What Does A Stereo The Price Of A Porsche Look Like? (ft. DB HiFi)

[@boogboog8097]

I would want a pair of brand new acoustically perfect ears thrown in for that £

[@aneildavis]

A friend once showcased his new linn sondex cd and asked me what I thought....Sounds like my sony.. He was not impressed. But then, I am deaf (limited mid - high frequency)

[@Si1983h]

@@aneildavis if you’re on about the Linn CD12, then yep... sorry to hear about your hearing problems. In all seriousness, Sony have made some truly excellent CD players (with high price tags)... but I’ve not encountered a Sony CD player yet that I’d swap from my Linn Ikemi, the Ikemi is a really stunning CD player, 90% of the CD12 for 20% of the cost (although 20% of the cost of a CD12 is still a significant chunk of money). They need good partnering kit to really appreciate them, but if you have it, and the time to sit and really relax in front of it, you’ll realise just how good it really is.

[@juliankent8875]

My dad got a Linn system back in the early 90's. He'd spent ages doing his research. I nearly fell over when he told me what it cost him, but to after 27 year's it's still going strong.

[@blann65]

My dad had just bought brand new Dennon system with a Project 9 Turn table and i fellow over when he told me the turn table alone was over $3000.

[@Brickinasock]

Wow that's excellent

[@wadehampton4499]

Linn turntables are absolutely superb and reassuringly expensive !

[@Si1983h]

Another Linn guy here, I have some early 90s stuff and some newer stuff, all in perfect working order and mint condition... I do service Linn kit though.

[@Retrobeemer]

My Pioneer A400 is still going strong after 29 years!

[@naimiac]

Speaking as a lifelong petrolhead who also happens to be a HiFi dealer, this is a great video. Very good explanations, and you've really transmitted your enthusiasm for the hobby in the same way that your automotive content does. Especially the insight into short lifespans of AV and their lowered desirability as they age. Also, very interesting as your dealer has literally NONE of the brands I specialise in.... Always nice to see the other stuff out there. Thanks.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Thanks Mike, always nervous when I do videos on stuff I am not expert in, but glad you approve

[@naimiac]

@@JayEmmOnCars No probs. Nailed it. Incidentally, as the son of a motorsports photographer, really find your channel great fun to watch. Your stuff, Harry's Garage, Jay Leno, Hoovie and Bad Obsession's Project Binky make for a fearsome snow-day playlist. Keep up the great work.

[@simonelliott5956]

@@JayEmmOnCars You get my approval too, 35 years in the industry and counting!

[@MilitaryHistory2011]

And here's me gritting my teeth at spending £80 on a all in one JVC unit...

[@jetyn8]

What about the Volvo V70 a few days ago, it had a good Music System,

[@Matt-go7ss]

Live the dream 💪

[@Si1983h]

It’s about personal value for money... most people buying high end audio would also probably grit their teeth at spending £80 on an all in one JVC for what it’s worth, because it just wouldn’t satisfy them. Similar to how a Dacia duster wouldn’t satisfy someone looking at buying a Lamborghini Urus, despite the fact that they both perform the same basic function.

[@peterthompson9854]

@@Si1983h May people compare hi-fi gear to cars, but the problem is, hi-fi has a price span for cheapest to expensive several times wider than that of cars.

[@Si1983h]

@@peterthompson9854 yeah I get that, and some audio products are just hideously overpriced, but my point still stands, there is a market for high end audio, most of the stuff on the shelves of Richer Sounds just won’t cut it for some people myself included (although I do respect what they do very highly). I’ve unwittingly acquired a minimum standard for sound quality, and it’s quite high... thankfully, I’ve got a knack for achieving amazing sound from used kit, without spending mortgage money. I picked up a pair of Ruark Talisman 2s for £160 a couple of weeks back, and a Meridian 507 CD player for £350 on Thursday, I’ve been playing with amps (switching between Linn and Naim amps), I’ve settled on a Linn Majik which cost me about £350 a couple of years back, and it sounds outstanding, better than the average person will have ever heard, and all for under £1k... it’s my second system and I’m well happy with it, I’m absolutely blown away with what it can do. If someone were to demonstrate that to me blind and tell me that it cost £10k, I’d believe them... I’m rambling, sorry!

[@supercooled]

James spent all h is money on car and audio gear, a hair brush was out of the budget.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Priorities

[@stav2002]

Wise choices

[@jemcuk1]

I've not had a haircut for 7 weeks either.

[@tjk9263]

And a razor😁

[@TheMentalblockrock]

lockdown hair do!

[@menebatto]

A guy spends $ 100k on a car, after two years he sells it and loses 30k: it's okay. A guy spends $ 60k on an audio system that lasts his entire life: everybody loses their minds.

[@JamesDean-dc4zp]

I want to give you a hug

[@simonbussey7530]

You've got a good point.

[@jovar.3649]

If you're spending the equivalent of a house for an audio system, it better last several lifetimes.

[@enqane]

Losing 30k is not okay even for people that can afford it

[@LiamE69]

I can hear the difference between cheap and expensive cables. On expensive cables there is a deafening voice over the music shouting "you utter mug" all the time. Really detracts from the experience.

[@danielgarrad]

That made be laugh , so true.

[@dagnut]

very funny

[@miff227]

Different cables do measure differently though, resistance, capacitance, reluctance. Can these different values cause an amplifier to misbehave? Well, yes, yes it can. As James says though, cables need to match your system and I think that applies most to cost at the low end....almost anything works for my equipment.

