Speaker system a little pricey?
Discussion
Vipers said:
B17NNS said:
Vipers said:
they are having a giraffe.
That's nothing, I give you the £1619.00 kettle plug 
http://www.russandrews.com/the-superkord500-sdii-u...
Just don't forget to tick the Deep Cryogenic Treatment and Super Burn In Plus options to get the best from it.
What planet are they on.
Pah!...
For £700K I'd expect my ears and auditory centre to be rebuilt or cybernetically upgraded too so I could appreciate the sound from the speakers.
Come to think of it cut out the middle man, ditch the speakers and just go for the direct brain interface. I'm surprised they don't try to sell special air to fill your room with while you listen.
Come to think of it cut out the middle man, ditch the speakers and just go for the direct brain interface. I'm surprised they don't try to sell special air to fill your room with while you listen.
nelly1 said:
Vipers said:
B17NNS said:
Vipers said:
they are having a giraffe.
That's nothing, I give you the £1619.00 kettle plug http://www.russandrews.com/the-superkord500-sdii-u...
Just don't forget to tick the Deep Cryogenic Treatment and Super Burn In Plus options to get the best from it.
What planet are they on.
Pah!...
garyhun said:
nelly1 said:
Vipers said:
B17NNS said:
Vipers said:
they are having a giraffe.
That's nothing, I give you the £1619.00 kettle plug http://www.russandrews.com/the-superkord500-sdii-u...
Just don't forget to tick the Deep Cryogenic Treatment and Super Burn In Plus options to get the best from it.
What planet are they on.
Pah!...
Obviously all of their extraordinary profits aren't being invested in web design.
B17NNS said:
That's nothing, I give you the £1619.00 kettle plug
http://www.russandrews.com/the-superkord500-sdii-u...
Just don't forget to tick the Deep Cryogenic Treatment and Super Burn In Plus options to get the best from it.
You really should reserve judgement until you've tasted the tea it can produce.http://www.russandrews.com/the-superkord500-sdii-u...
Just don't forget to tick the Deep Cryogenic Treatment and Super Burn In Plus options to get the best from it.
Maybe we can all chip in a tenner per sip?
B17NNS said:
That's nothing, I give you the £1619.00 kettle plug
http://www.russandrews.com/the-superkord500-sdii-u...
Just don't forget to tick the Deep Cryogenic Treatment and Super Burn In Plus options to get the best from it.
The secret is in the wood you know - it compresses the cable, which in turn squashes the electrons and improves the flow, at the same time purifying them.http://www.russandrews.com/the-superkord500-sdii-u...
Just don't forget to tick the Deep Cryogenic Treatment and Super Burn In Plus options to get the best from it.
Lest we forget the fancy plug which inconveniently has the cable exiting from the top, meaning that when it's plugged into a wall socket, the weight of the cable is constantly pulling it out of said socket.
Which means you have to buy the
I think I'll stick with my moulded plugs and leads.
Russ said:
“When I first saw these new sockets, I set up a jig to test the sound quality of them. As good as our existing SuperSockets are, I can confirm that the new sockets are quite clearly better than the SuperSockets – and the SuperSockets sound very good in the first place.
The UltraSockets™ have a very high build quality and this translates into the better sound: they sounded more open, smoother and bass was tighter and cleaner, with more weight. My only concern now is how long it’s going to take me to replace all of the sockets in my system at home!”
NO sThe UltraSockets™ have a very high build quality and this translates into the better sound: they sounded more open, smoother and bass was tighter and cleaner, with more weight. My only concern now is how long it’s going to take me to replace all of the sockets in my system at home!”
t!Edited by TonyRPH on Thursday 14th December 12:55
crankedup said:
Whilst waiting for my new tyres to be fitted I was browsing a current ‘What Hi-Fi’ magazine. Not being one of the hi fi officinado, but do enjoy my home system, I was astonished to read up on a pair of floor standing speakers. Looked very nice and the report was of a near faultless performance ‘as expected of the price’ of £44,000. By eck that is a woden of cash me thinks.
Then further browsing brought another eye opener speaker system, reported as perfect and a very unusual look about them. Price tag £700,000 seven hundred thousand pounds!!!
Sorry I cannot recall manufacturers of either speaker systems due to the shock of the price tags. Can any speakers be worth this money?
Mainstream manufacturers will release one set of products between 1-5 years cycle, av amps may be every year speakers may be longer, so seeing as they publish every month, these mags have to find stuff to fill their pages, they can't drip feed reviews as the reader won't wait for them to review todays released amp in 6 months time.Then further browsing brought another eye opener speaker system, reported as perfect and a very unusual look about them. Price tag £700,000 seven hundred thousand pounds!!!
