How High-End Audio Makes Audiophiles Pay Again

PremiumHIFI in English

Ever feel like your audio system is never quite finished? This video dives into the endless cycle of high-end upgrades, from pricey cables to diamond tweeters! Find out what really matters in building your dream sound system—and what’s just clever marketing. Watch, laugh, and learn with us! Don’t forget to subscribe for more audio myths busted, and comment below with your favorite moment! #audio #hifi #music #technology #review  👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@premiumhifichannel  0:00 - The Endless Upgrade Cycle in High-End Audio 1:45 - Debunking Myths About Audio Cables 8:11 - Hi-Res Audio: Benefits, Myths, and Reality 15:28 - Amplifiers: Power, Perception, and Facts 25:58 - Speakers: Engineering, Price, and Subjectivity 37:42 - Psychology, Marketing, and Honest Comparisons 40:44 - Enjoying Music Over Gear Obsession 41:35 - Farewell and Final Thoughts

Transcript

00:00Imagine you bought good speakers, and then they tell you, now you need a better amplifier.

00:05You bought the amplifier!

00:07It turns out that it needs the right cables.

00:10You got the cables.

00:12Then it turns out the source component isn't bringing out the system's full potential.

00:15You bought a new DAC and streamer.

00:17Now it's preferable to switch to high res!

00:20And then it turns out that without the right power supply, supports, stands, and even more expensive speakers,

00:26the system still hasn't fully revealed itself.

00:29And a rather strange question arises.

00:31If the audio system already costs tens, or even hundreds of thousands of euros,

00:36why is it always missing something?

00:39Why does every purchase lead to the next thing, without which the music supposedly sounds wrong?

00:45Maybe the point isn't that the system still isn't good enough.

00:49Maybe someone just benefits from it, never seeming complete.

00:54Today we'll look at four ways high-end makes audiophiles pay again.

00:59Let's talk about expensive cables, high res, huge amplifiers, and speaker systems that cost as much as an apartment.

01:07And right away, an important disclaimer.

01:09I'm not going to prove that all expensive equipment is a scam.

01:14Expensive equipment can be beautifully designed, excellently made, and really outperform more affordable options.

01:23The problem starts when luxury is presented as a technical necessity and price is taken as proof of sound quality.

01:29Greetings, dear friends.

01:32My name is Arkady Zenon.

01:34My name is Arkady Zenon.

01:34I am the founder of Premium Hi-Fi.

01:36We are located in Riga, and we connect people to sound.

01:45Audio cables come at different prices.

01:47You can buy the simplest wire for literally pennies.

01:50And the price of pair of high-end cables can reach several thousand, tens of thousands, and sometimes completely outrageous

01:58amounts.

01:58At the same time, a cable is almost the perfect product for audiophile marketing.

02:04Look at how expensive cables are showcased at exhibitions.

02:07Thick snakes with beautiful braided sleeving, huge connectors, wooden cases, certificates, serial numbers.

02:16Sometimes, a cable looks like it's meant to power a small town.

02:21I've personally heard high-end audio equipment salesmen putting on air say,

02:27You can't imagine what happened to our client's system.

02:33After installing this cable, he just couldn't believe how good it could sound.

02:40Well, of course he couldn't believe it.

02:42Especially after he found out the price of the cable.

02:45There are thousands of such stories on audiophile forums.

02:49One cable supposedly adds bass.

02:51Another one makes the highs softer.

02:54A third one expands the soundstage.

02:56A fourth brings the vocals forward.

02:59Silver sounds brighter.

03:00Copper.

03:01Warmer.

03:02And if you mix silver with copper in the right proportion, you'll probably get an audiophile equalizer.

03:08But a simple question arises.

03:11If a cable changes the tonal balance, soundstage, and character so noticeably,

03:16why don't they show us measurements instead of pretty stories?

03:21Where's the graph that shows how much bass the cable added?

03:25How much did it change the frequency response?

03:27And what exactly happened to the signal?

03:30And most importantly, will people be able to hear this difference if they don't know which cable is

03:36currently connected?

