High-end audio

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High-end audio is a term used to describe a class of consumer home audio equipment marketed to audio enthusiasts on the basis of high price or quality, and esoteric or novel sound reproduction technologies. High-end audio can refer simply to the price, to the build quality of the components, or to the subjective or objective quality of sound reproduction.

Contents 1 Costs 2 Controversy 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Costs

High-end audio equipment can be extremely expensive. It is sometimes referred to as cost-no-object equipment. Audiophile equipment can run the gamut from budget to high-end in terms of price range.

[edit] Controversy

The human sense of hearing is subjective and difficult to define because it the electrical signals from the ear are interpreted by the brain. Psychoacoustics is a division of acoustics that studies this field.

Measurements can be deceiving; high or low figures of certain technical characteristics do not necessarily offer a good representation of how the equipment sounds to each person. For example some valve (vacuum tube) amplifiers produce greater amounts of total harmonic distortion, but the type of this distortion (2nd harmonic) is not as disturbing as the higher order distortions produced by transistors.^[1]

Items often questioned are accessories such as cables utilizing exotic materials and construction geometries, cable stands for lifting them off the floor (as a way to control mechanically-induced vibrations), connectors, sprays and other tweaks.^[2][3]

[edit] See also

• Audio quality measurement
• Audiophile
• AV Receivers
• European triode festival
• High-end audio cables
• High fidelity
• Professional audio
• Studio monitors

[edit] References

1. ^ The Truth About High End, As We See It, by J. Gordon Holt, October, 1982
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ [2]

[edit] External links

• Stereomojo.com - An independent international web journal dedicated to high-end audio equipment reviews.
• Enjoy the Music.com - A worldwide high-end audio equipment and music review site plus consumer electronic show reports and DIY information.
• The Audio Circuit - Information on and user reviews of loudspeakers, headphones, amplifiers, and playback equipment.
• Stereophile Magazine
• Testing audio fidelity with absolute dynamic range
• theaudiocritic.com - A hifi magazine. See Issue 26, Fall 2000 article The 10 Biggest Lies in Audio