[@LiamE69]

@@miff227 My cables certainly match my system's reluctance to get ripped off. Inductance was the word you were after. Yes there is some matching that needs to be done. That can be done by altering the length, thickness and twist of the cables. It is not done by increasing the price of a cable exponentially nor by making it out of unobtainium woo.

[@Z-u-m-a]

Brilliant. Cables are where manufactorers and dealers get their profit margins.

[@stav2002]

Just when i thought this channel couldn't get any better.

[@stav2002]

I have to say I don't subscribe to the idea that expensive cables can make a difference. I can't say I've tried them though. The science just doesn't seem to add up.

[@rajjy1976]

@@stav2002 Better quality materials/ingredients always makes things better innit. I get your scepticism though. Stay safe in the snow bro.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

When it comes to anything analogue, I do believe in spending a bit more - digital stuff, not so much

[@stav2002]

@@JayEmmOnCars other industries use analogue signals for far more important purposes, and don't get involved in such manufacturing methods technologies or expense for cabling. They would do if it made a difference, it just doesn't.

[@RobWhittlestone]

@@stav2002 I tried some 'slightly expensive' speaker cables - and my wife could hear the difference which she classed as "better". I can hear a huge improvement over the predecessor. (Bass depth & impact, instrument separation, more tonally neutral). Initially I didn't believe the cable hype either. I am a physicist and know the theory and agree they shouldn't make any difference at those frequencies. But they do. So the theory isn't refined enough. That's the history of physics in a nutshell! Also psychacoustics is an interdisciplinary field that is very much in development (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoacoustics) so not everything is known. For example, why do supertweeters make such a big difference (mine operate up to 90kHz, I can hear max 13kHz as a tone, probably quite a bit less) and they make the bass sound better! It lies in subtle cues that we are only beginning to understand, which the brain exploits but which we are not *conscious* of. Same with subwoofers - why do they improve the midrange when they don't perceptibly operate higher than maybe 200 Hz? We just don't know. Conventional physics would say they can't make a difference but we can hear it. Last point: you have to train your hearing, like any other sense - I've been in this hobby for 50 years so my hearing subtleties is better than other non-music/non-hi-fi enthusiasts of the same age. All the best, Rob

[@doalwa]

The most ludicrous thing in this video is that little piece of unobtainium called a PlayStation 5 just casually sitting there in the background 😳

[@wadehampton4499]

James, the amount of superb audio/Hi-Fi equipment now available is staggering. Whilst I can see the point of not over-spending in that most of us can't really tell the difference, that ignores the sheer joy of owning and operating very high quality systems. Back in 1975, most of my friends were listening to records on music centres (remember them ?) We went to a "proper" HI-Fi dealer in Southampton who set up a demo with a Sansui SR-212 belt drive turntable, a (pre-owned but immaculate) AU-101 amplifier and a pair of KEF Coda speakers. As soon as we heard the opening notes of "Tubular Bells" we were hooked ! I still have the system, now set up in my study but now also incorporating a good quality CD player. The turntable was serviced by a very clever chap in Guildford about two years ago and it all still sounds wonderful. In fact. some of my friends like to come round and listen as I have retained all of the LP's we bought in the 1970's and early '80's ...well they did until this blasted pandemic came along !

[@depechem0demusic]

Sonus Faber are amongst the finest speakers-I’m also a fan of Dynaudio

[@totalplonker824]

Aww Reading your comment from from my little council flat, makes me feel good 😁

[@8000audiolab]

please more of this! i am a hifi buff and currently have a full mark levinson system incorparating a 390s cd processeor, 380s pre amp and a 336 power amp driving revel studios. a good few years old but it sounds sublime backed up by shunyata mains cabling and nordost tyr speaker cable and valhalla xlr and grand prix audio monaco rack...yes cost me a good few thousand but the pleasure it gives me is priceless

[@nswgb69]

Yes please! More of this. In the last year or so, I have gotten back into high-end HIFI & AV equipment. Spending so much time at home these days means that I'm rediscovering a love music & vinyl records with art works. It's to cold to be out in the e28 M5 anyway!

[@denisspratt926]

This was a welcoming video. Having worked with Sonus Faber and McIntosh when I sold HiFi some years ago. I have a Hegel, Clearaudio and System Audio setup at the moment. Spent about 20K on it. But am upgrading later this year after I move. Hope to see more of these. Keep up the good work.

[@scottscottsdale7868]

I just watched this video again. I am amazed how well Mr Jay presents this. So much more clear than audiophile presenters.

[@richardjones38]

Cables at those prices remind me of the old Harry and Paul sketch 'Saw you Coming....'

[@AndyfromSurrey]

When we moved into our house I wired up my speakers using some cheap speaker cable that had knocking around. Thought it sounded ok. Later on I thought I would upgrade the speakers as I believed they were lacking. Spoke to my local hifi shop and explained that I wanted to upgrade my 10 year old Paradigm speakers. He seemed surprised as he remembered these speakers and said they were bloody good speakers that they wish they still made. He asked me about the speaker cables and I owned up them being cheap bog standard supplied with a boxed stereo! So I changed the cables and was gobsmacked at the difference in sound. Louder & much more punchy.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Yep, the difference is real

[@Dave-in-France]

In my late 20's I was seriously into Hi-Fi and, after a few attempts ended up with a Linn Sondek LP12 and arm, NAD amps and some decent speakers and for me HI-Fi was like a rabbit hole that never led to musical nervana. I was never sure I had the T-table optimally installed, or the best cables etc etc so I got rid, bought myself a Rega Planar 3, cheap amp and speakers, turned it up, drank a beer and sang along - BLISS!