03:38A similar experiment was conducted by Stereo Review Magazine back in 1983.

03:42For the test, they used three cables, each about 9 meters long.

03:48The first was a very thin 24 AWG speaker wire.

03:52The second was a regular 16 AWG copper wire, which you could buy at a hardware store.

04:00The third was an expensive, for its time, thick monster cable, about 11.5 AWG.

04:08Eleven people participated in the listening test.

04:11Many of them were already using specialized expensive cables.

04:15First, the participants listened to the system in an open test and knew which cable was connected.

04:21And then an audiophile miracle happened.

04:24Monster Cable received enthusiastic reviews.

04:26Listeners heard deeper bass, more space, transparency, body and atmosphere.

04:33The regular wire seemed more constrained.

04:37Everything happened pretty much the way cables are usually described in reviews.

04:42After that, a controlled double-blind comparison was conducted.

04:47Neither the listener nor the person conducting the specific attempt knew which cable was playing at the moment.

04:53And the magic started to gradually disappear.

04:56A very thin wire really was different.

05:00But the reason turned out not to be the lack of musicality in copper

05:03or a disruption of the energy structure of the soundstage.

05:06A cable made of wire that was too thin and several meters long

05:10had quite high resistance.

05:12Part of the amplifier's power was lost on it.

05:14The volume dropped a little.

05:16And the interaction between the cable's resistance and the speaker's impedance

05:20caused measurable changes in the frequency response.

05:23Oh, the participants heard a real difference.

05:27But what they actually heard was just the normal electrical resistance of a wire that was too thin and too

05:34long.

05:35The most interesting thing happened when they compared a regular 16 AWG cable

05:39with the thick monster cable.

05:41With a special test signal, several listeners were able to distinguish them better than random guessing.

05:49A possible reason was a tiny difference in level or in frequency response.

05:54But when real music was played instead of the test signal,

05:58no one could reliably tell the difference between regular copper wire and the expensive monster cable.

06:04And here it's important not to make the opposite mistake.

06:08This experiment doesn't prove that all cables sound absolutely identical under any conditions.

06:14If the cable is too thin, too long, has high resistance, is poorly connected,

06:20or has oxidized, the difference will really be noticeable.

06:25A cable has resistance, capacitance, and inductance.

06:28All of this can be measured.

06:31You can calculate what cross-section is needed for a specific length.

06:35But to solve this problem, you don't have to buy a cable that costs several thousand euros.

06:43Usually, a quality copper wire of the right cross-section, proper length, and good contacts is enough.

06:50But things like velvety bass, lifelike vocals, airiness, and the emotional depth of a recording are much harder to measure.

07:02Especially if they disappear as soon as the listener stops seeing the cable and its price tag.

07:08When we see a thick beautiful cable, know its brand, its price, read a glowing review, and listen to the

07:15salesperson,

07:16we're not just perceiving the sound, we're also taking in the appearance, the cost, the brand's reputation,

07:23and the expectations that have been set for us.

07:25But when the cable is hidden, and only the music is left, some of that high-end magic suddenly disappears.

07:33That's why I'm not suggesting you buy the cheapest cable you can find.

07:37Buy a decent cable with the appropriate gauge.

07:40And if someone asks you to pay several thousand euros for a wider sound stage and emotional involvement,

07:48ask them to do a blind comparison.

07:51Here at Premium Hi-Fi, you can take expensive components home and calmly make a decision in your own system.

07:58And in my opinion, this is much more useful than any component or any story from a salesman who likes

08:04to puff himself up.

08:11The next great way to make an audiophile pay again is to convince him that regular digital recording quality is

08:19no longer enough for him.

08:21Today, Hi-Res is often presented almost like a cure for bad sound.

08:26Headphones must have a Hi-Res logo, the DAC must be Hi-Res, and a streamer preferably should be too.

08:32And your favorite music absolutely has to exist in 24 bits and 192 kHz.

08:39Only when all the members of this audiophile team come together, the system will finally reveal itself,

08:46the air will fill the sound stage, the musicians will step out of the speakers,

08:51and the neighbors will call the police to kick the drummer out of your apartment.

