Is there a consensus "best" product in audio?

[caesar]

Is there anything out there that is believed to be the best?

-4-box Scarlatti system for digital?
- Ayre c5 at $6K (possibly best at under $10k)?
- magico Q5? (probably not - TAS reviewers who love it don't appreciate bass, and Fremer doesn't think the bass is quite right)

- anything else?

 

[es347]

Bose Wave

 

[Steve williams]

Too difficult to answer. One man's passion is another man's poison

 

[microstrip]

Too difficult to answer. One man's passion is another man's poison

Steve,
You are really an high-end audiophile. The audio version should be:

One man's meat is another man's poison

 

[JackD201]

I don't think so, no. Hard to get any consensus even for discreet parts much less an entire product. On one extreme, they all sound the same and on the other it's all about taste.

 

[mep]

I've said it before and I will say it again-there is no consensus in this hobby. You can't get two audiophiles to agree on whether it is day or night let alone "best" of anything.

 

[Gregadd]

At the risk of being stoned to death let me say a word for Bose. Bose gave up it's high end pretensions long ago. The Bose wave "is what it is." Yes those informercials are embarrasiing. The products are quite good for what they are trying to do. JMO.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

i think 'best' is a dead-end....and 'audio' is too open-ended.

if the question switches to 'is there a 'favorite' product in 'high end' audio?' then you might get somewhere.

and statistically over the last few decades, the 'hands down' favorite high end product is the Wilson Watt/Puppy line of speakers. they are not my favorite, but they once were. OTOH the current version is very higthly thought of.

personally i owned three different versions of the Watt/Puppy....the 3/2's, 5.1's and 6's. I enjoyed them and they were and are a worthy favorite of all time.

 

[Gregadd]

Of Course the Watt/Puppy popularity was fueled by the critical acclaim that it was the best.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

Absolutely! The best product in audio is a really good collection of recordings. And that's where the consensus ends.

Tim

 

[Gregadd]

agreed

 

[fas42]

Bose Wave

"Bose in German means terrible"

Now THERE'S a tweaking challenge ...

Frank

 

[fas42]

The best product in audio is a really good collection of recordings

Hear, hear!

Frank