[@TJagg]

Love this stuff James! More of this content is definitely welcome! Good stuff

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Glad you enjoyed it Toby, got some more ideas in the pipeline

[@SH-mo9pz]

Definitely welcome! Would love to see some car audio content too. Maybe even some boy racer style sound systems would make for a very entertaining video.

[@turntableman100]

@@JayEmmOnCars you should do more hifi review. You are really easy to listen and explain as well. So you should do beginners advice wow

[@arisaga822]

Saved for years to get my big Sonus Faber floorstanders. Just looking at them makes me smile.

[@clownworld-honk410]

I'm sure my neighours would be delighted if I came home with that kit !

[@tonykowalski4189]

I wouldn't be surprised if James suddenly talk about coffee or watches next week

[@johntearle]

Thanks James. Appreciated and enjoyed the video. In the middle of moving house and then looking to build a (moderate) system so may well check out DB HiFi!

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Give him a call John and he'll hook you up with something great whatever the budget. I'll pop by if I can!

[@DAVIDE-bk8by]

Nothing beats a 50 year old pair of Quad electrostatics and a good valve amp.

[@reganscoullar7474]

My dads 2014 black edition Subaru Legacy had a Macintosh stereo which was OEM and it looked awesome, but he has soo many cars but the best sounding stereo is his 2010 Shelby GT500 shaker 1000 stereo system which has a perfect amount of bass, treble and clarity

[@davey_projects2977]

You had me until the cables..

[@danielgarrad]

I know, utter nonsense. Who pays that much for copper cable .It must be the best coppery cable with extra special copperiness ever !

[@Oystein87]

Well. It's worth to spend some money on cables on a high-end system but there isba limit of how much It's worth😅

[@Oystein87]

@@fredriksvard2603 Cables are actually not snake oil. Differences in purity of the metal has an influence. But just to a certain degree. Spening thousands is just retarded. I actually did not belive cables had anything to say before I got some new ones after buying new speakers. I got them cheap since I know the dealer well so I just got them because they looked better in my system🤣 But after alot of testing I found that the highs got a bit smoother and nicer sounding. So there is some thruth to it. But not to the degree some claim... It's often alot of money for a very small return.

[@gilesl]

same

[@TheMentalblockrock]

Component cables make more of a difference than speaker cables, I spent £100 on leads for my CD player and yes, that did make a difference over £10 leads. More clarity and bass definition.

[@chrissansom1764]

whilst at uni I was lucky enough to sit in on sessions at studios such as abbey road and air and as far as i know they use plain old cables with standard neutrik connectors, i wouldn’t personally buy into the expensive cable stuff

[@tim1polman]

Love you doing a bit of 'hobby' Hifi too. Got a Rotel Michi Pre and poweramp myself, with a set of T+A Criterion T160E speakers. (Those speakers are absolute Amplifier killers.. they go down to around 2 Ohm impedance on the low tones.. not a lot of amps from that time were able to handle them) This was my parents setup, till they bought something different. :-) Very true that the stereo stuff holds its value quite well. If you buy good items 2nd hand, and keep them in good nick, you barely lose any money if you want to sell it later on. I fully agree with the 'harsh' sounding of a lot of setups. (In the netherlands its mostly called 'technical' or 'clinical'. ) This was also the problem with the setup I have now. Since I listen to CD's most of the time, I got myself a Unison Research CD player. The DAC in that one has a tube amplifier, wich softens the sound a little bit, gives it just that little bit more warmth. I'm really happy with the setup as is, I would like to add a subwoofer to it tough, just to get the really low down a bit nicer still. :) I wouldn't mind more of this content. I'm no expert on this stuff, I just know what I like listening too. (and then ask the experts what I'd need to achieve that) so every bit of info is nice I think.

[@Scubaskot]

For those who dont buy into exotic wires should know this: it can be solid, stranded, copper, oxygen free copper, silver, etc -as long as the resistance is kept to be less than 5% of the speaker impedance. eg: if the impedance of a speaker is 8-ohms then the wire resistance should be no more than 0.4-ohms. You can calculate the resistance of a wire with an ohmmeter or it is written on the product or it can be calculated on google, knowing the length and the wire thickness, since they pretty much all are copper wires. The only audiable differance is when the wire has oxidation, corrosion or patina, but you can remove the corroded part and reconnect it. The strategy in selling these expensive cables is, in part, to appeal to those who are looking to impress others with something expensive and 'esoteric'. It pretty much translates to: “Look upon my expensive wires ye' mighty and despair.”

[@scottscottsdale7868]

This was a very good video for explaining very clearly and succinctly what some audiophile channels struggle to explain. Very well done!

[@MrCarGuy]

Modern luxury HiFi is simply one of the largest shams in history. It is playing a game of massively diminishing returns on audio quality. You can get a DAC, preamp, and amp that perform 99%+ as well as luxury items like these for a tiny fraction of the price. And your ear would _not_ be able to distinguish that 1% in a blind listening test. You're basically paying for the material construction/design. Vintage audio gear (power amps etc.) is a great way to get started and hear audio quality that would cost you thousands with today's designs. It's easier to repair too.

[@olik136]

I think the same- but I also don't have the money to prove it...