08:56But let's figure out what exactly Hi-Res means.

08:59The standard for a compact disc is 16 bits and 44.1 kHz.

09:04Such a sampling rate allows you to reproduce frequencies up to about 22 kHz.

09:11That is, a little higher than the traditionally stated upper limit of human hearing.

09:17Hi-Res usually offers 24 bits and higher sampling rates up to 192 kHz.

09:23Technically, such a file is capable of containing much higher frequencies.

09:28For example, a 96 kHz recording can contain a signal up to almost 48 kHz,

09:35but the ability to preserve a 40 kHz frequency doesn't mean that a person can actually hear it as a

09:41normal sound.

09:42It's kind of like putting an instruction manual in a box written in ultraviolet ink.

09:48The information really does exist, but your eyes get no benefit from it.

09:52Human hearing is usually described as ranging from about 20 Hz to 20 kHz,

09:59and sensitivity to the highest frequencies usually decreases with age.

10:05That's why a huge frequency range in a file by itself doesn't necessarily mean there's an audible advantage.

10:11But what's much more interesting isn't the theoretical discussion, but real blind tests.

10:17In 2007, Brad Meyer and David Moran published a study in the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society

10:25about the audibility of CD quality within a high-resolution audio chain.

10:30The experiment lasted for more than a year.

10:33It involved audiophiles, professional sound engineers, and students studying sound recording.

10:38Different systems were used, from studio equipment to serious high-end gear.

10:43People were played high-resolution recordings, SACD, and DVD audio.

10:49But in one of the scenarios, the signal was secretly passed through an additional conversion,

10:54limited to the parameters of a regular compact disc, 16 bits, and 44.1 kHz.

11:02In one case, the person listened to the original high-res setup,

11:05and in the other, the same recording, the same system, and the same volume.

11:09But CD quality was introduced into the chain.

11:12The test was double-blind, and the participants couldn't reliably tell

11:17when this limitation was present in the chain.

11:20The difference could only be detected under special conditions

11:24with the volume turned up very high when the noise of 16-bit conversion became audible.

11:30At normal volume, there was no such advantage.

11:34It would seem we could solemnly bury high-res, lay an expensive cable on top, and call it a day.

11:41But it's not that simple.

11:43In 2016, Joshua Reitz published a meta-analysis in IES,

11:48which combined 18 studies, more than 400 participants, and over 12,500 attempts.

11:56And the overall result turned out not to be absolutely zero.

12:02People showed a small but statistically significant ability to distinguish factors, formats,

12:08especially after special training.

12:10Pay attention to the wording.

12:12A small ability after training.

12:15That's not the same as I turned on high-res,

12:18and instantly was instantly immersed in a three-dimensional soundstage.

12:24Therefore, scientific data does not say that there is no difference at all.

12:29Some trained listeners are able to detect it under certain conditions.

12:35But this data also does not support the marketing myth about the colossal improvements

12:40that every owner of an expensive system will hear immediately after the 24 over 192 appear on your screen.

12:49There's another problem.

12:51When people compare a regular CD and a high-res version of the same album,

12:56they're not always just comparing the format.

12:59The two releases might be made from different masters.

13:02They might have different loudness, compression, equalization, and dynamic range.

13:09Then the difference will really be noticeable.

13:11But the person won't be hearing 96 kHz instead of 44.1.

13:16He'll be hearing different processing of the recording.

13:19A good master in CD quality can sound better than a bad 24-bit 192 kHz master.

13:27A nice sticker doesn't fix a bad recording.

13:32So why do we even need 24 bits and high sampling rates at all?

13:37In the studio, they're actually useful.

13:4124-bit recording gives the engineer a lot of headroom.

13:45High sampling rates can be useful for digital processing, filter work, pitch shifting, slowing down, and using certain algorithms.

13:56But the master file for music production and the finished file for home listening serve different purposes.

14:03A movie is also shot at a very high resolution and with a lot of room for color correction,

14:08that doesn't mean the viewer needs to get the original camera files to understand the story.

14:13That's why I don't call Hi-Res a scam.

14:17It's a real technical format and a great tool.

