Press your nose against the glass

lucid

lucid

lucid

Man of Honour
Joined
29 May 2010
Posts
6,350
Location
Cheshire
A lot of the time here we focus on decent budget Hi-Fi gear and used. Sometimes though we have to do the schoolboy thing and press our noses against the glass of the high-end dealer. Here's what my local Hi-Fi dealer near Manchester is up to.

They had a visit from a Hi-Fi journalist who did three system reviews. This kind of thing was common in the 80's and early 90's but seemed to fall out of fashion and it's one reason why I stopped buying Hi-Fi mags. It's nice to see it making a comeback.

https://www.theaudioworks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/HFC385_audio_works_Reprint_spd1.pdf

https://www.theaudioworks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/HFC385_audio_works_Reprint_spd2.pdf


If you're around the South Manchester / Cheshire / North Staffs area you might want to visit the Hi-Fi show at Cranage Hall (map link), on June 15th. Tickets are... free!! Show link here

I'll be calling in on the day if anyone fancies meeting up for a beer.

So, what's your local dealer like?
 
Look, I don't want this to descend in to some tit-for-tat argument, and I can't speak for what others deem affordable in whichever passion they pursue. High-end Hi-Fi exists just as does high-end motoring, -watches, -tailoring, -wine, -housing, -art etc etc. I might not be able to afford an Enzo or Breitling or Monet but does that mean I can't appreciate their beauty or engineering?

Try to lift your sights a little. It's a big world out there. :)
 
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People have already stated that in the thread.

Basically high end hi-fi is now a very very niche area for those with wads of cash to blow.

The average person however need only spend <£1K to get a proper audiophile setup. Which wasn't the case 20-30 years ago they needed to spend a lot more. Technology has moved on and digital has helped massively in making audiophile setups become affordable.
 
10+ grand setups do sell, obviously not the volume of high street retail tat.

My first proper home cinema setup I dropped 5 figures on KeFs - since sold due to moving back in with my parents and to be quite honest by and large I'm fairly happy with a basic pair of Edifiers but still get a bit of yearning for the old setup if I had space to do it proper again.
 
Lucid my hi-fi in my gym died and I was thinking of just getting some edifiers r1600T when they go back on sale for £50.

Otherwise is their a set of bookshelves you can recommend for around £40 that are better that I could pair with a Lepai LP2020+ ?

Since it's for a gym I just want a cheap decent setup I can plug my ipod/phone into.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
Basically nowadays you don't need to spend that type of cash to get a decent setup. Also I doubt many if any on here would ever buy an £84K setup tbh.
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Heh, you should see some of the setups on AVSForum. Some as much as $200,000.

I wonder what the fidelity must be like.
 
lucid said:
Look, I don't want this to descend in to some tit-for-tat argument, and I can't speak for what others deem affordable in whichever passion they pursue. High-end Hi-Fi exists just as does high-end motoring, -watches, -tailoring, -wine, -housing, -art etc etc. I might not be able to afford an Enzo or Breitling or Monet but does that mean I can't appreciate their beauty or engineering?

Try to lift your sights a little. It's a big world out there. :)
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+1, fully agreed.
Most of my colleagues wander around with Omega's, rolexes or brietlings. Surely they're even more wasteful than a good stereo/AV system. After all, they'll all be automatics, so can't even do the single function they're built to do, i.e. tell the time, aswell as a decent quartz unit.

As another example, the guy I bought my processor from has an electric pull down screen of probably 200", a £12k processor and at their new prices, probably £70k worth of speakers.

I'm "guessing" that you might be able to tell the difference between his system and your average £1k home cinema.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
Lucid my hi-fi in my gym died and I was thinking of just getting some edifiers r1600T when they go back on sale for £50.

Otherwise is their a set of bookshelves you can recommend for around £40 that are better that I could pair with a Lepai LP2020+ ?

Since it's for a gym I just want a cheap decent setup I can plug my ipod/phone into.
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Active speakers would surely fit the bill. There's not much available in Hi-Fi brand speakers from RS or Superfi under £40. There's the Tibo's, but it's Hobson's Choice really.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
Lucid my hi-fi in my gym died and I was thinking of just getting some edifiers r1600T when they go back on sale for £50.

Otherwise is their a set of bookshelves you can recommend for around £40 that are better that I could pair with a Lepai LP2020+ ?

Since it's for a gym I just want a cheap decent setup I can plug my ipod/phone into.
Click to expand...

Diamond 9.0 £50 at RS with VIP. Pretty sure they have been sold at £40 previously, on sale probably!
 
V F said:
Heh, you should see some of the setups on AVSForum. Some as much as $200,000.

I wonder what the fidelity must be like.
Click to expand...

Mr_Sukebe said:
+1, fully agreed.
Most of my colleagues wander around with Omega's, rolexes or brietlings. Surely they're even more wasteful than a good stereo/AV system. After all, they'll all be automatics, so can't even do the single function they're built to do, i.e. tell the time, aswell as a decent quartz unit.