[@JayEmmOnCars]

*Everything* is a case of diminishing returns. Cars, hifi, computers. I love vintage audio too, and it has a quality of its own but there certainly are differences in higher end kit - its just a matter of deciding whether you think its worth it for you

[@enqane]

Yep you can not hear the difference and people that pretend they do are snobs

[@MrCarGuy]

@@JayEmmOnCars The level of diminished returns all varies. In terms of scientifically differentiated quality heard by the human ear: You basically get _no_ real returns past, say, $350 for a DAC using something like an objective SINAD or distortion measurements. At least you do have more more noticable returns with something like cars because people actually buy crazy expensive cars for the performance. The thing I'm getting at is luxury audio has so many fooled with marketing to the point where people simply use the "more expensive = better" heuristic. As for tower speakers, don't even get me started. Another thing: "Luxury" audio cables are an outright scam. It's nonsense. Nice Japanese Canare cables, for example, are the best you need for anything. Branding means nothing. Just a reminder.

[@fourutubez7294]

Only to those with cloth ears or those that repeat what they read on the net / in mags without listening to anything .

[@afrojoe24]

Love that you are also including HiFi audio in your videos! Please do more of this! 💥💥

[@pauldeacon406]

I've got a relatively 'modest' CD system with Musical Fidelity CD player, Primaluna amplifier & Raidho loudspeakers that I listen to most days. The sound is fabulous & it has reduced my partner to tears when listening to her favourite music... ❤

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Amazing what it is like listening to some tracks on a good stereo, genuinely emotional

[@simonelliott5956]

I've spent my entire career in the Hi-Fi and home cinema and AV control & integration industry, both residential and car audio. How I managed to miss this video is beyond me! Anyway, a fine choice of equipment there and a good down to earth explanation of real Hi-Fi. It needn't break the bank (unless you get addicted, same with cars) but you can really improve on the run of the mill stuff for not a lot more, especially if you find a dealer like James, who can walk you through it. Excellent video!

[@Carrera-gp9od]

Macintosh amp with VU metres 👍🏻👍🏻 nice ! The speakers are beautiful too

[@johnmitchell2269]

I feel the need to write a car related comment, but appropriate to this subject. The first time I ever fitted an install in my first car, I placed the power cables down the same side of the car as the speaker cables. This caused a tempest, which meant that every time I accelerated it made my car sound like it was supercharged. A rookie mistake, but we all learn from our mistakes don't we? I wasn't prepared to pay all that money for an expert to fit my Pioneer 6X9's, 10 inch Pioneer sub, 4 channel amp and an Alpine head unit, instead I saved money by fitting it all myself, cutting out holes in my oem parcel self, only to realise that the parcel shelf was too weak to hold the 6X9's. Then figuring out that earthing an amp is a thing. I was only 18 back then.

[@juniorballs6025]

Nice welcome change from the norm, I'm all for more of these every now and then 👍😎

[@RobWhittlestone]

Yes! More Hi-Fi videos! Thank you - as a lifelong hi-fi enthusiast, you really hit the nail on the head and told it how it is. Very good. "Stereo stuff has a much longer shelf life..." Absolutely. My Exposure pre/power amplifier is 30 years old and still going strong - in fact, as a result of some recent tuning detail upgrades (cleaner power) it has never sounded so good. Same with the KEF Reference Three Four speakers (20 years old) which are now singing (bottom and top extension) like never before. All the best, Rob in Switzerland.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Yep, until recently I was running Ruark speakers in my lounge from the 1990s and they sounded great

[@KeithZim]

I was invited to a guys home to demo his system once. He showed off the dual 220v (in usa we are 120v so this is significant) mains he had installed 1 for each channel. Each amp was about the size of that mac. Each amp had a power conditioner. Before he powered it up he pointed us to the street light outside. It dimmed when it hit the button. After a variety of stuff he played some Megadeth at a volume so high it hurt and made my physically ill. I was sore the next day. In a normal room in a normal house he had 4 massive speakers with 18 inch drivers and a variety of mids and highs. He said these were custom made at 50k each. The amps where another 200k. The CD player which he claimed was the only on the market that would not skip in this environment was several grand it self. Literally half a million dollar home audio system that could probably kill a person.

[@davebarron5939]

Nice work, always enjoy your presentations. Your passion for a particular item always comes through, along with your "big picture" speaking too and not down to your audience, is wonderful. Additionally, it proves itself out in these periodic, enjoyable deviations of content. Thanks.

[@cliveyboyb5770]

Nice one mate I was enthralled by the whole video. You just educated a petrol head how to become an audiophile

[@The_Original_Geoff_B]

At the start of the 80's I got to be a regular visitor to Eulipion Audio in Manchester. I was an impoverished student, but they were only too happy to let me loiter and listen to some incredible kit - Krell, Mark Levinson, Naim, Linn, Oracle . . . I still can't afford stuff like that, but I learned enough to build a nice little system on a budget (including ex-demo stock). My most expensive item is the Rega Planar 3 turntable which plays through a Class A head Amp (Pro-Ject SE). And I still have my first CD player - a Marantz CD63 SE II.

[@yellowledbutter]

The room has a bigger effect on the sound than any piece of tech, getting some EQ Acoustics panels and traps in the room will make even a cheap system sound better than a high end system in a regular room

[@ApothecaryTerry]

I wouldn't say the room has a bigger affect at all, but it is certainly significant (as per my slightly long winded separate comment). Same as the cables, it's an area people often miss, although I'd probably spend more on the room than the cables- although there are many good cheap ways to sort a room out.

