I heard a $120,000 system this weekend!

[dzach]

Provided Link: Linn ARTIKULAT speaker system


I have been working in Chicago for the last several months and finally made it to a super-high-end AV store in the downtown area.

They carry the likes of Linn and Wilson. None of which I could ever afford, let along want to purchase, but I do enjoy just checking out these shops so see what the insanely wealthy are blowing their money on.

The two sales people working that day were excited to demo their flagship room containing a 5-way Linn active speaker system (link below), Linn universal CD/DVD, Linn pre-amp, Sim2 DLP projector, and Stewart fixed wide-screen.

They threw in Gladiator to the beginning fight scene. I watched about 10 minutes.

After the short demo, I realized that these are not home theater speakers. They lacked any low-end impact. They also have the Linn logo on the front-bottom-center, which GLOW BLUE! So in a darkened home theater room, you see 3 blue dots just below the screen! I asked if they could be turned off and the sales people did not know.

The sales guy asked what I thought of the system... I said that it was "OK". He laughed and almost seemed offended.

So of course I followed up with, "How much for the front mains?"
Sales guy... "39"
Me... "really, $3,900? I would have guessed $10,000"
Sales guy... "Well, that's actually $39,000"

Yikes.

To be fair, the Linns did sound nice with music... not $40k nice though.

[madrok]

[killerkowalczyk]

This reminds me of the time i heard a $70 000 system and the mids ended up sucking.

[jimgutterman]

I have heard a number of these kinds of systems in a variety of venues ranging from hi-end stores to trade shows, and I have the same response each and every time...

The idea that comes to mind is the law of diminishing returns and the More Money Than Brains club.

I have yet to hear one that truly and significantly surpasses my own system in such a way as to justify even a fraction of the price difference. As far as obtaining more enjoyment from such a system, well, if said enjoyment comes from a "Mine is bigger than yours" mentality, then I suppose there is not much I can do to compete. On the other hand, if the context is "Bang for the buck" I feel that most of us can count ourselves in the winners box and the owners of those systems in the losers box.

I have heard the Linn Artikulate, the Dali Megaline, the DynAudio flagship, the Wilson Audio Alexandrias, and a few others of that ilk.

We should take great pride in our work when we hear such systems; I have to admit I like this as we get great enjoyment without dropping a 100 Grand note...

Nothing like it to make you proud to be a DIYer!

[unknownuser]

What would be the best DIY system for music?
just for fun:-)


(Originally posted by: jim)

[jimgutterman]

I think a line array using planar drivers along with something like the RS series from Dayton or the HiVi M series coupled with a good sub based upon the new RS subs or perhaps a servo sub like the Rythmik servo would make for a fine sounding system. Throw in an active XO with multiple amps and you have a very hard to beat design for a fraction of the cost of the flagships models from the various commercial companies.

[cjd]

Jon Marsh's "Saint-Saëns" concepts...



htguide.com

C

[biff]

> I have been working in Chicago for the last
> several months and finally made it to a
> super-high-end AV store in the downtown
> area.

> They carry the likes of Linn and Wilson.
> None of which I could ever afford, let along
> want to purchase, but I do enjoy just
> checking out these shops so see what the
> insanely wealthy are blowing their money on.

> The two sales people working that day were
> excited to demo their flagship room
> containing a 5-way Linn active speaker
> system (link below), Linn universal CD/DVD,
> Linn pre-amp, Sim2 DLP projector, and
> Stewart fixed wide-screen.

> They threw in Gladiator to the beginning
> fight scene. I watched about 10 minutes.

> After the short demo, I realized that these
> are not home theater speakers. They lacked
> any low-end impact. They also have the Linn
> logo on the front-bottom-center, which GLOW
> BLUE! So in a darkened home theater room,
> you see 3 blue dots just below the screen! I
> asked if they could be turned off and the
> sales people did not know.

> The sales guy asked what I thought of the
> system... I said that it was "OK".
> He laughed and almost seemed offended.

> So of course I followed up with, "How
> much for the front mains?"
> Sales guy... "39"
> Me... "really, $3,900? I would have
> guessed $10,000"
> Sales guy... "Well, that's actually
> $39,000"

> Yikes.

> To be fair, the Linns did sound nice with
> music... not $40k nice though.

Last year I was in Raleigh and went to a showroom and some of thier mid-fi was actually better than the upper end stuff. A Wilson two channel room alledgedly set up by Peter Mcgrath sounded nice with a Mark Levinson front end and IIRC Conrad Johnson monoblocks that had massive control and just didn't clip, but as I was listening to a live Nanci Griffith at about 85-88 db or so the salesman came in, switched to Planet Drum at what seemed like high 90's and grinned. Then he showed us into the Wilson HT room with the Robbie the robots and more Corian than Home Depot and dropped in the Diana Krall live in Paris DVD. My son and I let out a huge laugh when the tight shot of her at the ivories was accompanied by her vocals centered nicely in the front and her piano playing off over our right shoulder. I guess this convinced pink cheek salesboy we were yokels so he scowled at us (for not attaining the reverie?) and he quickly found real customers to impress.

