h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have never known a subject to raise as much pointless and subjective argument as the one about Hi-Fi. However, here are my few pennies worth:

1. There seems to be a slightly out of date tone. Perhaps it has taken too long to get through Peer Review, etc. SACD and DAB are here in numbers now. Some are even more or less affordable.

2. You refer to 33rpm. As you know, it should really be 33 1/3 rpm. Nothing else is acceptable. Linn go to extraordinary lengths to make that point - even to the point of arguing that 33.3 isn't close enough.

3. Opinions are definitely mixed about Electrostatic speakers. I know people who swear by them and others who swear at them: either way, to say that the "sound nears perfection" is definitely a subjective view You should probably also have a bit more about NXT speakers as these are now being made by "serious" speaker manufacturers (what is the quality, need for sub-woofer).

4. Speaker cable. What, no mention of the single- vs multi-strand debate? What an opportunity you're missing.

I agree wholeheartedly with your opening remark.

1) Yes its been a long time getting through. Yes I am sure SACD is here to stay (affordable is subjective) as is DAB but 'here in numbers' not yet. In the showrooms and in the magazines perhaps.

2) You are absolutely right

3) Electrostatics are horrible things to look at. But I have enjoyed long sessions with some Quads. I did try and keep my personal opinions to myself. This one slipped in. NXT? I have only heard them once in action and was not impressed. I also have a personal dislike for the Mission people, as were. They will take a pretty good chunk of the market though, they have to. I suspect it will be in 'lifestyle systems'. Sub-woofers are curious things, and shouldn't really be here, but I was thinking of people starting up, and needing the space. Many manufacturers have 'satellite systems' (i.e. sub-woofer and separate mid-range/tweeter. It needs a mention.

4) Speaker cable technology is incomprehensible to me. I refer you to (URL removed by moderator)if your understanding is better than mine. I settled on a multi-strand for the tweeter/midrange and a twisted dual strand for the bass, and am about to change because a change in amp has ... well I don't know, I just feel like a change. I have to say though that messing about in a showroom with all types and combinations of equipment, I always felt that the speaker cable was the least important component, once you pass the QED79 you would have to have very golden ears to note differences. And, having said that, I am still about to spend a couple of hundred quid of some new ones.

Which brings us back to your intro!

Please remember this was only intended as an introduction, and it is quite long enough as it is. I am not a hi-fi nut, but I do want people who don't know to realise that they could spend their 'sound-system' budget differently and be well rewarded for taking the trouble to do so.

Hi, My interest in High-Fidelity drew me into reading this thread and the absence of one particular rule urges me to add a note.
The rule I speak of, I know as "The law of diminishing returns" which states that as your quest for perfect sound demands will take you to the point where you will be paying more and getting less bang for your buck.
Some of my friends seek the perfect sound and spend as much as $1000.00 for a single interconnect, seems a little extreme to me! But, as I've read, means are as subjective as someones idea of the perfect reproduction of sound. So it has become my opinion that Hi-Fi is really only a hobby with the exception of those that choose it as a profession. No bubble bursting here! I'm in the audio buisness and I consider it more of a hobbie beacause what I like to hear does not always translate into what someone else wants to spend. My personal goals are toward a minimalist system with maximum satisfaction factor. Perfection, is a pipe dream. Until we can patch directly into the aural centers of the brain (bypassing the individuals subjective nervious system) it becomes a moot point. Not to be defeatist, a great deal of satisfaction can be found in the persuit of the ideal Hi-Fi system. You can analyse the science of sound till you're blue in the ears, my suggestion is LISTEN and satisfy yourself. Listen to the sound, not the hype.
Thanks for your patience.