Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site brl-sem.ARPA
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!brl-tgr!brl-sem!ron
From: ron@brl-sem.ARPA (Ron Natalie )
Newsgroups: net.audio
Subject: Re: Linn/Naim seminar(results)
Message-ID: <486@brl-sem.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 4-Nov-85 12:39:36 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-sem.486
Posted: Mon Nov  4 12:39:36 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 5-Nov-85 07:15:11 EST
References: <187@myrias.UUCP> <973@gitpyr.UUCP>
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab
Lines: 24

> 
> 2) This is just plain silly.  A stereo system is as good as its
>    weakest component.  A $1600 turntable setup and a $1000 amp/preamp
>    combo are going to sound like crap coming out of a pair of
>    $100 el-cheapo speakers.  Ditto for the $1600 table, $1000 speakers
>    and the $100 receiver.  The components of a stereo system form
>    a signal processing path with each component in the signal path
>    adding distortion and noise.  Having n-1 perfect components does
>    you very little good if the nth component is so bad that the distortion
>    it generates dominates the signal coming out of the stereo.
> 
Actually, anything that introduces a mechanical component into the audio
chain and therefore involves craftsmanship rather than mere design to
produce good results is going to be inordinately more expensive.  This is
why speakers and the turntable complex is likely to be the most expensive
part while the straight electronic parts are going to cost less and less
as time goes by.  For instance, while $1000 for a turntable is reasonably
good quality, the best CD players go for $400-600 these days.   Tape Decks,
when you rate quality by something other than the rampant featurism that
plagues these devices, is frequently based on the transport and the more
expensive decks yield better sound due to the mechancial quality rather
than electronic.

-Ron