[@yellowledbutter]

If you have measured a lot of systems you know objectively it is the biggest factor. Cables reach a point of diminishing returns very quickly - pure copper with decent connectors is pretty much as good as it gets. Rooms resonate at low frequencies and create phase cancellation as a result of reflections at mid and high frequencies (above the so called Schroeder frequency). The hifi world is only starting to accept this - the recording industry that produces all the music that hifi people listen to figured this out in the 50s and 60s. Note - I’m not saying other aspects of the system can’t make or break the experience but if you A/B a properly treated vs untreated domestic room the difference is far more dramatic than changing any of the electronics except perhaps the speakers.

[@ApothecaryTerry]

​@@yellowledbutter It's a big factor, probably joint 2nd biggest after speakers and level with the amp. Speakers will always be biggest simply because they're the source of the actual sound. It's like food- cheap ingredients and eating in a toilet will ruin a meal, but if you have to get 1 thing right then it's the cooking, the thing that transforms those ingredients into your experience. All the bits count though, so regardless of the balance I totally agree that the room is far too often overlooked. Thankfully slapping a rug on the wall of most rooms will dramatically help! Especially if you have drywall - bricks are a bit trickier. People also don't think enough about positioning- high end stuff is designed to avoid difraction distortion but ultimately if the tweeters aren't facing your ears and aren't perfectly equidistant from them, it'll sound wrong. Sound is slow, can get serious phasing by just being 50cm out of alignment.

[@wrighty338]

High quality audio files, through high quality modern decks and into a set of £1000 studio monitors is more than enough for me.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

That's similar to the setup I use most of the time - in my study. Cyrus ONE HD, plus KEF R100

[@jfro5867]

Really enjoyed that. Best talk through I have watched TBH. Another tip is to keep all the boxes and packaging that the speakers etc comes in so that when you come to p/x it is easy to return it safely plus it shows/suggests you care for your stuff and shops like that.

[@ronkindel383]

I find it interesting that you made this video. I love sports cars. I also consider myself a audiophile. For the price of my modest Miata I can have a very good stereo rig. I will never own a Porsche but I can afford some very nice audio gear, even tubes.

[@pesto9]

Raises hand, into cars AND hi-fi here, too. Totally dig this little side-tour.

[@kev-the-windsurfer.]

I have a McIntosh system which is worth nearly as much as my Ferrari.......Good Audio gear is essential!! You are so correct in McIntosh being "easy to listen to", completely agree, however I like the Blue/Black/Green slightly gothic look.....but like anything its all personal preference....I am an electronics technician, I make my own cables. I do not subscribe to the snake oil relating to cables.

[@wm2357]

Cables are snake oil. They do have different sound characteristics but for example a £10 000 Nordost won't sound better than a £100 mogami.

[@cockpiss9260]

@@easygroove3204 100% agree. The Sound Guys did this with expensive cables and coat hangers and it was about 50/50 in blind testing.

[@rickh1634]

Yes, expensive wine is the same as cheap too - no difference. 🙄

[@kenw1295]

Yep, been there, done it. Different yes, better no.

[@cockpiss9260]

@@rickh1634 There's thousands of variables with wine. With sound you're limited by the laws of physics and the defined frequencies the human ear can detect.

[@ApothecaryTerry]

The £10k cable is definitely ridiculous, but while I would never condone spending loads on a cable, it is definitely worth putting a little effort in to match the right cable to the equipment.

[@thedetailingdoctor5746]

I like the way your guy builds a setup each item not by brand but by purpose and capability.

[@sportzntouring]

Now that's a slick setup!!!!

[@TheRoverspeed]

Audiophiles are the only group of people more tenacious than conspiracy theorists in their beliefs. :-D If I spent that kind of money of snake oil speaker cables, it want to convince myself it made it sound like you had new speakers! 😃

[@danielszedlacsko2331]

Buying new cables without testing is like buying a new car without a test drive....trust me, few people who buy expensive cables are that silly.

[@paulallwood6033]

Love a bit of geeky Hifi content James. My dad was an avid fan of Meridian Hifi and I used to spend my nights being told all about acoustics and standing waves and sound staging etc etc. I remember for a couple of years sections of our living room wall being covered with egg boxes for sound deadening, much to my mums anger

[@NH00531]

Really good video, hadn’t realised until now that a DAC is what I need. Sadly my system resides under the bed until the kids are old enough not to fill it with jam, bits of lego etc! The occasional curve ball in content is no bad thing.👍

[@rekleif]

Garbage in = garbage out. Jus do NOT spend any extra dough on digital cabling. They will sound identical. If you want to color you sound, only analog cables has that ability.

[@scottscottsdale7868]

@@rekleif with respect, I disagree with this comment. Audio quest makes HDMI cables that do make a huge difference to video and sound. My wife and I spent a solid evening proving this to ourselves, but up to a point. But I agree, if you have to squint real hard to hear a difference, it probably is not worth the money. But it is fun to compare and explore.

[@cockpiss9260]

@@scottscottsdale7868 Nonsense. You're experiencing the placebo effect.

