The Biggest Secret In The Hifi Industry!!

Nothing is better, just different.

[@thelastofthedinosaurs]

That is why chinese clones and tube amps are successful. They take an existing technology that works, build it for 20% of the cost, tune it maybe a bit by ears to their liking and if you like it the same they do you got an amp that costs just 20% with the same enjoyment for you.

[@FukemStudios]

I agree💯

[@DrNoahBoddy004]

I suspected as much, and now that you’ve marked the truth, folks can begin coming off the merry-go-round of keeping up with The Joneses. I know I’ll never understand this odd trend of folks preferring streaming, as opposed to owning their physical media. Total access to your selections, when you want to hear them, in my view, bests their program changes night, and day!

[@mikeeygauthier2959]

It’s the sum of all “TWEAKS/SETUP”, that makes a difference! Further, if the “source is wrong, then everything else will be wrong!

[@ronlysons6750]

Ok, this is my experience of more than forty years into hifi. Sometimes the music sounds better on my car stereo than it does on my expensive hifi. And I'm not the only one who has said this.

[@Audiorevue]

You know why? Well I've heard the same thing and I know why. It's because when you're in your car you're not thinking about how good it sounds, You're simply enjoying the music. When you sit down in front of your hi-fi system, the one in which you just spent $4,000 on those new speakers and another $7,000 on that new integrated and a further 2,000 upgrading your cartridge on your turntable, you can't help but be critical. When you're driving in your car to go pick up your kids or run to the grocery store or on a road trip or whatever, it's all there is so you just accept it for what it is and enjoy it.

[@phetmoz]

You get mostly what you pay for, most of the time. 15 years of experience.

[@bruce8429]

Siegfried Linkwitz said this. Not better but different re amps and preamps. PBut not speakers

[@CarlVanDoren61]

Audio Club member worked w Siegfried He has his last personal speakers 😮

[@Mike-jm5wt]

I found my sound with polk lsi15 towers crossed over to a subwoofer with a bit of avr room correction. No need for me to go any further, if they ever wear out I'll miss them dearly.

[@OldGuyHifi]

You have hit the nail on the head my friend. That's why I won't do shoot outs on my channel.

[@gino3286]

Hi very interesting video Next question is which component has a bigger impact on sound Imho speakers Same speakers with different front end should produce a very similar sound So better select the speakers first

[@Audiorevue]

@@gino3286 again as mentioned, amplifiers do sound different, even if people don't believe they do. I've done it numerous times over the years where I have four or five different integrateds sitting around and I hook them up to the same set of speakers with the same cables and the same source and the same everything, and every one of them sounds different. That aside, you are correct in that speakers generally govern the majority of the sound quality you do here.

[@gino3286]

@@Audiorevue Hi ! thank you very much for your very kind and valuable advice I trust you completely For sure i did not have the opportunity to listen seriously to many systems Amps are quite mysterious to me Unfortunately measurements seem not to say all This is very unpleasant to me I like objectivity in anything Kind regards gino

[@enricolisk1357]

What about the build quality & longevity of the equipment? Would cheaper components reduce the lifespan of the equipment?

[@Audiorevue]

@@enricolisk1357 I don't believe so, I know others will argue against the point and to be honest with you buying more expensive equipment typically means that it's made from More costly components and typically means it has better build quality, but in this case I don't think build quality inherently equals longevity. I mean think of all the budget level receivers and integrated amplifiers that came out in the '70s and '80s that are still going, I see dozens of them every month through various friends that rotate in and out equipment. So I don't buy that spending more money equates to something that's going to last longer. Now as I said a more expensive product will be more pleasant to use, all you have to do is buy the Marantz PM 6007 and compare it to the pm8006 which I'm pretty sure they've recently discontinued. Both of them are outwardly physically similar with roughly the same number of buttons and switches on the front panel, but the 8006 is far and away much better built. When you turn the volume knob or turn the input selector or operate any of the tone controls or buttons or switches on the front panel of the 8006, it feels much better, much more premium. But as I said does that mean that just because it feels better, does that mean it's going to last longer? No I don't think so

[@michaelvincent8306]

Well I to have tried and bought a shed load of equipment and couldn't work out why my old system was more enjoyable than the equipment i replaced it with why I changed im not sure other than it was called an upgrade well it wasn't so i went and purchased my original speakers but rebuild from a speaker builder totally rebuild happy days now im just stuck with the belief that i wasted a load of money great video by the way

[@thelastofthedinosaurs]

YES. But there are physical limitations. A bigger speaker can produce deeper base with the same drivers and crossover and not every amp can drive every speaker. Also you can mess up the resonance of the cabinet or the resonance of the drivers. So a better and larger cabinet and better drivers will cost you money.

