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In Reply to: One point seems to have been missed by most of us posted by abajaj11 on June 01, 2004 at 06:49:45:
>>review & recommend a whole system, and compare to other systems! Forget about even reviewing indiviidual components<<That would have a certain novelty value and make an interesting change - of - pace article (I did a one - brand system review for Listener years ago) but I'm afraid that a magazine devoted exclusively to such reviews would be of very limited interest to most audiophiles. Yes, system recommendations might appeal to total beginners but how many times in one lifetime will the experienced audiophile discard his or her entire system and buy a completely new one? Unless the reader is contemplating such a radical move I don't think system reviews will be of much use to the typical audiophile who replaces one component at a time as the budget allows.
Follow Ups:
Let me offer an analogy. Driving a car is a system consisiting of the car, the driver and the road. SImilarly, listening to music is a system consisitng of the stereo system, the listener and the room.Thnk about car reviews. If we could put cars together by taking one type of transmission ,and one type of engine, and one type of suspension, and if car reviews consisted of COMPONENT reviews (thihs gearbox has susch and such ratios, and we tested it in this car that we madeup etc) how useful would that be? I would submit to you that MOST audiophiles do not like the idea of buying components, and do so only becuase they feel they do not have an optimum system. Consider a world where an audiophile can classify themselves into a class of listener, classify their room into a class of room, and then get a choice of 50 systems that have been put together by a respected audio journal. Each systems is as optimal as it can be. How many audiophiles would then start the buy each component and then churn it process?
My feeling is that most audiophiles get tired of this after a while and pretty much stay with the system after a few years of tweaking. An audio journal that offered these facilties and charged $5 for the privilege( or even $25 to get the list of 50 systems best suited to each class of listener, for each class of room) would probably sell very well. Of course, this is only my opinion, I have no data to back it up. A market survey would be in order.
-akhilesh
You can put together a nice car by selecting the engine, transmission, chassis, suspension, and body you like and many hobbyists do just that. Take a look at Hot Rod or Street Rodder or Kit Car or Import Tuner , to cite just a few magazines targeted at car enthusiasts. Those magazines, targeted at knowledgeable enthusiasts, are the equivalent of Stereophile or Hi Fi + or the other audio magazines. The average consumer just buys a reliable car from an established high volume manufacturer, just as the average consumer is happy with a Bose audio system. It's the hobbyists with above average skills and knowledge who want to put it together themselves.> > I would submit to you that MOST audiophiles do not like the idea of buying components, and do so only becuase they feel they do not have an optimum system < <
I would submit that you're wrong. Very good one - brand systems - the analog to a Toyota or Honda or BMW - are readily available from Naim, Linn, and others, yet such systems represent a tiny fraction of the high end audio business. Audiophiles have voted with their wallets and they're not buying complete systems.
I am not advocating all components in a system come from the same manufacturer. Just saying, audiophiles would like to get a system where evreythng has been matched and tested, and tehn consider and select from say 50 such systems. Anyways, decent discussion. time for me to move on.
-akhileshbvg
That is a negative t.
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