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