[@Audiorevue]

That's not my point. For example what if someone hears a $300 amplifier and finds it Superior sonically to a $30,000 amplifier, does that mean the $30,000 amplifier is still better? It's not just price either it's a matter of taste and that's my point. It doesn't take anything in this hobby to find the type of sound you like. That's the thing people need to realize and that's truthfully the whole point of the video. By your analogy a bigger house is better than a smaller home and a bigger car is better than a small car, well not always and I think most people would agree. I've seen too much stuff online of people talking about better and I think to myself "well I've heard that and I didn't really think it was better than the other product that they're talking about" . So that leads me to think there really isn't any better, there's just different. Ultimately over the last 10 years after hearing hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of different Hi-Fi products, that's the conclusion I've come to, that there isn't any better in this hobby, there's just different. Is a product that creates more bass better than a product that doesn't?, no not truly it's just different. Because at the end of the day some people wouldn't care for as much bass and they would prefer a more balanced sound or like a sound that's lighter in bass. When I came to this conclusion I realized that watching the usual KZbinrs when it comes to reviews of products truthfully i get sick to my stomach about how much the word better is thrown around. I know from here on out I'm not presenting products with the idea of better in any of my reviews.

[@thelastofthedinosaurs]

​@@AudiorevueThat is true. The reason is that everything is a tradeoff. There is no perfect speaker or technology. You just have to be aware of the pros and cons and find the speaker that has the pros that are most important to you and the cons you can live with. Then you will be happy with it.

[@bartvanransbeeck1341]

After 60 years audio experience i agree completely with you, even the 3 audio research classic 60 that i tested sounded each different.....i recently heard a system with self made speakers with 15" jbl E140 modified, jbl 2470 with modernhorn tweeters. 2402...selfmade crossover, cheap pioneer amplifier on spotify cheap interconnects and it was the best completesound i ever listened to....even in myhifi shop i experienced no added value gives better sound....i can only say it sounds different

[@brydon10]

Good one man. So true. Many people fall into the trap that if it costs more it must sound or be "better", which is simply not the case - especially in this day and age. The engineering has come so far.

[@carravagio16]

im super happy with my bedroom / studio set up of vintage Paradigm speakers w/ modern rotel intergraded and cd player -

[@Audiorevue]

Yeah you know I think my whole rant with this video was sort of the idea that people get too hung up on this idea of better and which products are better than the other products. When in reality I've discovered that there really isn't any better it's just that these products are different. That's why towards the end of the video I talked about the most important thing is to find the type of sound quality that you like and then buy the equipment that produces it.

[@bergennorway]

Part number 2 of this, is matching components! Klipsch or similar speakers that sound "bright", need to be matched with components that sound "dark" or is neutral. "Dark" sounding speakers need to be matched with neutral og bright-sounding components. This also is about how your acoustic is at home. European homes is different than those in USA. If you have tiles on the floor, you need other speakers than in a home with wooden floor or is covered with a carpet. I have a Marantz processor that is matched with an Anthem amp, in my home, this is a good combination.

[@chrisjames483]

No no no

[@bergennorway]

@@chrisjames483 No, without explaining the reason? Seems like you haven’t tried different equipment for matching.

[@chrisjames483]

Advance Paris A10, audio lab 7000, Choco emei, marantz 2270, Cambridge cxa 81, modo sourcpoint 8s, kef r3 metas, klh model 3s and more id rather not type. Imo all the amps have only a minor impact on the Klipsch rp 600m. That's my experience.

[@JumbleTasteSpinning]

That video saves me a lot of money! My god thank you so much! Spend on music!

[@carlosoliveira-rc2xt]

You're seeing a whole team of psychiatrists, arent you?

[@Audiorevue]

Yes my appointment's this weekend

[@jimdavies2386]

@@Audiorevue😂

[@markcarrington8565]

Totally disagree. Tonal balance is one thing and on that front, sure, pick your poison. Quality is about how faithfully equipment reproduces music, not how much bass or treble it has. A highly resolving system gives insight into the music. Notes start and stop the way they should. Melodies are separated out in the soundstage more obviously. That soundstage is more clearly defined, more three dimensional, bigger. Instruments sound realistic, less like a facsimile. Finally timing is preserved, giving the music pace and a sense of togetherness. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve rebuilt some classic eighties amplifiers that can blitz modern anaemic junk, making for a much more engaging listen. Doesn’t mean they come close to what my primary amp can do when it comes to reproducing music in my listening room. Sometimes more is just more, particularly when you feed it with a fantastic quality source.