Sorry I cannot recall manufacturers of either speaker systems due to the shock of the price tags. Can any speakers be worth this money?
Also by featuring very expensive speakers, they will be aspirational,glossy and upmarket enough for the premium mainstream hifi makes such as b&W to spend good money on adverts.
They will probably be made to order, and very few people will ever buy those speakers, and even less at RRP. Large manufacturers often make these 'statement' products for show use too, lots of free press coverage, don't take it seriously.
No different to a car mag which may feature some obscure sports car over a double page spread, but the reader will be more interested in the ads for the lease special Golf R's.
Edited by hyphen on Thursday 14th December 13:16
The thing with Hi-Fi is it is all about founding the sound you like.
I have 3 systems in my house*, one is Meridian, G68 processor with DSP5200 speakers, and I love that, it is such a big sound no matter what volume, it is very smooth sounding and it makes crap recordings sound great. Retail price on it is around £15,000.
I then have a pair of Quad S2 speakers on the end of an Arcam Solo with an old Rel Sub, cost me £700 and I like that nearly as much, in fact as much. Again it is very open sounding but smooth.
The main room is a 30 years old Quad 405 amp (refurbished) which cost me £300, Rasberry Pi with a Meridian Explorer 2 dac plugged into it acting as the pre amp which is what £140 in total, and a pair of the small Harbeth P3ESR Special Edition bookshelf speakers. This is without doubt my favourite system.
But it is not about the money, it is about trying as a much kit as possible to find the sound you like. Pretty much all modern hifi will sound good, but there will be brands that you simply gel with straight away and you might be lucky, they may not cost the earth.
Everyone who has heard my Quad S2 speakers when on the 405 amp with the Explorer 2 dac have been stunned at how good it is, that system you could have set up for well under a grand.
I have 3 systems in my house*, one is Meridian, G68 processor with DSP5200 speakers, and I love that, it is such a big sound no matter what volume, it is very smooth sounding and it makes crap recordings sound great. Retail price on it is around £15,000.
I then have a pair of Quad S2 speakers on the end of an Arcam Solo with an old Rel Sub, cost me £700 and I like that nearly as much, in fact as much. Again it is very open sounding but smooth.
The main room is a 30 years old Quad 405 amp (refurbished) which cost me £300, Rasberry Pi with a Meridian Explorer 2 dac plugged into it acting as the pre amp which is what £140 in total, and a pair of the small Harbeth P3ESR Special Edition bookshelf speakers. This is without doubt my favourite system.
- So much so I have just sold the Meridian set up and will put another pair of Harbeths in the TV room, won't bother with surround, just have 2 channel and a sub.
But it is not about the money, it is about trying as a much kit as possible to find the sound you like. Pretty much all modern hifi will sound good, but there will be brands that you simply gel with straight away and you might be lucky, they may not cost the earth.
Everyone who has heard my Quad S2 speakers when on the 405 amp with the Explorer 2 dac have been stunned at how good it is, that system you could have set up for well under a grand.
hyphen said:
Mainstream manufacturers will release one set of products between 1-5 years cycle, av amps may be every year speakers may be longer, so seeing as they publish every month, these mags have to find stuff to fill their pages, they can't drip feed reviews as the reader won't wait for them to review todays released amp in 6 months time.
Also by featuring very expensive speakers, they will be aspirational,glossy and upmarket enough for the premium mainstream hifi makes such as b&W to spend good money on adverts.
They will probably be made to order, and very few people will ever buy those speakers, and even less at RRP. Large manufacturers often make these 'statement' products for show use too, lots of free press coverage, don't take it seriously.
No different to a car mag which may feature some obscure sports car over a double page spread, but the reader will be more interested in the ads for the lease special Golf R's.
Exactly.Also by featuring very expensive speakers, they will be aspirational,glossy and upmarket enough for the premium mainstream hifi makes such as b&W to spend good money on adverts.
They will probably be made to order, and very few people will ever buy those speakers, and even less at RRP. Large manufacturers often make these 'statement' products for show use too, lots of free press coverage, don't take it seriously.
No different to a car mag which may feature some obscure sports car over a double page spread, but the reader will be more interested in the ads for the lease special Golf R's.
Edited by hyphen on Thursday 14th December 13:16
Halo products designed to make £3000 whatever look a bargain compared to the £600,000 whatever. The manufacturer MUST know what they're doing with the £3000 bargain...
gizlaroc said:
The thing with Hi-Fi is it is all about founding the sound you like.