So I guess the moral of this story is, all things being equal, they never are.

[madrok]

> ...the tight shot of
> her at the ivories was accompanied by her
> vocals centered nicely in the front and her
> piano playing off over our right shoulder.

Well, that's not the equipment's fault. That's the way the music was recorded and mixed.

[shawn_a]

The high-end sales gerbils really get their knickers in a twist when you go dissin' their stuff. They of the Golden Ears and Bottomless Pockets can have theirs. I will stick with DIY and keep my money and be plenty happy. Sure, my stuff is a long way away from sonic nirvana but having heard "reference level" systems before they aren't there yet either.

shawn

[wyrdone]

> The high-end sales gerbils really get their
> knickers in a twist when you go dissin'
> their stuff. They of the Golden Ears and
> Bottomless Pockets can have theirs. I will
> stick with DIY and keep my money and be
> plenty happy. Sure, my stuff is a long way
> away from sonic nirvana but having heard
> "reference level" systems before
> they aren't there yet either.

Im with you on this one. I would prefer to keep my money in my pocket and have a modest system that does what I want. And by DIYing it I can get maximum auditory value for the least money. A friend of mine with a B&W 700 Series was suprised by my system thinking it cost 10 times more than I spent on it. (Even when you factor in the manufacture time.)

[rodh]

> What would be the best DIY system for music?
> just for fun:-)

Linkwitz Orions are supposed to be a strong contender, but I haven't had the pleasure of hearing them yet.

Rod

[biff]

> Well, that's not the equipment's fault.
> That's the way the music was recorded and
> mixed.

You could well be right, but on my system, the piano localizes to the front right, not the rear.But I have heard stranger, on the Ray soundtrack in 5.1 as SACD, track 9, Ray sings on one side and his piano is on the other, which is OK, since B.B. sings from atop the piano and Ray is sitting on B.B.'s amp.

According to Escher, it's a matter of perspective - hehe

[biff]

> Well, that's not the equipment's fault.
> That's the way the music was recorded and
> mixed.

BTW, Madrok, I wasn't blaming the equipment, I am pretty sure that system had incorrect channel asignments.

[killerkowalczyk]

I would have solid titanium massively huge (10' tall 5' wide 8' deep) bass cabinets (4 horns stacked on each other perside). crazy bass down to 25hz and maybe even add in some subwoofers to pic up the bottom end. Then purchase the most expensive mids and highs and augment them appropriately.

[surroundu]

If I had $120K to freely blow...

I'd DIY a nice media/theater room, buy a new {Land Rover] LR3 in cash for the Mrs. and still have enough left over to fund the construction of a new home for someone in New Orleans through Habitat for Humanity.

Everyone would win. ;-)

[Paul K.]

electronics. I love my Linn Wakonda preamp and Genki cd player and plan on upgrading to a Linn Ikemi cd player. Not all that expensive if you buy used like I do.
Paul K.

[chrism]

I went to a local shop in Florence KY last week and listened to a set of B&W 804's with the funky top mounted tweeter. They gave me about 20 minutes worth of private listening time with my own music. My impressions? They wouldn't be a bad speaker if they were about 1/10th the sticker price. I like my Cryolites better.

[dzach]

Provided Link: Accuton Diamond Tweeter


Chris,

Would that happen to a shop with the initials AE?
I cannot imagine who in Florence is purchasing high-end B&W speakers. It is more like a Bose kind of town.

The B&W 800 series has the diamond tweeter... Accuton makes a diamond tweeter for the DIY market (available at Madisound) for the mere price of $2,600 each. I can only imagine what B&W charges for theirs.

> I went to a local shop in Florence KY last
> week and listened to a set of B&W 804's with
> the funky top mounted tweeter. They gave me
> about 20 minutes worth of private listening
> time with my own music. My impressions? They
> wouldn't be a bad speaker if they were about
> 1/10th the sticker price. I like my
> Cryolites better.

[LeoF]

Provided Link: My website...


... are hard to beat (50" and 72" models), and not difficult to implement properly. The baffle shape and the low end is where you really tweak these drivers. A line array of nice woofers (ScanSpeak, perhaps?) to really let them breathe will set you back, though. ;-)

If missing a few KHz at the top matters to you, you may also need a supertweeter, but all in all, it's about as full range a driver as you will ever find.

> What would be the best DIY system for music?
> just for fun:-)