[@Audiorevue]

What do you mean faithfully reproduce music? How could you know what that means and how could you know how faithfully your equipment is actually reproducing the music. If I listen to The kinks for example I wasn't there when Ray and his brother were making the songs, I have no idea what those songs should sound like. So by that logic the only thing any of us can hope to do is get equipment that produces sound in the way that we find enjoyable, which is exactly the whole point of my video.

[@markcarrington8565]

@@Audiorevue again you’re mistaking tonal balance for quality. Every human is different and every room impacts the sound massively, so you tune the sound in your room to your taste. No argument from me on that score. Try using acoustic music to evaluate how well your system is performing. Do you hear the full texture of a cello with all of its complex reverberations or is it just a bland note? Does the note on a double bass have a defined pluck followed by a long sustain, or is it just a dull thump? Rock and pop music is a construct, pieced together by the engineers in the studio. No band stands in front of a stereo mic and plays with the hope of getting good sound. Nevertheless, the best systems will have you believing that band is playing in your room when you close your eyes. I have done this many times. People who own what they believe to be good hi-fi come into my listening room and choose a record they know well. They then sit there slack jawed as the record they thought they knew plays in a way they never thought possible. Most frequent comments are that they had never heard the saxophone in the left speaker at the end of the track. Or the electric guitar just behind the bass player, or the backing vocal singing on the right. These are not audiophiles, just people who like music. They all say they’ve never heard their favourite songs sound better. Not once has anyone been hung up on the tonal balance. Not enough bass, too warm, etc. they just tell me how realistic it sounds. Think of it in terms of tv screens. You might like the contrast turned up to 6 whereas someone else might like it at 4. Personal choice. But you would agree with them that a 4k tv is better than a 1080p, right? You don’t know what the light was like on the film set, but you know, looking at the 4k screen whether the leading actor has a slight 5 o’clock shadow or not, whilst on the HD screen it just looks like a slightly different shadow on his chin. These details may not be important to some folks but as an audiophile, I want to experience all of the texture of the music. The better the quality of gear, the more detail is retained as the noise floor is lowered. Better components and design and build generally, but not always, deliver a better experience. And that is my experience of playing with hi-fi for over forty years.

[@CarlVanDoren61]

​@markcarrington8565 Help write War and Peace ✌️

[@estonianpunk]

Of course there are better products. Real gear plays music, while others, as you said very blatantly, produce sounds.

[@jozefserf2024]

You might need to hire a bodyguard after that.* Hi-Fi whistleblowers have never been popular. Nevertheless, thank you for your honesty. As you say, loudspeakers are the exception. *Agent Fupa might be available, but I suggest you might want to look elsewhere.😅

[@Audiorevue]

Yeah I've got quite a bit of flack already from people telling me that it's not true, but I think they're not listening to what I'm saying or maybe they're not understanding.

[@astolatpere11]

Um, nah, that's not true. I've heard great sounding sound systems and not that great. Yeah they sound different, but some components do a better job at reproducing music than others. And you do get what you pay for.

[@Audiorevue]

