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Re: Reports from LSAF '09 [message #60557 is a reply to message #60540] Sun, 09 August 2009 06:41 Go to previous messageGo to previous message
AudioFred is currently offline  AudioFred
Messages: 377
Registered: May 2009
Location: Houston
Illuminati (1st Degree)
Wayne Parham wrote on Fri, 07 August 2009 10:16

I knew what you were doing, Fred. Your budget system sounded very good for the price.



Phillip's description is accurate. The system lacks some critical qualities one would expect in a high end audiophile-quality system. If anything, his description of the BR-1 speakers was more forgiving than mine would have been. My concern isn't with his description of the sound, but that I failed to communicate the purpose of the room.

Virtually all of my non-audiophile friends, including many professional musicians, listen to their music on systems that can only be described a crap; typically an HT-in-a-box system with thin plastic speakers. The best I've heard at any musician's house is a Bose iPod adapter. And the best I've heard at any of my more prosperous neighbors' homes is a Bose Acoustimass system. At least one audio company is winning the battle for the hearts and minds of music lovers. Rolling Eyes

I haven't played this system for many audiophiles because their inveitable reaction is to focus on its obvious weaknesses. But when I play this same system for non-audiophiles their reaction is always that it sounds fantastic, because from their point of view it does. Keep in mind that 99% of non-audiophiles have no understanding of soundstage, resolution, the existence of a sweet spot, the importance of driver integration in a speaker, etc. They mostly believe that "high fidelity" is what you hear when the kid in the purple Honda with the subwoofer pulls up next to you at the stoplight.

The point of this system is that a non-audiophile, like my musician friends pictured in the link below, can buy it for less than $500 (or less than $400 with a mass market DVD player), and to him it will sound really good. Then as his experience and understanding increase, and he becomes more aware of its limitations, he can start the upgrade process that is revenue engine of the high end audio business.

It would be better if people were willing to buy a complete high end system from the start, but that isn't a realistic expectation. Few people have ever considered spending more than $200 on any audio component, and to them even a $2K entry level system would be out of the question. But I can convince almost any music lover to buy their first system if the price is less than $500, and once they have it they're hooked.

http://fredt300b.smugmug.com/gallery/4567816_cpB24#269255421_YNdA3

P.S. This topic about getting more people into high end audio is something I'm interested in, but it doesn't fit into this thread, so I'm starting a new one here.

http://audioroundtable.com/forum/index.php?t=msg&goto=60558&#msg_60558

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