on 2/23/08 3:39 PM, Tilman Skowroneck at [log in to unmask] wrote:
 
> Great example of what _really_ is needed when we're talking good equipment
> for listening to hpschd (or other) music: ears. Okay - sure: 'weakest link
> in the chain' and so on; somtimes some audio part throws an extra shovel of
> grit into the equation, but let's face it: there's nothing out there in
> mumbo jumbo land that can eliminate the fact that we're listening to cones
> or membranes that try sounding like a harpsichord.

Thanks for remembering the membranes, since I'm an electrostatic advocate. I
use Quad ESL-63s, with a REL subwoofer. Generally, British loudspeakers of
whatever type tend to be a tremendously good value. They don't tend to
compete in the stratospheric price range, but at $10,000 US and below, it's
very hard to beat them. They also make the finest inexpensive speakers I've
heard.

There are those, most prominently Ivor Tiefenbrun of Linn, who say that the
signal source (turntable, CD player) is the most important link in the
chain. My opinion, FWIW, is that the speakers are more important and should
be chosen first when putting a system together.
 
> Some people like driving around in a Porsche to show the world that they own
> a Porsche. It is totally okay if one finds one's stereo equipment better in
> the Porsche way, i.e. because it's been more expensive. But before I don't
> hear that its  more realistic, I don't care much about how much someone paid
> for making or buying a piece of audio stuff.

I agree completely. Audio equipment should be bought with the ears, not the
wallet, and the only standard should be how well it resembles the sound of
live, unamplified music in a natural performing space. Unfortunately, after
the ears pass judgment, the wallet has to come out, and, as with so many
other things, you often get what you pay for. If I hadn't heard what some of
the more expensive equipment can do, I wouldn't have believed it either.

Fortunately, I have a very conscientious and knowledgeable dealer who loves
music and can fix you up with a system that can give you great value, no
matter what your price point. Would that there were more like him.

P.S. Since Tilman brought up Porsches, I can't resist telling my Porsche
joke:

Q: What is the difference between a Porsche and a porcupine?
A: With a porcupine, the pricks are on the outside.

-- 
James R. (Jay) McCarty, MD
Fort Worth, TX

"Sine arte, scientia nihil est"