[@scottscottsdale7868]

@@cockpiss9260 folks experience things differently. It makes a difference to me. Have fun

[@marcnobel3938]

I love to see a great Hifi System. One of my uncles had just a room full of that stuff with one chair in the middle to listen to music. Nobody was allowed in until he invited you to come inside. Not even his daughter was allowed to go inside alone. I remember Battery Systems so you don`t have frequencies when you get the electricity directly from the normal plug (?), golden connectors, record players standing on little buffered triangle feet, a machine to paint the outer edge of a CD black (for some reason), speakers that looked like big snail shells with something on top, an amplifier for each speaker, a strange Pyramid (I think that was the CD Player - not sure anymore), some measuring devices and his own instruments (as he played Jazz in his free time too). I remember him having a hard time even accepting a CD Player for his room. There was something wrong with that medium in terms of the sound :-D - I was happy with my Yamaha, Kenwood, SABA, and JBL Professional speaker combination.

[@davidbee9563]

Many years ago, the local high end audio store used to have open house demo days. These started at their shop then grew to the point of moving to a group of new model homes. You could listen to many different set ups in a real world environment. Another plus was to bring a CD you are familiar with and hear it on another system. Kind of like bringing the roads near you to a new car release. Over the years I have bought many trade ins and demos from them so I can enjoy good sound on my budget. A favourite CD I would bring is Dave Brubeck Take 5 which represented state of the art analogue recording from 60 years ago. Modern over engineered edited digital does not compare to the character of original recordings. The detail you can hear on a proper system was amazing. An extra they would include was a seminar on some audio/music topic with a guest. One time there was an award winning Canadian sound producer who worked on and edited many films. He explained the whole process of recording, isolating and layering of the soundtrack onto film. This revealed the efforts they go to produce something that, hopefully, sound natural when recreated in a theatre. Just a few thoughts. Enjoy what you have. Take time to actually listen to music not just as filler. And, most importantly, take advantage to hear the real thing live and in person- when possible. The local university has concerts of visiting musicians, teachers and students for free in a top class concert hall for free on a regular basis. To hear someone play an instrument on stage naturally is something no recording and system can reproduce. As for live jazz, that is something else entirely; when it works...it can be like driving your favourite car on an empty mountain road on a sunny day.

[@boots_n_coots]

In the rarefied air of high-end audio, £60k ain’t squat. However James, you have put together a very fine system there. I’ll bet it makes beautiful music!

[@threezerol944t]

I FUCKING KNEW IT!!!! MCINTOSH BABY!!! EXCELLENT TASTE AS ALWAYS JAY.

[@billymonkey111]

I spat my drink out every time you said a number. 9k of speaker cables. 9 thousand pounds sterling

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Yep, and the scary bit is you can spend a lot more

[@LiamE69]

@@JayEmmOnCars There is one born every minute.

[@mauricefitzgerald4875]

@@JayEmmOnCars Love your channel and content, but as a life long audiophile the entire cable thing is where it goes off into the audiofool territory. Its been well proved that any difference you hear is psychoacoustics and this is where the big margins are for the dealers.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

There is a reason I don't have extremely expensive cabling in my own system, but differences certainly do exist. Whether they are improvements, or whether they are worth it, is certainly up for debate

[@cockpiss9260]

@@JayEmmOnCars The debate was settled years ago in multiple objective tests: there is no difference. I'd pay a little bit more for build quality if I was running them behind walls where replacing them would be a PITA. There will be no sound quality improvement. I really enjoy your car stuff though so keep up the good work!

[@murrieteacher]

Love the Mac amp. The speakers are yum. If you are spending 60k on gear a few thousand on cables is not going to be difficult. I spend money on good cables because I can. Thanks for the video James.

[@strandvaskeren]

Please test it properly with a blind test, it cuts down on the amount of rubbish being peddled in the hifi world. Pull up a chair in the sweet spot and have your mate James roll a dice, even and he connects the mcintosh, odd and he connects a decent £200 amp instead and then plays some music for you. You then get to guess if you're listening to the expensive mcintosh or the decent, cheap amp. James writes down the true answer and your guess. Rinse and repeat 10 times. Next let James take the seat and blindfold, while you roll the dice and connect whatever the dice indicates and then James gets to use his ears to try an figure out which amp he's listening to. Rinse and repeat 10 times. Once you figure out, that yes, you can hear the difference between speakers when blindfolded and not knowing the correct answer beforehand, you'll correctly identify which speaker is playing 10 out of 10 times, but you guesses are random when it comes to identify if it's a really expensive amp or a decent £200 one, a really expensive dac or a decent £200 one, if it's really expensive cables or regular old wire you would use for a lamp, your hifi hobby gets a lot less expensive. Spend your money on speaker and the pickup on your turntable (if you're into turntables) anything else and you wont be able to hear the difference unless you know beforehand what you're listening to. Blind test it and prove me wrong.

[@TheMadTatter]

This isn't the sort of content I would personally seek out as a rule, but I must admit it was an interesting video which was every bit as well put together as your car videos, so I would imagine pretty well spot on for people who are seriously into that sort of thing. I very much have the old "champagne taste, shandy money" when it comes to things like HiFi systems so it's not really a priority to me, but nice to aspire to these types of things.

[@robbwatson2088]

Love to see your system. Personally, my budget is on the small side. Which is why I live vicariously through your videos. Lol. I do however have a nice JM Labs Rotel system that always puts a smile on my face. Cheers

[@R0n8urgundy]

I have a lovely vintage 70’s hifi set up. Techmoan inspired me to build one.

[@michaelyounes29]

Diminishing returns springs to mind but it's cool to see you talking about another passion. Appreciate the content. What's next? Coffee Machines with James?