I have 3 systems in my house*, one is Meridian, G68 processor with DSP5200 speakers, and I love that, it is such a big sound no matter what volume, it is very smooth sounding and it makes crap recordings sound great. Retail price on it is around £15,000.
I then have a pair of Quad S2 speakers on the end of an Arcam Solo with an old Rel Sub, cost me £700 and I like that nearly as much, in fact as much. Again it is very open sounding but smooth.
The main room is a 30 years old Quad 405 amp (refurbished) which cost me £300, Rasberry Pi with a Meridian Explorer 2 dac plugged into it acting as the pre amp which is what £140 in total, and a pair of the small Harbeth P3ESR Special Edition bookshelf speakers. This is without doubt my favourite system.
But it is not about the money, it is about trying as a much kit as possible to find the sound you like. Pretty much all modern hifi will sound good, but there will be brands that you simply gel with straight away and you might be lucky, they may not cost the earth.
Everyone who has heard my Quad S2 speakers when on the 405 amp with the Explorer 2 dac have been stunned at how good it is, that system you could have set up for well under a grand.
Agreed.I have 3 systems in my house*, one is Meridian, G68 processor with DSP5200 speakers, and I love that, it is such a big sound no matter what volume, it is very smooth sounding and it makes crap recordings sound great. Retail price on it is around £15,000.
I then have a pair of Quad S2 speakers on the end of an Arcam Solo with an old Rel Sub, cost me £700 and I like that nearly as much, in fact as much. Again it is very open sounding but smooth.
The main room is a 30 years old Quad 405 amp (refurbished) which cost me £300, Rasberry Pi with a Meridian Explorer 2 dac plugged into it acting as the pre amp which is what £140 in total, and a pair of the small Harbeth P3ESR Special Edition bookshelf speakers. This is without doubt my favourite system.
- So much so I have just sold the Meridian set up and will put another pair of Harbeths in the TV room, won't bother with surround, just have 2 channel and a sub.
But it is not about the money, it is about trying as a much kit as possible to find the sound you like. Pretty much all modern hifi will sound good, but there will be brands that you simply gel with straight away and you might be lucky, they may not cost the earth.
Everyone who has heard my Quad S2 speakers when on the 405 amp with the Explorer 2 dac have been stunned at how good it is, that system you could have set up for well under a grand.
After years and years involved working in the Hi-Fi industry, and with speaker cabinets in particular, I like the influence of cabinets themselves less and less as time passes. Big cabinets cause big problems. Its interesting that the 2 speakers you're enjoying are small, well engineered bookshelf speakers and you've let the big Meridians go.
Most of the really special speakers I've heard have used small cabinets. The big speakers that work have very well engineered cabinets ( B&W matrix, Magico, Dunlavy, Gryphon Audio, Marten, Avalon, Evolution, Wilson ) or better still they have no conventional cabinets at all. ( Horns, electrostatics, ribbons & open baffles )
On the subject of expensive speakers http://www.milliondollarstereos.com/speakerlist.ph...
Hang On said:
These will be Wilson Audio chronosonics. Highly reputable company but these are snake oil imho. Even if I could afford them I would hate to have something so adjustable that I would spend my life twiddling with them. Sweet spot would be pretty small too I guess. The biggest factor in the sound of a hi-if is the room it is in and if I were spending £700k on hi-fi, most of it would go to the architect/builder.
I agree with this. I've spent moderate lots of money on hifi as an old teenager/early 20's, things have sounded good but I had a few friends at the time with similar or slightly more modest setups that sounded unbelievable. Both of them had sloped ceilings in the rooms they were in. Perhaps counter-intuitively one was in his mothers conservatory that he commandeered so I'd imagine much of the sound went straight outside rather than being reflected back down (also had a concrete floor which I think helps, Quad 11L's, 77 pre, 405-2 power).B17NNS said:
Funny isn't it that on the visual side of the audio visual world if you demand the absolute best of the best 65" display you struggle to spend £4k and can get very close for £2.5k.
It’s quite simple really. People love cheap TV’s, go crazy for them! The manufacturers have all learned this and had to cut their cloth.
Fujitsu made the bast Plasma screens, as they used the most advanced video processing, which costs a lot of money to implement well.
They were a monitor only though, so hardly anyone knew of them.
They looked at what it would cost to roll out a mainstream offering, at their quality level.
They then pulled the plug on the whole division before they lost any more money!
Pioneer were not as good, but were the mainstream high end quality brand everyone had heard of.
They were also better and cost more. When they realised Panasonic were targeting a £799 price for a 42” Plasma, they too pulled the plug!
Panasonic employed most of the Pioneer plasma dpt, so did then have the best Plasma screens.
