MPP

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Joined 2006
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I am with you :)

If you can build something at low cost that sounds good, you can be sure to make a profit but there are differences in caps resistors, SUT´s, cables, pots... etc.

What I find strange is that some of the most respected and experienced professionals tend to dismiss this reality.

I know the circuit is determinant and sometimes the differences are very small, but tey exist...
 
Sure, but High End is not about sound only. It is about reputation, reliability, perceived value, looks, home integration etc. It´s like marrying a pretty wife that you do not know. . Most customers take good sound as a given. I buy cars and cameras that way. I am not an expert so i have to trust the self proclaimed experts. Did not do so bad that way.
Still there is a niche market that appreciates sound over everything else. This DIY community is a good example and that is one of the reasons i contribute.
 
OT thought:



"Bourdieu claims that aesthetic choices both create class-based social groups or "class fractions," and actively distance people in one class from another. Predispositions to certain kinds of food, music, and art are instilled at an early age in children and guide them to their appropriate social positions, by forcing them to internalize a preference for objects and behaviors that are suitable for them and an aversion towards the preferred objects and behaviors of other classes. When an individual encounters the culture or art of another class, he or she feels "disgust provoked by horror or visceral intolerance (‘feeling sick’) of the tastes of others.""

(English from Wikipedia: my bold face type)

I quote from that source and wonder who follows the 'Blowtorch 2 thread??;)
 
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Joined 2006
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Very good reading quote "In this way, the tastes of the dominant class tend to dominate those of the other classes, forcing individuals in economically and culturally dominated class strata to conform to certain aesthetic preferences at the risk of appearing crude, vulgar, or tasteless."

It is curious to realize that most of the portuguese forums discuss brands instead of circuit topologies because there are only a few that know something about audio electronics. Even those who know a bit, are normally tarnished by trends and preconcieved ideas.

In my life I had the oportunity to live with numerous kinds of high end machines and in the beguinning I too believed that brand A is "better" than brand B, but when I started modding and building, I understood that there is more to it than aesthetics or perceived value.

Nowadays I have a very much better educated hearing and judge by sonics mostly.

My best preamp has the input selector and volume control in the back... I do not really care that much about luxury and bling factor.

I am glad you also apreciate good sonics and feel honoured to be able to share ideas here.
 
Ricardo, i also have the volume regulators at the back of my tube poweramp. I do not even have a preamp, the japanese way. I know what you are talking about. I spend a fortune on High End Audio until i found i can do it myself but that is a long time ago.
Some brands though like original Mark Levinson and early Threshold still have my 100% approval. Was not even that expensive when you consider what you got.