[@venom5809]

Generally if you are into high end cars you are into high end audio, cameras, watches, boats etc etc. I was never into the home audio that much but when I was younger I competed in car audio competitions and had some crazy expensive systems. I did but a house years ago that had about $50,000 worth of home audio in the basement, McIntosh and all that jazz, but when I sold it I sold it with everything, never used the stuff. Cameras are my thing these days.

[@The-Batman]

I noticed you don't have any acoustic treatment in the room. I believe that's something that would serve the quality of your listening experience over upgraded hardware.

[@tomeasterbrook9486]

Best most expensive system in the world will still sound rubbish in the wrong room

[@The-Batman]

@@tomeasterbrook9486 Exactly, you may get some more detail but the more power you put into it the more reflection you get seriously degrading the sound.

[@paulambrose3003]

There's a lot of equipment I could Naim 😂😂😂😂😂 brilliant!!!

[@Thanos.m]

Great content ! And nice to see a change I personally I love Hi-fi but I tend to go for vintage equipment

[@davidm-1965tb]

thanos mousios i have recently got back into hifi, and went back to valve amplification. PrimaLuna look and sound stunning. And refreshingly, when at hifi dealers, the emphasis is on "sound" not like the old days where it was all about specification/distortion etc..

[@fourutubez7294]

My friend is into the the older kit too . She has A Townsend Rock Reference with a Cartridge man cartridge , Beauhorn Virtuoso speakers and her amp name escapes me but its a big valve integrated thing that uses huge valves ( about 9/10 inches high)

[@davidcooper5442]

AAAHHHHHHHHH a true Gentleman. A hi fi enthusiast and car guy. Decent HiFi is one of my main hobbies and i spend far too much of my money on this hobby. I also have been designing and building my own speakers for over 25 years. I watched this video via my computer into a DAC then into a pre amp and then into a pair of 175 wpc stereo power amps so the speakers are Bi Amped. Yes you are correct that Bi Amping is a very worthwhile investment. The speakers are a pair of my own design 3 ways using 2 8 inch bass drivers , a 5 inch midrange driver and a tweeter. Sounds excellent. If you have a sense of humour why not go onto my You Tube page and enjoy a few videos of my various HiFi systems. Many thanks for this James. As an aside if you would care to consider a HiFi home visit after Lock Down has ended you would be welcome to have a test listen. I am in North Suffolk so not a million miles from you. Look forward to the next HiFi video

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Drop me an email David

[@davidcooper5442]

@@JayEmmOnCars Hi James , did you get my email?

[@JayEmmOnCars]

@@davidcooper5442 Yep, and replied - check your spam! :)

[@CoatsandGaiters]

This had me smiling lol HiFi is such a crazy area and boy the prices can go to the moon and back. Did you listen to any of the valve amplifiers Jayemm? I remember when I was 14 ripping open my NAD 2020B amplifier to hard wire the thing with huge cooker cable in that search for the slightest improvement in sound only to find it had to be Oxygen Free copper lol. I stopped when I got to B&W DM603 S2 and found my hearing was getting damaged because I kept enjoying my music too much. I then sold it all and accepted I was lucky to still be able to hear and quit while I was ahead haha I am surprised how the my children's generation doesn't seem that interested in how much more enjoyable a decent HiFi can be to the music pleasure. Not sure if the iPod dulled things down for them as it was more about portability and quantity of music not quality.

[@CoatsandGaiters]

@@larrysmith6797 fair point it did include Phil Collins lol

[@ArmaganDemiral]

This looks like an advert from the 1990’s

[@MrGarycoww]

Its his shirt isent it! 🤣🤣

[@Neojhun]

Nah Hifi got a massive boost with the HiRes digital age. When music delivery of high quality Lossless Files became mature. Then the crazy equipment that can exploit that data became available. Basically a new genre of Computer-Audiophile now exist. The central tool for this massive development is DACs. IIRC started around 2010s.

[@user-qq2mo1ek2r]

I'm with you James. Cars and Hifi are my passions and have spent years putting my home system together, I'm not at Sonus Faber level of speakers but my home system is probably valued at £20k all in. I'm still at turn table and CD having spent a lot of time considering streamed music but I just do not get that's it's anywhere near as good a sound as vinyl/CD but for parties etc it's so much easier

[@wesleykhalil5006]

Sonus faber

[@peterwood2633]

Concept 500s by Q acoustics, Yamaha AS series amplifier, £400 DAC, Sonos connect. Done

[@Kasim_Mahmood]

A different sort of content on tech sound systems, suprised, but I like it. 👍

[@stevecotterill7981]

We can also talk about watches... 🤣

[@JayEmmOnCars]

I am not talking about watches

[@iainmackenzie3704]

Don't let this go to your head, but that was an excellent presentation James.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Awww thanks Iain

[@Maccaboy1984]

Would love to see more videos on the audio side. Your thoughts on usability, features etc would be great.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Certainly got some ideas going forwards

[@rravat]

Some more audio videos would be great and if possible, a video on your home hifi/av setup

[@Frank-1978]

This was great thank you James. Keep them coming 👍 I love music but get confused at times with all the different tech and the reasoning behind each separate unit and so on so I'd be interested in seeing more from you on audio equipment. Love the content 👍✌

[@horrgakx]

That is some NICE kit.

