News

... when Audio Element does not sell those brands?

Is complaining about other people's posts the best you can do?

Your comments would be more acceptable if you wouldn't personally attack and ridicule.

Keep it civil and to the point. In reality you don't know what the other side bases their argument.

For example, my own collection of preamps and amp is something you can not buy for any price, they're all DIY, bespoke units with huge BOM, no fancy cases and if we were to price them according to a commercial unit they would run in the high 5 figures too. If we added a jewel case, it would be six figures too.

Heck, my latest amp, a high power SIT unit, smoked... yep, smoked... turns out I didn't let it breathe when I installed it in its amp rack. So now we're rebuilding it with larger heat sinks, adding some active cooling and enlarging the amp racks.

See? That's where the true State Of The Art is in audio, stuff you couldn't sell to the public because the liability lawyers won't let you sell something that runs a crazy bias point that might burn the house down... but, oh... they sound so great.

I'll betcha the likes of d'Agostino and Pass are running their personal amps at higher bias points that they are allowed to sell to the public.

See? The picture is much bigger than what you can see at dealerships.. but I come from an era when being an audiophile was being a scientist/engineer/technician and knew how to solder, read schematics, use metrology equipment.

If you don't have a Raspberry and a computer in your system, or two, or three, then you are not at the bleeding State Of The Art.

So, don't pass judgment by expensive components with fancy, jewel like chassis being sold in fancy salons. IMHO, the best designs have not reached, or will never reach, commercial sales. Not many people want a home with a system that looks like the equipment used to check out the Space X rocket prior to launch... lights, handles, more handles, black, cables, boxes.... but the sound, the heat, the impracticality of it all, the electric bill!

You know, I do have a nice little collection of full blown vintage, rebuilt components. Heck, in my bedroom I got a Marantz 2325, ADS L810s and Kimber 8TC. Rebuilt to factory specs. Driven by an Android Tablet with Tidal Hifi and a Nuforce DAC. It sounds really good, very good vintage sound. Sure, not modern soundstaging -rather shallow- and the treble is a little closed in, but it's still quite enjoyable.

Too funny and true.

... riled up?

Did you read exactly what I posted, or did you make invalid inferences?

1) JVS posted an endorsement of the "sincerity, dedication, and integrity" of this dealer. I was simply wondering if it was based upon having done any business with them.

2) AFAIK, JVS's audio system lacks an analog front-end. Since he appears to be keen on this dealer, I went to their website and chose a few products that might be a good match for his system. As noted, the Clearaudio turntable was a Stereophile component of the year; MF has rated Lyra cartridges highly; and JVS seems to favor Dan D'Agostino amplifiers.

3) No "digs" against the DG discs whatsoever. Merely the comment that if JVS's system could play analog discs, then he would have the means to listen to those recordings, among others.

4) If you harbor an aversion to equipment from such manufacturers as Parasound, then you best not read the reviews by JA1, HR and KR since all three have used Parasound amps as part of their reviewing process.

Look, it's not negativity... it's a simple observation.

In an era when it's hard to find dealers that carry a brand that sells in the four digits and has some reasonable volume, I find it difficult to understand how a dealer that sells stuff in the six figures can compete/survive in a small area and how a manufacturer can maintain a healthy presence.

Comparing luxury cars with High End Audio is begging the question. Automobiles are not the same kind of product than High End audio. Not at all. You're comparing apples and oranges.

As it just so happens, no, there are not really two Benz dealers here. There are some specialty dealers, like AMG, but in reality there's only one. It's biggest Benz dealership in North America and they sell/lease tons of vehicles, but that's because the market for vehicles is orders of magnitude larger than the market for High End audio.

Yet, the next dearest Benz dealer, in a very rich county, is afforded an exclusive area with the next dealer a good 12 miles away. The nearest dealers all have their own very exclusive enclaves, ensuring that they don't cannibalize each other's sales and ensure the financial health of the dealers and the brand.

Now, the market for High End Audio is tiny compared to luxo-mobiles. So, if the number of potential customers in an area is very small, splitting the small pie into a much smaller pie makes it harder for the dealers to make a living. It's likely t hat the one sale might make the difference between keeping the store open or closing it down.

This is not good for the dealers, the brands, the customers and those of us who would might enjoy listening to those products and support the dealer by buying LPs and turntable belts, cleaners, etc...

Mind you, I'm not in the market for those uber expensive things, but I enjoy going into a dealer, shooting the breeze about audio stuff, buying a bunch of LPs and having a chance to listen to equipment.

And yes, I like the dealer in Newport.. he's the rare guy who really let's people come in and listen, not being a stuck up $$$. Actually, I got two such guys nearby.

I think the photo is cheesy, sorry. That's my opinion. Sure, technically it's good, but the composition is just... well, not that good. I mean, those D'Agostino amps deserve a lot more than looking like foot stools for the guy just in from the country club. All that's missing is the dog and the Courvoiser. If someone takes a picture of a guy with a million dollar Benz, the car figures BIG in the picture... yet here you got almost a mil of components and they look positively tiny. ( Yes, I've heard those components, BTW.. and they are BIG..).