My whole argument is that selection of components should not come down to a supposed better, they should come down to a matter of taste. Case in point, I've heard $100,000 systems that I do not like the sound of and I would not touch with a 10-ft pole, I wouldn't even own them if somebody gave them to me. On the other hand I've heard $300 systems that sound absolutely fabulous, in fact if it weren't for lack of inputs or other considerations, I would happily live with that $300 system and just give up from there. You see it's not that the $300 system is better than the $100,000 system, but it's better to my taste. And a large part of my argument of the video was that. You might not agree with it, but it is true, this whole hobby is nothing but taste and I've had others comment on this video and try to explain to me why that just isn't so or they try to explain how something is better because it's better at creating sound staging or more clarity or whatever. I can have the most clear most sound staging creating system on the market and if it doesn't sound pleasing to me outside of those attributes, I won't own it. Because at the end of the day this is all a matter of taste. And you can't tell me that my argument is my own, because I disagree 100%, this hobby has been shown time and time again to be a matter of taste and a matter of preference. If having the ultimate product was the goal from a measurement or sound characteristic profile, then those super duper amplifiers that came out in the '80s and '90s that everybody raved about that went flat out to 300,000 Hertz and their distortion was so low you couldn't even measure it, everybody would be going for that. You know why they're not, because those amplifiers people found that they sounded flat and they sounded lifeless and they sounded boring. Another commenter talked about my video was nothing but A exercise in semantics, which is true. How do we define better and how do we define different?, to me different is subjective and better is objective but people go around equating better with subjective truths when in fact that's a misnomer. When you've heard as much componentry as I have over the last 10 years, you come to the conclusion that after hearing so much stuff that none of it is really any truly better than anything else that you've heard, it's just different sounding. Now a lot of people will equate that different sounding to a sense of better because it's better for them but that doesn't necessarily make it truly better it just makes it different and more applicable to their own taste. If you can't see that I can't help you, hopefully you're happy in whatever delusion you're occupying yourself with And that just makes you cream yourself every time you turn your system on. Thanks for watching and thanks for coming

[@bearboyn]

I choose my speakers from the look appealing not sound LOL.

[@Audiorevue]

Aesthetics can be important, it's not my main consideration but for a lot of people looks are what matter and they would happily buy a product based on that criteria alone.

[@vvsousa]

I think the same thing too.

[@No_Limits_411]

But that's not really true, speaking of detail retrieval, clarity, separation

[@Audiorevue]

Okay, but is that really better? What about a person who listens to their Hi-Fi for tone, they don't care nothing about detail or separation or clarity or any of that, to them your definition of a better hi-fi would clearly be wrong. It's kind of like saying high-end exotic sports cars are better than every other car, and you're saying this to a 400 lb 65-year-old man who can't physically get in one. It wouldn't matter if it's a better car because he can't even drive it, so to him it's actually the worst car, you see what I mean.

[@No_Limits_411]

@@Audiorevue They might not care for tone, nor be able to get into sports car. Objectively these things are still better (hi-fi with superior clarity and a sports car). And it will become obvious taking note of the overall demand for these things, which also dictates developing and pricing of them. As for ultra-relativism, and a claim that "everybody is different", I do not believe.

[@Audiorevue]

@No_Limits_411 well it sounds to me like you haven't heard enough Hi-Fi gear to back up anything you claim, if you have you would know that even high end gear sometimes doesn't shoot for ultimate clarity or ultimate sound staging, apparently you've never heard a shindo amplifier or various high-end tube amplifiers. So I don't buy your claim that The ultimate Fidelity culminates with your specifications of detail retrieval, clarity, separation, because if that was the case then every amplifier or high-end system north of $30,000 would strive for that, and they don't.

[@No_Limits_411]

@@Audiorevue There can be many rare examples, but in reality there are not so many different tastes, wants and needs. People are mostly similar. And not so many of those who would take a cheap clipping and dull amp with compressed sound over something that has some class. You have to face it. It is all about the taste, but the taste is similar.

[@net_news]

better for whom?

[@Audiorevue]

That's exactly right, another person argued that my whole video was nothing but A semantic argument but that's kind of the point. I think the word better is bandied about too much with Hi-Fi and instead of using that word we need to start using the word different. A rega brio amplifier isn't better than a NAD C316 amplifier, it's just different And the vice versa is equally true.

[@net_news]

@@Audiorevue absolutely!! Sound is a subjective thing... what's "better" chocolate ice cream or vanilla ice cream??? Non sense.

[@Audiorevue]

Are you actually reading what it is I'm posting?, or are you just glancing at it and immediately forgetting it and then just posting the same type of response as the first one? There isn't a better there's just different and if you don't understand that or you don't get what I'm saying then I can't help you buddy. Just quit watching my videos and quit commenting back and have a great day And continue on with whatever it is you do with yourself.

[@net_news]

@@Audiorevue I agree with you my friend

[@middleearthltd]

You don’t believe this You contradicted yourself in your Saga 2 review repeatedly Not only in the review, but in the comment section…like the cringe comment starting off with “Dude” LOL Contenti creando content causa faciendi A better saw would have been Listen to what you like with what you like and don’t care about how others spend their time and treasure This is supposed to be fun, right ? So that is my audio credo Listen to what you like with what you like and don’t care about how others spend their time and treasure This is supposed to be fun, right ?