14:20The deception starts when the Hi-Res logo is turned into proof of sound quality.

14:26It doesn't say anything about the quality of the microphones, the studio acoustics, the work of the sound engineer,

14:32the mastering, the characteristics of the amplifier, the headphones or the speakers.

14:37A 24-slash-192 file can contain a magnificent recording or it can contain a terrible recording.

14:45Just a terrible one with magnificent resolution.

14:48If you like a particular Hi-Res version of an album, listen to it.

14:52But before you replace a perfectly good DAC, amplifier, streamer or headphones just for a new logo, do a proper

15:00comparison.

15:02Take the same master, make Hi-Res and CD versions from it, match the volume exactly, hide the file names,

15:09do 10 or 20 random trials

15:11and only then decide how big the difference is for you personally.

15:17It's possible that once the logo disappears, a significant part of the improvement will disappear too.

15:29The next way to make an audiophile pay again is to convince him that a good amplifier must be huge,

15:36heavy and expensive.

15:38A real high-end amplifier can't just sit on a shelf.

15:42It needs a special stand, preferably made of granite.

15:47Even better, a separate foundation coordinated with the house architect.

15:53Monoblocks look especially impressive.

15:56One for the left speaker, another for the right.

15:58Each weighs 50-100, sometimes even 150 kilograms.

16:02I'm not joking.

16:04If such a monoblock falls to the floor, you, along with the amplifier, cables and what's left of your family

16:10budget,

16:11might end up crashing through to the neighbors downstairs.

16:14But at least the soundstage will finally become deeper, maybe by a whole floor at once.

16:20Manufacturers talk about giant transformers, banks of capacitors, pure class A uncompromising power supply,

16:29and the ability to control speakers with an iron grip.

16:33Reviewers, guys like me, add to that authoritative base full-bodied mids, boundless dynamics, and sparkling highs.

16:42And all of this works psychologically.

16:46If an amplifier weighs 150 kilograms and costs 100,000 euros, it's hard to believe that a small device can

16:56do the same job,

16:57but an amplifier is not a kettlebell.

17:00Its quality is not measured in kilograms.

17:02The main task of an amplifier is easy to formulate, although it's not always easy to implement it well.

17:10You need to take the input signal, increase its voltage and current, and send it to the speakers without adding

17:17anything extra.

17:18A good amplifier should provide a flat frequency response, sufficiently low noise and distortion, low output impedance,

17:28and the necessary power for specific speakers and volume levels.

17:32Now let's see what happens when amplifiers are compared not by sight or by touch.

17:38In 1987, Stereo Review published the famous article,

17:44Do all amplifiers sound the same?

17:48Do all amplifiers really sound the same?

17:51Several completely different amplifiers were chosen for the experiment.

17:56From a relatively affordable receiver, Pioneer costing $200,

18:01to a serious Mark Levinson and huge Julius Futterman tube monoblocks,

18:07costing about $12,000 at 1987 prices.

18:12Today, you can safely multiply that number by 3.

18:16About 25 people participated in the test.

18:19Before the blind test, they were allowed to get acquainted with the system

18:23and independently choose two amplifiers between which the difference seemed most obvious.

18:29Almost everyone heard differences at first.

18:32A deeper sound stage, the smoothness of tube sound, better dynamics.

18:38After that, the models were hidden.

18:40The volume levels were precisely matched, and the blind comparison began.

18:45And the amplifiers suddenly stopped telling the listeners how much they cost.

18:49The participants couldn't reliably identify the models they had chosen.

18:54Even the differences that seemed obvious during open listening were sharply reduced.

19:00A similar pattern appeared in other ABX tests.

19:05When properly working amplifiers were compared at the same volume,

19:09with a suitable load and without overload,

19:11huge differences often turned into much more modest ones.

19:16So, does that mean all amplifiers sound the same?

19:20Number!

19:21And this is where the most important part begins.

19:25Amplifiers really can sound different.

19:27But for that, you don't need a musical soul or some special energy from the transformer.

19:32There are perfectly measurable reasons.

19:36The first is power.

