that, I'm resistant. Perhaps, I'm a responsible collector.

Bill