In the thread: “The industry-embraced audio and classical music” Stitch made a post that implied that the industry-sponsored indifferent sound is more attracted to the people who has a lot of money. I do not know how accurate that observation but it made me to think about the following:

Who in contemporary High-End Audio has the most persuasive and more able sound? I mean is somebody would like to demonstrate to Martians what definition of success in High-End Audio is then what kind people would be able to do it?

No, I do not ask about your or myself to reminiscent about where you heard the best results from audio. I more interested to know what type or an abstract group of people per capita has better audio result then other group.

I do not think that rich audio people have good sound, generally the folks with a lot of money, despite having a lot of expensive equipment do not demonstrate changing sound. Sure there are exceptions but we are taking about composite result for entire group.

Dealer’s show rooms are also very very very seldom demonstrating good sound, there are many reasons for, not to last of them that sales personals shall not be able to demonstrate sound more able then buyer can understand. This is, BTW, one of the reasons why high-end salon’s owners heir only audio- retards to work on the sales floor.

The recording pros have unquestionably great opportunity to be the group with the best sound. It is not the case as they grossly discard playback part of sound reproduction. Also, the majority of them look to have recording to be a replica of live event – a bogus approach - so they are disqualified.

Reviewing, editing and publishing staff is out of picture for multiple reasons, not the last one because they have too frequently revolving equipment and they hardly able to organize playback to use whatever they got.

DIYers mostly have very bad, very-very bad sound. Of course DIYers might be different level and among DIYers you can meat incredibly knowledgeable and talented armature-engineers. However, most of the DIYers among those who learned how to cut wood and how to solder do not have cultural listening and musical background to assess what they do and to comprehend what the values of own solutions.

The rich audio people devoted to brands and stay with great loyalty to a brand. People with less money do not dedicated to brand and labels but they devoted to specific marketing campaign. The history of high-end audio, as I observe it for the last 15 years, is a string of marketing campaigns that pre-developed and sold to spineless and non-ambitious public. If to look at the sonic results that average audio person get but to subtract from that result the chewed up and presold marketing objective then in most of the cases the Hi-Fi king will have naked body, destroyed by hard-progressing gummatous syphilis.

I can stratify many other groups but I think you have the point. I think in today audio world the audio groups that most likely have the best sound are personal installations of audio manufacturers.   Not the crap that they demonstrate at audio shows but their own home installations.

Unfortunately, the audio manufacturers are absolutely removed from the audio demonstrations.  The richest of them do have own dedicated demo room and this is very good. Unfortunately those manufacturers own listening rooms are not exposed to public and I feel it is very unfortunate. If I want o buy $100K speaker or amplifier then what would be more rational then to talk to the person who did it and let the person to demonstrate to me what the equipment is able to. The plain ticket, even to another side of globe cost virtually nothing in compare to the price that I am about to pay for the speaker or amplifier. Sure, the industry jumps out of skin to shut up a manufacturer and to assure public that audio can be hear only by train to sell stolen cars professional demonstrator. Sure, the industry does it as it where the 70% of murk up come from… The biggest problem however, is not the money but the fact the injecting itself into demonstration process the industry by many means (very loaded comment) kills the sound that would be possible to obtain from a raw product by other ways.

I do feel that manufacturers, as a group, have best sound among all industry groups. It is in way similar to the winery - you can get the best wine by learning from a given wine maker how to drink his wine and how to get it.

I wonder can an audio dealer to operate as traveling guide instead as a sale person?  If we looking for a reference end  the opportunity to experience the best possible result in sound reproduction then why do not deal with the environment what the best possible result most likely to appear?

Stitch,

sure we all know that exist crewless manufactures. Avant-Garde  is one of the examples. As far as I know, or as it use to be, they outsource all development and the core company itself is unfortunately are very accidental in audio people. Sure, not all manufactures are able, because of multiple reasons, to organize a proper demonstration of their products. Still, a person/company still not necessary shall demonstrate good Sound. I personally would rather do not witness proper Sound but rather I would like to see a person who by organizing his tailored playback and demonstration in certain way would be able to make a point, or to bring a testimony about what s/he is willing to express by the virtue of a given product.  If you visit me and ask me to make you familiar with specifics performing aspects of met say my A/D converter or one of the Macondo channels then I would know how to demonstrate my playback in order to indicate what I consider is the most valuable in the selected  A/D converter or Macondo channel. I assure that most of the manufactures have similar sentiments.

Yes, it is very possible that that point or a performing aspect that a proverbial manufacture is willing to demonstrate you find invalid or not important for you. This is perfectly fine – here is where the balance of reference points takes place. I remember I was invited in a home of my local Boston amplifier manufacturer. He informed me that he makes unique SS amps. I did stop by and I heard it. After I heard it and explained him about his amps sound he literally tossed me out of his house. I think that this is normal and we did not waste time on each other. The important part was however that turned me off was not how the amp sound but the maker objectives that I found absolutely childish.

The point I am trying to make is that in manufactures hands products might be in condition to be able to expose this best characteristics.  That is why I feel that per capita, among all groups the manufactures most likely have the best demonstrable sonic result. If not they, then who?

Romy the Cat wrote:

If not they, then who? The Cat

Stitch wrote:

We don't need to sell units to survive, we have a real job and High End is a hobby