$500 vs $5,000 vs $50,000 Hi-Fi

Comments · 27

• JO

  @jozefserf · 3 months ago

  In a perfect world every dealer would be playing this video every time a customer walks in.<br>All day, every day.<br><br>Nice to see blogger Archimago getting a mention here. He has literally spent years shedding light and sharing hard information on audio.<br><br>The only other thing worth adding might be is that the room the equipment is placed in matters, and the mastering, particularly the Dynamic Range numbers matter too.

  3

• MA

  @markosladojevic4872 · 3 months ago

  Great honest video! Which is quite rare today!

  1

• DA

  @davidjudd951 · 2 months ago

  I&apos;m still enjoying the 1970, TG&amp;Y Sound Design system. <br> $72.00 brand new.

• MA

  @marianorszulak-ru7jh · 2 months ago

  HiFi stores are rare and I miss them

• ST

  @stevefisher8323 · 2 months ago

  The cartridge is far more important than the turntable as it is a transducer (like a loudpeaker), so as long as the turntable is decent, spend more on the cartridge. And yes speakers are by far the most important. A good 2-way (costing 1,000 - 3,000 a pair) with a decent sub can match many of the exotic looking tower style speakers that sell for 25,000 or more. Paying mainly for cabinet artistry and limited production (and ego).

  1

• YV

  @yvesboutin5604 · 2 months ago

  At 500$ the only thing you can afford is a micro component all in one system or something bought in a used store or thrift store.

• KE

  @KerrAvon-DSV1 · 2 months ago

  From 11minutes in I agree 100%...

• HA

  @Hazelsmariposapark · 2 months ago

  If you only have $500 not sure you can beat wireless KEF LSX II LT at Costco!

• PH

  @philipw7058 · 2 months ago

  These prices are ridiculous for the audio equipment,it’s like everything in this ripoff world there’s thing deliberately made for rich audio uneducated fools, with money looking for there next bragging rights,there is so many manufacturers building equipment at reasonable prices that will bring the same listening satisfaction,like anything else in this world educating yourself about audio before any purchase will save you a lot of money 💰

  1

• RI

  @ridirefain6606 · 2 months ago (edited)

  You mean to tell me that people could not tell the difference between from a $78.00 and a $500,000.00 turntable through a recording taken off the record they were playing? I would not be able to either. How about conducting the test by actually listenng to the tables themselves? Why was a recording ever considered a reliable means of evaluation? The variable in this blind test would be the compression and artifacts the recording equipment introduces into the music. What they were evaluating was not the table&apos;s sonic differences but the quality of the recording, and the recording equipment that produced it. From the get go, the result of this blind test are mealiness. I would have liked to have had information on how the tables faired using standard objective measurements such as Wow and Flutter, Signal-to-Noise Ratio, and Rumble.

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• GE

  @gened9632 · 2 months ago

  &quot;Sometimes you are paying $40k for measurably more distortion wrapped in a beautiful chassis&quot;. &nbsp;That sums up Vinyl and McIntosh right there. &nbsp;Now, if you like the ritual and feel of the vinyl experience, then it&apos;s perfectly fine. &nbsp;Just know the difference. &nbsp;But on a top-tier resolving system, both vinyl and McIntosh are more about lifestyle than sonic clarity.<br><br>I agree that the majority of the budget should go towards speakers (mine sits at about 70% of total budget), but the idea that there&apos;s marginal difference between a $5k set of speakers and a $50k set just isn&apos;t true. &nbsp;Sure, the owner of a Subaru BRZ will try to convince themselves that it&apos;s just as capable as a Koenigsegg, but that&apos;s nonsense. &nbsp;Is it worth the upgrade? &nbsp;Only if you can comfortably afford it. &nbsp;But if you can, then yes. &nbsp; <br><br>The rest of the video is spot on. &nbsp;The &quot;magical&quot; wires is nonsense. &nbsp;I use the same wires in my home stereo that I use in my studio setup. &nbsp;While there are differences in preamps and amps, that&apos;s one of those things that I feel come into play the more you spend. &nbsp;Meaning, your speakers have to reflect the differences in terms of analytical vs musical. &nbsp;But inversely, that&apos;s where things like the limitations of vinyl actually show up (loss of dynamics, sub bass, hyper-sonics).<br><br>It&apos;s a fun hobby, but it&apos;s more straight forward than the sales guy wants you to believe. &nbsp;However, It&apos;s also more nuanced than the beginner is aware of. &nbsp;The nuance has everything to do with your ears, so that&apos;s the hardest part to actually learn, understand, know how to adjust, and hopefully have the budget to do so. &nbsp;But at the end of the day, we should all just enjoy our hobby and never, ever gate keep to newer people.

• CO

  @coolbreez773 · 3 months ago

  For a good honest budget system what about Active-Speakers?