Anyway.....
Nobody builds a mega system around a mere TV!
All the same time, effort, r&d and quality of components can be found, being put to good use in the domestic projector market
They are a specialised product, so don’t HAVE to work to micro levels of margin. This gives manufacturers freedom to spend time and money to develop good ones.
I think Incan buy a nice projector for £3000. I can see the big differences in better models though.
If you’d like a serious projector, it will be 100’s of KG, require a special foundation, in a room built for the job, with its own integral cooling systems. (On top of the AC you use to maintain a nice low temp in the projection room)
Barco make a nice model that retails for £440,000+vat which is way better than the ‘only just good enough’ stuff you see at the Odeon.
Your private auditorium might cost around double that to build, with a similar amount spent on the AV kit and speakers.
Do you and I think that’s a lot of money? YES!
However, the last private individual to take the plunge,actually bought two of them.
Just look at the “What % of your income do you spend on a car” thread.
If I say I spend 5%, but tell you I have a garage of hypercars, what do we take from that?
Am I less of a petrolhead, than a person that sacrifices 50% of their income on a Golf R?
It’s all relative.
If somebody somewhere has the money, then a mad person will spend a year of their lives and untold £££ making one item, pair of earrings, speakers, or whatever
We can have the “It’s a pointless waste of money” discussion about cars, if we head over to where Mums are on the net
Hayek said:
Oooo what are these S2's, I'm so out of the loop. Ribbon tweeters?
Yeah, best value speaker in decades as far as I am concerned. They do a Z2 as well, with a bigger ribbon, but the S range work better imho, the way the ribbon blends with the mid is almost perfect.
I bought the Z3s after falling for the S2s and was disappointed, thought it may have been the bookshelf was tighter, so swapped for the Z2, but still preferred the S2.
Considering they retail at £599, they are a steal.
The midrange on them compares very, very well with my Harbeth P3ESR Special Editions which are considered by many as the best bookshelf sealed enclosure you can buy, and they retail at £1875.
I tried a few from Rhaido, Focal, Roksan (TR5 very nice to be fair), Spendor and and still like the S2s as much as any of them. Not saying they were better than some of the others, but they were just as good and I paid just under £500 for them, which made some of the otheres at 6x the price seem well overpriced.
Crackie said:
Agreed.
After years and years involved working in the Hi-Fi industry, and with speaker cabinets in particular, I like the influence of cabinets themselves less and less as time passes. Big cabinets cause big problems. Its interesting that the 2 speakers you're enjoying are small, well engineered bookshelf speakers and you've let the big Meridians go.
Most of the really special speakers I've heard have used small cabinets. The big speakers that work have very well engineered cabinets ( B&W matrix, Magico, Dunlavy, Gryphon Audio, Marten, Avalon, Evolution, Wilson ) or better still they have no conventional cabinets at all. ( Horns, electrostatics, ribbons & open baffles )
On the subject of expensive speakers http://www.milliondollarstereos.com/speakerlist.ph...
To be fair I love the Meridian sound, their speakers have always impressed me. the main/only reason I moved them on was they were in the TV room and never got used properly, mostly Sky News. After years and years involved working in the Hi-Fi industry, and with speaker cabinets in particular, I like the influence of cabinets themselves less and less as time passes. Big cabinets cause big problems. Its interesting that the 2 speakers you're enjoying are small, well engineered bookshelf speakers and you've let the big Meridians go.
Most of the really special speakers I've heard have used small cabinets. The big speakers that work have very well engineered cabinets ( B&W matrix, Magico, Dunlavy, Gryphon Audio, Marten, Avalon, Evolution, Wilson ) or better still they have no conventional cabinets at all. ( Horns, electrostatics, ribbons & open baffles )
On the subject of expensive speakers http://www.milliondollarstereos.com/speakerlist.ph...
We redid our sitting room and that has gone back to where I listen to music.
Mind you, the Harbeths are thin walled, based on the classic BBC LS3/5A monitors, but the cabinet gives things like piano and guitars an uncanny 'lifelike/in the room' sound. So hearing cabinets is not always a bad thing.
They remind me very much of my old Dunlavys, but they have a bit more warnth then the Dunnies, which considering how open and detailed they sound, I find amazing.
Red 5 said:
Barco make a nice model that retails for £440,000+vat which is way better than the ‘only just good enough’ stuff you see at the Odeon.
Your private auditorium might cost around double that to build, with a similar amount spent on the AV kit and speakers.
Do you and I think that’s a lot of money? YES!
However, the last private individual to take the plunge,actually bought two of them.
