Mr. Phillips wrote:


Joseph Oberlander said:

Arny Krueger wrote:


But are Magnepans truly "High End"?


Why wouldn't they be?


Too practical

Too reliable

Not nearly costly enough.

Sold mail order.

Lol. That just about sums up the "high end" market.

That just about sums up the objectivist fantasy about the high-end market,
you
mean. Meanwhile, I continue to own high-end products that run for years
without incident, and are all considered good values for the money. Rega,
Naim, Spendor, Michell, LFD, SME...tell me again about their impractical and
unreliable natures.

Boon








What anti-individual-preference, anti-subjective-opinion "objectives" like
Krueger fail to realize is that even the concept of "high-end audio" is not
solely dependent on a predetermined list of variables, but also to a
significant extent
by individual tastes. It's hard, sometimes, to even make the distinction
*solely* on thee basis of what brands are carried in what most call "high-end"
stores. For example, in Florida, there is a large chain called Sound Advice,
which is part of an even larger conglomerate called Tweeter, Inc. with stores
in New England and elsewhere. Sound Advice carries brands with "high-end"
cachet like Martin Logan, Krell, and B&W, but also carries Yamaha receivers -
some of which might be found in stores not typically considered "high end.

As you've pointed out, Marc, the designation of high-end is not solely
dependent on price but on things like build quality, value/dollar ratios, and
above all, perhaps subjective enjoyment - a concept alien to objectivists who
seem only to take pleasure from reading graphs, statistical specifications,
and/or yelling "prove it" whenever an individual preference or opinion is
expressed.

I've had most of the same components in my system for a number of years with
very few mechanical or electrical problems encountered during that time.
Models from VPI, Grado, California Audio Labs, Conrad Johnson, Nakamichi, MB
Quart (mobile high-end in the opinions of some enthusiasts) and Audio Arts
(also mobile high end) have provided years of enjoyment with very high
cost/benefits ratios.



Bruce J. Richman