[@Audiorevue]

How did I contradict myself? In what way. The whole point of this video is demonstrate to people to get off the high horses they're on in regards to stuff being better. Am I guilty of perpetuating that, yes I have been. But this video is my call to arms and moving forward I will no longer in any video I put out reviewing a piece of gear use the word better in reference to it versus anything else. Plus I don't really think I did in the saga 2 video, I never used the word better in there I don't think. So I don't know what the heck you're talking about. Please explain it to me. And yes this is supposed to be fun and that's the whole point. I see so much negative feedback online regarding products and people talking about measurements and that that amplifier isn't any good because it doesn't measure good, well I heard it and I thought it sounded brilliant, you know what I mean.

[@middleearthltd]

@@Audiorevue Go back to the part where you compared your used $6k MSRP preamplifier to the Saga 2 That is an example of you saying the Saga 2 was not as good comparatively…not even close to as good and that the $6k preamplifier was way better Another example would be your long discourse and dismissive feelings about “passive preamplifiers” which are not really a thing as they are generally input/output switchers that pass-through signals with or without the ability to control the signal output. Passive preamplifier is an oxymoron I have one and it has its uses People/Schiit, do use the term passive mode I get what you are saying but saying something categorically is most often ironic in context

[@Audiorevue]

Well you caught me, I might as well hang up my hat shut down the channel. All right I did say that but I guess at the end of the day what I've come to learn over the years is that by and large products generally are not really any better than any other product they're just different, sometimes that difference is what people say is better, maybe my argument is a semantic one and it's simply me trying to associate meaning to words but as I've already said that's what the Hi-Fi industry does on a daily basis anyway. I guess at the end of the day I think what I'm truly trying to say is that it doesn't take thousands and thousands of dollars for somebody to be happy in hi-fi, and here I'm going to contradict myself slightly, not that spending more money doesn't get you different stuff, but here back to the semantics, does the difference make better?

[@middleearthltd]

@@Audiorevue Like everything in the U.S. and elsewhere if people have the money someone will be there to relieve them of their money But I am glad that crazy expensive things exist that is cool I look for value in my components I don’t have the money now that I am old and retired to spend a lot of money on my system If I could go back and start over $10k system would be end-game for me I do vinyl and CDs but I would just stream and be happy with that and simplify my life It is good to see young people in the hifi hobby I subscribed and wish you all the best

[@PMC7027]

Thank you very much for wasting 3 1/2 minutes of my life. I watched this video to the end to see if you were going to say "Just Kidding!" but you did not. I'm sorry that you can't understand that one piece of audio equipment can be better than another. If speaker "A" can't reproduce anything below 100 Hz, for example, and speaker "B" can, then speaker "B" is objectively better. That doesn't mean it is better for you, but it is objectively better.

[@Audiorevue]

Well just because an Olympic hurdle jumper can jump over 15 hurdles and I could probably only manage one or two, does that mean that person's better? I mean is that the criteria we're going with?, frequency response? So by that logic anything that produces the flattest frequency with the greatest extension in either direction is the best right? This video isn't about me, this video is about everybody. Even you merely stating that you want a speaker that can go lower than 100 HZ is stating a preference for different. That preference is inherently not based on a concept of better, it's based on a concept of different, You might not see it that way but it's true. Think of it this way, You go to your friend's house and he just bought a real high-end tube system, consisting of a tube preamp and a tube power amp and hell even a tube phono stage, The whole system cost $100,000 . He looks at you and says that it is the best thing he's ever heard and invites you over to check it out. While you're sitting there listening you can't help but feel that this is some of the most soupy, overly warm sounding and fuzzy sound that you've ever heard. Well does that mean that his system isn't good or better?, I mean he did just lay out $100,000 for this all tube system, shouldn't it be better? Outside of the cost just merely the idea of this system being designed to be high-end should guarantee a matter of better, and because it does it should be instantly likable right? But there you are listening thinking how terrible it sounds, all the while your buddy thinks it's the best thing he's ever heard. Does that mean he's wrong? And you're right or are you just discovering that what I've been saying is true, the fact that this entire hobby isn't a matter of better, it's a matter of different. And even outside of price something that costs more doesn't necessarily guarantee A sense of better. Because at the end of the day one person's better is another person's worse.

[@PMC7027]

@@Audiorevue Thank you for the reply.

[@ssleddens]

My ex was better at everything than my current gf

[@Audiorevue]

Well my claim of better being non-existent only applies to hi-fi equipment, not human beings. Because in that respect some of us clearly are better