The high end HiFi myth

Hi-end audio means that you need to have different type of speakers. Different strokes for different folks ! No one speaker could do justice to different genre of music

I’ve found the opposite to be true personally. The lower end systems I’ve had tend to sound good on one song and you are tweaking things on the next. Over the pandemic I built up my system to what consider pretty high middle of the road anyway, and when I hear a piece that I don’t love the sound of no amount of tweaking really makes it good. Better but not good. These are just bad recordings and a good system will reproduce exactly what’s there, including the bad. 98% of recordings sound great right where the system is set.

I do not much care for the term High End nor all the debates about the myths of power cords, conditioners, cable, risers, you name it. One there is no clear definition as to what exactly high end is, there are plenty of low-cost solutions that have wonderful performance so spending more on an esteemed prestige brand, does not mean you get more. As far as tweaks go. I say to those that get all bent out of shape on this sort of thing, crack open a cold one and chill. No one has the right to tell anybody how to spend their money. If someone claims they can hear the difference within their system between a $1200.00 interconnect over decent $120.00 one? Let them be and more power to them. If you cannot, do not waste your money.
Our job in this hobby is to have fun assembling something to listen to. How we get there is no one's business but our own. If you can't sit back and enjoy your rig, it is no one's fault but your own.
From what I seen and experienced, folks get too wrapped up in the pursuit of the Shangri-La of obtaining the absolute sound. I find that most that take this path are never happy with what they own and are always upgrading or tweaking. For me, the reality is that no system can truly recreate a live event, all we can do, is assemble something that is a approximation, which we hopefully enjoy listening to. You can drive yourself nuts trying to tweak it or find a way to take pleasure in it. It is up to us.

Let me celebrate Paul's approach to visits to their place. I doubt I'll ever get there, but I'd consider it a destination should I travel in the US. And based on these videos, I'd be favorably inclined to buy PS Audio products.
When I ventured out in Toronto, Canada to some high end retailer in search of hearing the high end sound, I felt shut out. The greeting was primarily to qualify my ability to buy the expensive products offered. I get it. But I didn't actually hear anything and certainly did not part with my cash. Later I developed DIY skills and built a system that exceeds what I hear at audio shows. Point is, Paul's attitude is smart. Open the experience to many, and who knows when or who might return to buy. It was actually pretty stupid the way the retailers treated me. My ability to spend far exceeds their ask, but they blew it by being so selective. I guess arriving in an ordinary car and not sporting flashy bling was their signal to slam the door. Little do they know.

YOU CAN BEAT ALL THIS SOLID STATE GARBAGE WITH A BASIC 50'S TUBE AMP. SOLID STATE WILL NEVER SOUND AS GOOD, TUBES PRODUCE MORE 2CD ORDER HARMONICS AND THATS WHAT OUR ORGANIC EARS LIKE. PERIOD.

Ok Paul. What are those speakers you’re standing next to..they’re not FR 30s or 20s,..what are they?

Those are prototype speakers. He most likely will not sell them.

Problems become over the past 15 years is this hobby due to buyers who can afford it with disposable income is now made for the upper 10% of earners, nowhere near like it was in the 70s and '80s and '90s. Nowadays $15K gear is called a bargain now. I have no issue with that but it is no longer for me and I make good money.

I look at hifi (high end) like I look at cars. How much performance is pretty much how much you want to spend. Miata is a fun little car with plenty of zip. Then you go up to a Mustang GT with enough muscle get you grinning. Then you go up to a Lambo that will make you wish you gone to the bathroom earlier. And then something like the Veyron that will make you want to just stay alive during the experience.

"As the artist intended" always makes me chuckle. I'm looking at this painting the way the artist intended. I'm tasting this food, like the chef intended.

There you are standing next to those beautiful IRS-V killers with no intention to sell them.
At least put some high res photos and scans of them out for us all to dream over.

High end audio is a mugs game, for the consumer

it's not a myth.
BUT, it is very subjective.
Everyone has a different sense of hearing.
The differences someone like Paul is able to hear between speakers, pre-amps, amps, sources, cables, etc... not everyone can hear.

Not just dealers, but private systems. 😀

$680,000, in 2022 dollars for a loudspeaker system, from a certain company, that employs a 6 foot long, dipole, push pull, planar magnetic, for the midrange that used to be available, to the average consumer, retail, for 700 bucks a piece, isn't high end audio, just extortion. Same goes for a certain Danish manufacturer of transducers that used to sell their products to Us, but now only sells to, "Manufacturers", of extremely high-priced loudspeakers. Don't get me started on electronics, where active devices, capacitors, resistors, heat sinks, internal wiring, chassis that are not 1+ inch thick, CNC billet Aluminum, art forms, somehow add up to tens of thousands to 6 figure extravaganzas.

