Thread: Building a high end system. Why? What is needed?

Very interesting reading(s).
https://www.hificlube.net/artigos/ed...fia-audiofila/

Some excerpts below with my underlining.

MICHAEL FREMER Editor - AnalogPlanet, Senior Contributing Editor – Stereophile
Assembling a sound producing audio system is easy. Putting one together that creates a sublime musical performance is difficult though doable.
“Throwing money” doesn’t guarantee a great result.
…one that effectively creates the illusion of putting you in a good seat at a great hall—and if you don’t think an audio system can do that it’s only because you’ve not experienced it.
Even a carefully selected, costly system capable of producing at the push of a few buttons the most sublime musical experience can fail miserably if it’s placed in the wrong room, or in the wrong place in the room, or in one that’s not been acoustically prepared, or the electrical service is problematic. Or if the cables are lazily chosen.

JOSÉ VICTOR HENRIQUES Editor - hificlube.net
An electrocardiogram is a valuable tool to evaluate if one’s heart is healthy and pumping well. But it will never tell you how good-hearted someone is. And yet, we instinctively know by just listening to it…


MATEJ ISAK Editor - mono&stereo
A quality audio system is far more than the sum of its expensive parts.
No matter how impressive an ultra-high-end audio system may seem, if it is not assembled and finely tuned, the whole being will react with resistance rather than emotional empowerment.

KEN KESSLER Author, Contributor – HiFiNews
What is the difference between a merely great system, and one which yields the ultimate realism?
It is all about that extra stage of refinement, of attainment, and – ultimately for hi-fi – of communication.
Crucial to appreciating this transcendent experience, however, is the end-user. Just as the workman cannot blame the tools, so must the audiophile know how to employ and then appreciate a sound system.

ALAN SIRCOM Editor - HiFi+
Yes, in basic terms, the aims of highend over ‘good’ audio are lower noise and distortion, superior volume headroom and dynamic range, broader and more accurate frequency range, and higher resolution and detail. However, those basic aims are frequently ill-met, usually due to bad system planning, terrible installation, and lacklustre fine-tuning.
On the other hand, those whose spark lies elsewhere will gravitate toward audio devices that measure superbly but make a bright, electronic sounding ‘science project’ sound.
The audio world needs to smarten itself up!

RAFAEL TODES Musician & Freelance Audio Reviewer
For me, one of the greater pleasures in life is listening to great music on a really high-end system. As a professional practising musician who makes recordings on both sides of the microphone I appreciate when the recording and its reproduction sounds to me the way I hear it on stage, or even gives me more information than I can hear on stage.

Yes, but at least they have the notion that fine tuning is necessary.
And they have the notion that takes work.
And that it's not just a matter of money...