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In the Forum: Playback Listening
In the Thread: Where high-end audio starts?
Post Subject: Where does high end start??Posted by steverino on: 7/6/2013
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Romy says So, I would like to post to the readers of my site a question: what in your view would be the most mandatory and the most prominent ingredient in high-end audio? Where high-end audio starts in a person?

These are actually two different questions as I'm sure you recognize.

Where high-end audio starts in a person?   Actually I think this starts when listening to poorly reproduced music begins to annoy or grate on you. For many people they never really experience that annoyance. They can get a satisfying emotional response from hearing a favorite piece of music on a clock radio or cell phone or cheap console audio system. As long as there is enough fidelity to recognize what piece of music is being played that's fine. My aunt and uncle had a mediocre stereo system without it being bottom of the barrel. One day my aunt said to me while I was visiting  "I was over a customer's house and they were playing some classical music I like. The feeling I get there I never get from my own system." To me that's where high end starts in a person. I started to buy them a few moderate priced components that improved the fidelity of the sound and they were happy as clams.

What in your view would be the most mandatory and the most prominent ingredient in high-end audio?

The most mandatory element in high end is whichever aspect of the music is most important to you (and secondarily in the kind of music mostly listened to). With me it happens to be midrange and so I do what I can to get a relatively accurate undistorted midrange. I worry less about dynamics and bass. Now, accuracy in midrange also requires treble accuracy and at least some soundstage depth and width so I am equally concerned with that. While I listen to non classical music, about 75% of my listening is to classical music and deep bass (below 60Hz) is not as prevalent in that kind of music. 


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