The people that are never happy with their audio systems are never happy with ANYTHING in life. The system I have now (my home theater: Onkyo TX-RZ820, 7 Focal Chora 826's, Sony 55" 4k Bravia 4k TV, 200+ CD's loaded on my PC and also streaming Tidal) would have been pretty damn "high end" back in the '80's when I was a teen (I'm 59) just buying my first audio system. DEFINITELY a LOT better than anything anyone I knew had, even my father's "hi-fi" friends. Now, it's probably considered "mid-fi" at best in a world where you can literally spend $200-$1,000,000 just on a set of speakers. I have an Audio Quest power strip for the extra PROTECTION from surges it provides, lower-priced Audio Quest signal cables, 12ga finely stranded OFC speaker wire (I bought on a roll from Monoprice) with banana connectors from Crutchfield. In other words, nothing fancy or expensive on the wiring end. As long as you have good quality cables/wires (good connectors are crucial), you're fine. My dad was an extremely competent Electrical Engineer (microwave specialty, many patents, worked for Ball aerospace in Boulder for years before working for the Navy), and I learned from him that these ultra-expensive cables and wires are pure "snake oil". Once you reach a certain quality level (available for reasonable prices), you're not going to GET measurably any better. Period. And he would be the one to know. I'm EXTREMELY happy with my system (some of my neighbors considerably LESS happy, but I digress... LOL), and plan on my next upgrade being an NAD M28 amp because of it's completely flat response when driving low impedance speakers (the 826's drop to 2.6 ohm at one point if I remember). I haven't NOTICED the Onkyo struggling, even at high levels, but with nothing to compare it to, I can't say. So, while I want this upgrade (gotta pace myself after the recent purchase of the 826's on a killer sale), I'm still extremely happy with the system as is. It's all relative. Strive for better, but enjoy what you can afford. Nice video as always Paul, keep it up!

Buyer’s remorse 😂😂😂😀

For me it start at the source if the recording isn't good then the better the system the worse it sounds. I normally don't use any tone controls or EQ but when I hear lower quality recoding's it sounds like crap. then i may turn on my EQ. But sounds so must better on a good recording with out any filtering.

Paul, what are those 2 speakers next to you that look like boated upright basses?

Hi fidelity does not necessarily equate high end.
Fact is, a professional PA will have lower distortion, higher dynamic range than audiophile high end snake oil

Those speakerslook serious !!
Paul Jr hasn't hit me uo lately Paul !! I need some new octave cds !! Great reccordings !

Paul could convince a porn star to go celibate

Haven't looked up those JBL's yet but the description is very similar to my old JBL's that I unfortunately sold 3 - 4 years ago or so.
God, I regret that choice SO MUCH now!!!!!

No matter how much you spend on a high end audio system, garbage in = garbage out. If the recording wasn't good to start with, no system can make it better. It might mask the deficiencies but a system will never improve a bad recording.

Eh, the "what is high-end" discussion is tiring. Clean, clear, articulate, powerful, balanced, are things that I think folks should be looking for. Understand how the various aspects of the system can influence the overall sound, understand the science of room acoustics to some degree so you're armed with the right information when you start tuning your room. Leave the exotic tweaks and excessive cable hunting alone until you've really done as much as you can with your room and componentry. Vibration isolation is a thing, you can get great results with combinations of cheap materials, and then if you're hearing a positive change, then look at some of the more robust (and more expensive) designs, it can and most often does help. There is price to quality correlation for sure, but I think one can achieve truly fantastic results without having to spend a BMW on it. There is a jump with the right components going from say a $5k build to a >$15K build. You can have a lot of fun and enjoyment at under $3K. But make sure you're getting the most out of whatever you're buying before worrying about the next thing. Enjoy the music, take your time, and sometimes for shitz-n-gigglez rearrange things, remove or readjust and see if you notice a difference. Have fun with it. I've got a bit of PS Audio kit in my rig, and right now I don't think I'll be parting with it anytime soon.

