Holy Cow!!

[gmorris]

Holy Crap everyone!!

I finally got to experience some high end gear. Last night on my way home from work, I decided to stop in at an audio/video store. It is called Audio Craft in Fairlawn, Oh for anyone in the Akron area.

I got to listen to the Anthem TLP 1 preamp, the Anthem PVA 2 2 channel amp, Paradigm Studio 80's, some random Sony CD player, Monster Cable M2.2s™ Speaker Cable, and some random interconnects. This was my first time listening to gear of this high caliber. It was awesome. I finally understand all the catch phrases about soundstage width & depth, imaging, detail, all that stuff.

It was very cool.

[tryrrthg]

That first experience is always the best!

If you REALLY want to hear some HIGH end gear, drive on down to Columbus for a day. Go to Progressive Audio. No words can describe the stuff you'll hear there!

www.progressiveaudio.com

[gmorris]

i just checked out that website, man alive. that store is the cat's pajamas, the bees knees! (just saw School of Rock)

I will have to stop in there next time i'm in Columbus. i will be shooting on down there to check out the Sofa Express outlet store for a new leather couch for my new home theater room.

[Tour2ma]

i used to frequent audiocraft's flagship store on carnegie ave in cleveland in the 70's, when it was really high end, e.g., mcintosh, ar, klipsch... 2nd room was advent, epi, etc...

stopped by a couple years ago and definitely has moved to more mid-line stuff.

progressive's line up is more than a bit higher on the food chain...

[gmorris]

yes, I agree the Anthem equipment is more mid-line, but that is why I listened to it, I could potentially afford it. It certainly sounded better than my 7 year old Pioneer receiver, which I now MUST replace.

[bdaley6509]

I grew up shopping at Progressive Audio (still do)...what a wonderful audio shop. Highly recommended.

[dragon1952]

Not to diss Anthem or Paradigm, but your awesome listening experience was no doubt the result of the other aforementioned components.....specifically the Random CD player and Random interconnects. They absolutely rock!!! They are not too well known yet but just watch out! ;)

[Tour2ma]

dragon,
do you have a link to Random you can post?

[gmorris]

dragon1952,

I also forgot to mention the Paradigms were pointed at each other, with me sitting on top of one of them, all the while wearing a Santa hat, pulled down over my entire face. I was also demo-ing the pink noise section of a home theater setup disc. HILARIOUS

[dragon1952]

dragon, do you have a link to Random you can post?

Hmmmm?!?.........just had it here a minute ago!?!?

[dragon1952]

I also forgot to mention the Paradigms were pointed at each other, with me sitting on top of one of them, all the while wearing a Santa hat, pulled down over my entire face. I was also demo-ing the pink noise section of a home theater setup disc. HILARIOUS

:p

[gmorris]

Today, I had a hum dinger of an idea.

I'm going to do a 5.1 surround sound system, but here is the catch. For the 5 speakers, I'm going to use 5 Bose Wave Radios, which will get their input signal from an FM modulator, set to 88.9. Then I'll tune the Wave radios to 88.9, and crank them up. While I'm at it, I'm going to use a ProLogic source instead of Dolby Digital, just because everyone knows mixed mono surround is WAY better than discreet.

At about $2000 just for the 5 Wave Radios, this should be about the most expensive, worst sounding system ever. Haaaaa. I know, it is a great idea. You can copy it if you want.

[Ceruleance]

i'm pretty sure you are going to need the auxillary input bases for all those wave radios. Bose sells em for $99 a pop, so you're at $2500 now

[Wardsweb]

While high end has some advantages, I find most of it comes from bragging rights. Now not to upset anyone who has, loves, and continues to own these high end pieces, I use to be one of you audiophiles. I now consider myself an audio enthusiast. I love the music and find I can get 95% of the way to nirvana on 1/4 the bugdet of a high end system. Do your homework, a lot of research and mainly listen with your own ears. While reviews are a good yardstick you have to hear it for yourself. If you can't hear a difference, don't spend the extra money. Now, having said that here is a picture of a system I no longer have. Sold to fund A LOT of other purchases.

[gmorris]

Yes, I agree. To most people, the differences are very small, but to each his own. That is why I auditioned the Anthem equipment. I'm thinking of buying a great sounding 2 channel system for my first speaker building project. The Anthem equipment is priced very reasonably, plus it had a quality of sound that I'd personally never heard before.

Also, why did you have such a killer system shoved in the corner like that? That rig should have been in a room all its own.

[Wardsweb]

I actually bought new stuff before selling the old, so the Levinson/B&W were moved to this corner before boxing.