As another example, the guy I bought my processor from has an electric pull down screen of probably 200", a £12k processor and at their new prices, probably £70k worth of speakers.

I'm "guessing" that you might be able to tell the difference between his system and your average £1k home cinema.
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Thanks guys. I knew someone would appreciate the sentiment behind the posts.

On Thursday I calibrated two projectors; another £1100 Optoma HD30 and a £20,000 Sim2 C3X 1080. Both are exceptional in their own ways. Huge numbers of people would be amazed by a calibrated HD30. The picture would be bigger and better than any TV they've seen. It would be quite natural to ask "Do I need anything better?". Until the arrival of the Sony HW40 at £2k you really would have had to spend £2500~£3000 for something appreciably better.

The Sim2 is in a different league altogether. The first thing that really hits you is the optical sharpness and complete lack of colour fringing. This is 3 chip DLP with image registration as accurate as a single chip projector. What was more impressive was the screen size: 220" diagonal. It was pinpoint accurate on a screen 16ft wide x 9ft high. The Sim2 is a different kind of quality. It's that Rolls Royce attention to detail. It's knowing that, if you can afford it, there's nothing to beat it under £20K regardless of resolution.

This kind of sums up Hi-Fi too. There's a lot of budget gear that's stunning value. However, there's another level and another level and so on where things just get better.
 
MagicBoy said:
I used to go past that place on the Bus to school. Had no idea it was still there, or that high end!
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They do entry level stuff too: Little valve/transistor hybrid amps from £200 and integrateds from under £180. They've got basic turntables and they carry the Monitor Audio Bronze range. So if you're starting out then it's worth popping in.

I don't want this to sound like an advert because I know how the nay-sayers will gang up. However, when you find someone that's really good at what they do then it's hard not to get excited. I've visited lots of Hi-Fi dealers in the UK. Some just want to sell boxes. Others try to inject some passion but are limited by the scale of the brands they carry. Then there are those who are high-end just because they can be; they sell very expensive boxes to people who aren't that informed. Then very occasionally you find a dealer who walks the walk.
 
lucid said:
Look, I don't want this to descend in to some tit-for-tat argument, and I can't speak for what others deem affordable in whichever passion they pursue. High-end Hi-Fi exists just as does high-end motoring, -watches, -tailoring, -wine, -housing, -art etc etc. I might not be able to afford an Enzo or Breitling or Monet but does that mean I can't appreciate their beauty or engineering?

Try to lift your sights a little. It's a big world out there. :)
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Well said, if some what wasted I feel in these quarters :(

Interesting read, though for sure I nearly stopped at the end of the first paragraph when I read what brand he had dropped :p ;)

I think people would be surprised just how much "hi-end" kit gets sold here, and even more is exported!!! Always surprises me when I hear how many items my local dealer sells on turntables alone!
 
It wasn't the dealer's choice to drop Linn and Naim. The decision was forced on him.

The politics of the situation at the time were very messy. Basically a older and more established Linn/Naim/Rega dealer set up shop 100 yards down the same road. The brands were taken away rather than being dropped. The companies involved won't allow two dealers in the same town. It was a decision that no-one was happy with except the other dealer, and that dealer has since closed.

Incidentally, there's a Hi-Fi show on next weekend in South Cheshire. It's at Cranage Hall near Holmes Chapel, just off Jnct 18 of the M6. http://www.audioshow.co.uk/ This is the first year for this show. The Audio Works will be there to represent certain manufacturers. Other dealers and brands will be there too. Best thing about a new show is that tickets for the event are free! Just pre-register. :)
 
lucid said:
This kind of sums up Hi-Fi too. There's a lot of budget gear that's stunning value. However, there's another level and another level and so on where things just get better.
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Though, I can only imagine if you start entering hundreds of thousands you must be in the area of professional studio and huge public tour events, surely? Even if it's in your home. As some of these speaker setups I've seen are taller than most men.

Real hardcore stuff.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1525580/ht-of-the-month-ultimate-bass

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1484131/h...nth-popalocks-bassment-big-screen-bigger-subs

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1534823/ht-of-the-month-the-savoy



Good god, $6,000,000.
bd767a60_Kipnis_HT_900.jpg

http://www.bornrich.com/6-million-home-theater-from-jeremy-kipnis-for-a-party-of-three.html
http://www.noiseaddicts.com/2008/08/jeremy-kipnis-home-theater-6-million/
 
I suppose the above example brings us back to the point of asking whether or not the price point adds or detracts from any real gain?
 
I think all three are American. The first two linked and the picture Kipnis theater personify American mainstream ideas of luxury and performance......The idea that "more & bigger" means better. They might have great picture and sound quality but it just comes across as crass.

The Savoy theater is what I would consider to be a properly done luxury home cinema. It's the only one with an acoustically transparent screen so that the speakers are exactly where the pictures are. You'll also notice they have three identical front speakers - the centre being a vertical array the same as left and right. That's an important detail. There's no compromise then across the front sound stage.
 
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