I think that is a bit different, as there is real demand for this level of cinema room, as every serious movie company/TV company has one in their boardroom, and many successful people in the industry will have them, a lot of Barca type stuff I have seen in magazine showcases have been installed in A List Hollywood Director's houses- and they have multiple houses!Your private auditorium might cost around double that to build, with a similar amount spent on the AV kit and speakers.
Do you and I think that’s a lot of money? YES!
However, the last private individual to take the plunge,actually bought two of them.
On the other hand, musicians are probably happy with the same monitors they use in their studios.
The plasma stuff was good to read, didn't realise it had gone down like that.
Edited by hyphen on Thursday 14th December 22:19
gizlaroc said:
Crackie said:
Agreed.
After years and years involved working in the Hi-Fi industry, and with speaker cabinets in particular, I like the influence of cabinets themselves less and less as time passes. Big cabinets cause big problems. Its interesting that the 2 speakers you're enjoying are small, well engineered bookshelf speakers and you've let the big Meridians go.
Most of the really special speakers I've heard have used small cabinets. The big speakers that work have very well engineered cabinets ( B&W matrix, Magico, Dunlavy, Gryphon Audio, Marten, Avalon, Evolution, Wilson ) or better still they have no conventional cabinets at all. ( Horns, electrostatics, ribbons & open baffles )
On the subject of expensive speakers http://www.milliondollarstereos.com/speakerlist.ph...
To be fair I love the Meridian sound, their speakers have always impressed me. the main/only reason I moved them on was they were in the TV room and never got used properly, mostly Sky News. After years and years involved working in the Hi-Fi industry, and with speaker cabinets in particular, I like the influence of cabinets themselves less and less as time passes. Big cabinets cause big problems. Its interesting that the 2 speakers you're enjoying are small, well engineered bookshelf speakers and you've let the big Meridians go.
Most of the really special speakers I've heard have used small cabinets. The big speakers that work have very well engineered cabinets ( B&W matrix, Magico, Dunlavy, Gryphon Audio, Marten, Avalon, Evolution, Wilson ) or better still they have no conventional cabinets at all. ( Horns, electrostatics, ribbons & open baffles )
On the subject of expensive speakers http://www.milliondollarstereos.com/speakerlist.ph...
We redid our sitting room and that has gone back to where I listen to music.
Mind you, the Harbeths are thin walled, based on the classic BBC LS3/5A monitors, but the cabinet gives things like piano and guitars an uncanny 'lifelike/in the room' sound. So hearing cabinets is not always a bad thing.
They remind me very much of my old Dunlavys, but they have a bit more warnth then the Dunnies, which considering how open and detailed they sound, I find amazing.
Question for both of you in light of the cabinet mentions above, what are you opinions on the Q Acoustics Concept 500?
AVForums are banging on about them having 'a unique cabinet' and being a genuine technical breakthrough, and handed it awards for product of the year. So what do you think of these new design principles being touted, is it impressive?
I haven't really swapped the Meridians for anything, I just felt that they were wasted in that room. And I didn't want to put them in the sitting room.
The room just doesn't suit that sort of speaker....
The Harbeths with their vintage styling just work so much better in there...
I haven't heard the Concept 500's, but all the Q Acoustic speakers I have heard so far have been more the AV Forum, What HiFi sound, rather than the HiFi News, HiFi World sound. By that I mean the former tend to favour the speakers that have a forward and exciting sound, rather than the more neutral, dare I say, coloured and laid back sound that latter tend to rate.
I used to love that sound, but now I want something that gives me all the detail and a soundstage that pushes well passed the speakers in both depth and width but is always smooth, I want to be able to listen to them for hours and hours and at any volume without ever getting told to "turn them down a bit'.
Maybe I'm just getting old?
I'm avoiding hifi shops, so probably won't get to hear them, but will try and read a few reviews.
The room just doesn't suit that sort of speaker....
The Harbeths with their vintage styling just work so much better in there...
I haven't heard the Concept 500's, but all the Q Acoustic speakers I have heard so far have been more the AV Forum, What HiFi sound, rather than the HiFi News, HiFi World sound. By that I mean the former tend to favour the speakers that have a forward and exciting sound, rather than the more neutral, dare I say, coloured and laid back sound that latter tend to rate.
I used to love that sound, but now I want something that gives me all the detail and a soundstage that pushes well passed the speakers in both depth and width but is always smooth, I want to be able to listen to them for hours and hours and at any volume without ever getting told to "turn them down a bit'.
Maybe I'm just getting old?
I'm avoiding hifi shops, so probably won't get to hear them, but will try and read a few reviews.
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