[@gavinabdul7762]

James you hitting the right notes on a regular basis....who needs mainstream media

[@TheMentalblockrock]

Nice Video James. Only two things wrong with that HiFi ; Source 1) Was not a high end turntable, Amp 2) was not a valve amp. please do a video on a high end turntable (at least as good as a Mitchell Gyro-deck) paired with a nice valve amp. Valve amps very rarely have the overly bright "harshness" you talk about and are very easy and pleasant to listen to due to the way that the valves in a valve amps work to amplify the audio signal. An if you're talking about high end audio a high end turntable will sound better than a high end CD every time comparing the same album (all things being equal of course). Especially if the whole production chain from recording the musicians to mastering the vinyl was 100% analogue.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

How often is the entire chain actually analogue now though?

[@TheMentalblockrock]

@@JayEmmOnCars It is if the record is mastered in the right place! You can STILL give Abbey Road a 1/4 " stereo master tape reel and they will cut the stampers "direct metal mastering" using a purely analogue signal chain. AND lots of bands are now going back to analogue tape recording and mixing. PLUS- a huge part of my record collection is pre 1982 vinyl so will all be all analogue any way.

[@360trev]

Alas, my beloved system is in storage right now but it comprises of an exquisite J. A Mitchell Gyrodec turntable with upgraded Origin Live tonearm, Marantz monobloc Reference series power amps in bi-amp mode and B&W Diamond speakers among other things like a Marantz Super CD digital front end (remember them? 😛). Watching this makes me miss it.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

I just bought a couple of SACDs!

[@johnlager584]

Second hand cables are a fraction of the new price and they don’t wear out. Cables do have an effect that even I can hear, i chose a warmer sounding cable, even expensive cable can sound mediocre with the wrong match. It’s a slight difference but as he said it makes longer listening more pleasurable.

[@Kulumuli]

I've compared Dali and Sonus Faber speakers of similar cost. They do sound very different from another. I like the Sonus Faber sound better. But I think it's worth trying out both to find the right sound for you.

[@chuckschillingvideos]

BTW, cables do NOT have character. They are either noisy or not noisy (due to interference). They either pass all (or nearly all) of the signal or they don't. They do NOT have character.

[@atlantikav5902]

You need a nice REL No.25 to finish off the system, will improve your system massively! Great interesting review!

[@Santoshlv426]

Hey what a coincidence. i have just upgraded my stereo system. My two passions are Audio and cars so great video and being as informative and interesting as the car reviews. Make this a regular feature. I had the oppertunity to listen to a Mcintosh and Sonus Faber set up not so long ago. It was good for sure, but IMO not worth the asking price. But keep these videos coming. I'll be sharing it with our local audio forum

[@ru55ells]

8:01 He looks nervous while he's reciting the cables story he's been told. His eyes keep flickering to someone off screen who is mouthing "Sell the cable, I make massive margins on that stuff"

[@maxvinzi]

Just got a pair of Wharfdale Diamond 11.5s in for my home system. Love the video James!

[@rickh1634]

The most important part in any hifi is neither the amp nor the speakers, it’s the source. So, for example, if your source is a turntable - the most important bit of the whole system is the tip of the cartridge. From the tip backwards, the system shines a light on the information taken from the media by the tip, so if the tip is shit, all the rest of the hifi will do - is tell you how shit it is, the better the system - the more it will tell you. Source first then everything after.

[@Mattia.1973]

That was kind of unexpected, if you will. I’ve always been in cars and hi-end and massive supporter of Sonus Faber speakers, in particular the early models designed by Franco Serblin, made just few miles away from my home town. I actually have 2 sets and both running SF but when it comes to amplifier I have no doubts: it has to be Accuphase

[@jamieogorman9461]

No decks?

[@izumispa2993]

Jay is a lot more interesting at hifi than his excellent series on cars...what a pleasant surprise...well done!

[@andrewfitzmaurice7843]

Great to see this review. I love my old Linn system, but do need to replace my Rega turntable with an LP12.

[@Si1983h]

Blimey, you sound just like me, I’m running a pimped out Rega P5 with an otherwise all Linn system... it’d a lovely deck the Rega but I’d happily put it in my second (also Linn) system and put an Akurate spec LP12 in my main system (if I could afford it).

[@andrewfitzmaurice7843]

@@Si1983h That certainly is incredibly close! I just need to get saving for an LP12.

[@paulgalpin1786]

I always maintain that with “High End” HiFi there is something called The Law of Diminishing Intelligence. This is the effect on someone’s decision making. Never mind the actual equipment, once they start spending stupid money on speaker cable, mains conditioning, interconnects etc etc etc, especially for digital sources, that is when it applies most. A £10 HDMI lead will produce a quality of picture and sound that is not perceptibly different to a £100 one to an average person. With High End stuff there really is much sorcery going on to assist in the emptying of your wallet. I challenge a normal person to go listen to a £5000 set up and then a £50,000 set up and tell me if they really can perceive £45000 worth of difference.

[@future62]

In the process of upgrading my kitchen system now! I probably haven't spent $600 on everything but I got a DAC, DSP, streaming box and am building some panel speakers.

[@D.Cairns]

Really love seeing something different!!.. I’m a composer and complete audio nut, Thanks for sharing James 😊😊

[@davidphillips7255]

Back in the 70's stereo's were THE thing. I wish now that I had invested all the money I spent I spent on bigger better newer. I would be rich. About 30 years ago I finally got smart. I went to the best high end audiophile store and hit the used equipment room. For a few thousand dollars I was able to put together a killer system that I still have. The stuff rich folks trade in was far better than what I could afford to buy new.