I got things setup, and tweaked to perfection (at least I can't think of anything else to do) in my room and now I just hit play in Roon for whatever we're going to listen to, home automation does the rest and the music just plays. We listen in/near the sweet spot, in the dining room, upstairs in the office, it fills the house and sounds fantastic from anywhere (got a nice layout and treatments to make that happen). Now, sit in the sweet spot and experience some magic, but above all we're just listening to music, and that's what really makes me happy and proud of it. We can just listen, turn it up and just listen, no fatigue, just hearing whatever the recording is supposed to present. Even at low volume the full scope of the system can be heard (those M700s really shine in that dept with my speakers).

What are"High end modulation cables"?

I was fortunate enough to listen to a pair of Bowers & Wilkins 801 Series. Truly an incredible experience. Excellence has a price, above my pay grade. I salute those who aspire and achieve the excellence. Yes, there most definitely is a difference !

The mood that you are in can significantly affect how you perceive the sound of a loudspeaker. You need to live with a component for some time before you can really judge the sound. And, even then, if you haven't listened to other components in the same price range, your opinion is still subjective. Best advice is, if you like your system, don't change it. But, be open-minded.

Be sure to drink your Ovaltine.

Paul I’ve been admiring Arnie Nudell’s creation there and for awhile their shape had reminded of something and I just couldn’t put my finger on what that shape was.. It just hit me and I don’t know if you remember that cartoon comic strip from forever ago call Shmoo? The character had an oddly shaped body form. Well you see those loudspeakers remind of a Shmoo because they encompass those similar contours of that cartoon character.
I wonder if Arnie ever realized this… 😊😊

One day you're on cloud 9 with your system and the next day it sounds crap .. yes I've experienced that and I've put it down to the actual mood of the person listening. If you're not in a very receptive frame of mind and everything is getting on top of you then it's possible that everything around you is going to seem like crap, including your HiFi. If on the other hand you're feeling great and everything in the world is good then you're likely to be much more receptive to music and enjoy your HiFi a lot more. No amount of cable changing, tinkering with the system to get it to sound right is going to work if you're not in the right frame of mind to enjoy it. Heck I can actually enjoy music from my radio if I'm in a receptive mood so the moral is don't rush in and start changing things if suddenly your HiFi sounds crap .. check yourself out first.

How do you know what is the sound the artists wanted? Artists care about their music, no how faithful the reproduction is.

For an excellent musical instrument high end audio tour I recommend Yamaha's Innovation Road in Hamamatsu, Japan.

I'm to far for a tour,I would love that

Talk about the elephant in the room what speakers are those?

No, there are just many, many, many............... myths in hi end audio. And people get rich on them.

I bought second hand top equipment like Magnepan, Ayre, Spectral, Weiss, VandenHul, Kuzma. But dissapointed or confused: never.

JBL S312 is neither neutral, nor it is faithful to the sound of the musical instruments, much less to the high quality recordings...

I use jbl its high end daddy

there's no magic to hi-fi, except when there is

Not audiophile yet faithful ?
So, if reproduction is faithful to what the engineer recorded.
What the hell is audiophile ?
Physics free BS maybe.

How good is the rotel 5085 amp

It's not how you stand by your speakers...

When you sell the myth you promote the myth . I have a pair of Infinity Studio Monitor 125 . They please me.

I just replaced my 40 year old Adcom GFA 555 with a used Simaudio moon W5.3 SE amp. After I pull the trigger, I was worrying and hoping it was going to sound better. I can’t get over the difference.

There's NO such thing as a high-end !!! There are better speakers, that's all !!! Keep those expensive speakers and change the rest - replace expensive CD player with cheap DVD player, replace all cables with cheap ones, even cheap amplifier - and the sound quality WILL BE 100% THE SAME !!!
Stop bullshitting please!

I am wary of listening to anything superior to my gear (my Mojo is the star of my 'system', which should tell you all you need to know) , as I find it ruins the enjoyment of what I've got.
There's no going back in hifi, what I thought great last year is unlistenable to now, but I suppose I did start at the very bottom.
I concentrate on enjoying the music without becoming too analytical, but even my 'system' still has the wow factor for me, on some tracks.
I could compare high end hifi to fine wines. My wealthy friends enjoy stocking a cellar with horrendously expensive bottles, but appear to get most of their enjoyment talking about (some would say boasting about) their wine, rather than drinking it. They can no longer enjoy more humble bottles with friends, without disparaging frowns etc. It's their loss, but they just can't see it.

those speakers are horrible ... more monstrosities designed by chimpanzees

It's more like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

People conflate 'High-End' (which means nothing) to high-priced.
We're dealing with acoustics, and they don't work around definitions/parameters which we designate, or by the depths of our pockets. The above gentleman may disagree … however, acoustics is dispassionate to people's opinion, measurements or marketing budget!