19:39Music consists of dynamic peaks.

19:41The average power may be small,

19:43but a drum hit or an orchestral accent requires much more voltage and current.

19:50If the amplifier lacks power, clipping begins and distortion increases sharply,

19:55almost anyone can hear this difference.

19:58The second reason is a complex load.

20:01The speaker might say 8 ohms on it,

20:03but its actual impedance changes with frequency

20:07and sometimes drops to 3.2 ohms or even lower.

20:11Additionally, a phase angle appears.

20:13In these conditions, the amplifier needs to deliver a large current.

20:17An underpowered amplifier can increase distortion, limit the signal, overheat or activate protection.

20:24This is where a powerful amplifier really makes sense.

20:28The third reason is output impedance.

20:31The higher it is, the more the amplifier interacts with the changing impedance of the speakers.

20:36As a result, the frequency response may change slightly.

20:41That's why some tube amplifiers really can sound different.

20:45Not because tubes understand music better.

20:49It's just that the amplifier and the speakers together create a slight equalization effect.

20:55In a blind test published by Stereo Stereophile magazine in 1989,

21:00the solid-state Atcom GFA GFA 555 was compared to the 300-watt VTL tube monoblocks.

21:09And the listeners actually showed results just slightly above random guessing.

21:13Out of 3530 answers, 1846 were correct.

21:20About 52.3%.

21:22That was just a bit above random chance.

21:26But it's nothing like the huge difference that listeners usually describe openly.

21:32At the same time, measurements showed that the tube amplifier, due to its higher output impedance,

21:39changed the frequency response of the system by up to about 1.5 dB in certain parts of the range.

21:46So much for that tube warmth!

21:49The fourth reason. Volume.

21:51Even a slight advantage in level with a tube amp is perceived as better bass, greater detail and higher dynamics.

21:59If the seller switches between two amplifiers and matches the volume by ear,

22:04the slightly louder device may seem higher quality.

22:08And which device will just happen to be a bit louder?

22:12Of course, the one that's more profitable to sell.

22:16That's why amplifiers should be compared at the same output level,

22:20not by the position of the volume knobs, even if they look about the same.

22:25The fifth reason is noise and distortion.

22:28Hissing, mains hum, intermodulation, instability,

22:32and the way the device behaves when overloaded can really be heard.

22:37But all of this has a physical cause.

22:41If there is an audible difference between amplifiers,

22:44it comes from physical differences in how they work.

22:47Frequency response, power, noise, distortion, output impedance, and interaction with the load.

22:54Engineers have yet to discover the mysterious parameter of musicality per kilogram of mass.

22:59And then comes class D.

23:02For a long time, audiophiles treated it about the same way.

23:06Steam locomotive owners treated the electric motor.

23:09But can a small light and cool amplifier really sound as good as a huge class A device

23:16that can heat your apartment in winter?

23:20Early class D amplifiers really could have

23:23frequency response depending on the load,

23:26high frequency noise, poor output filters, and increased distortion.

23:31Because of this, the belief grew that class D necessarily sounds cold, flat, and unmusical.

23:38But technology has changed.

23:40Modern solutions from Hypex, Purify, and other manufacturers

23:44are capable of delivering very low noise and distortion,

23:48high power, flat frequency response, and low output impedance.

23:53And all of this, surprisingly, fits into a small case and hardly heats up the room.

23:59It creates a funny situation.

24:01In one corner, there's a pair of monoblocks with a total weight of 200 kilograms.

24:07They take up half the room, consume a huge amount of electricity,

24:11and cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of euros.

24:15In the other corner, there's a small modern class D amplifier.

24:19If both devices provide the necessary power, operate without overload,

24:24have a flat frequency response, and don't add audible noise or distortion,

24:28the huge monoblock doesn't get extra points just for its weight and aluminum.

24:34But that doesn't mean the expensive high-end amplifier is bad.

24:38It may have a huge power reserve, work flawlessly with complex speakers,

24:43be excellently built, and serve for decades.

24:46A beautiful case, handcrafted work, exclusivity, and the pleasure of ownership also have value.

24:53People buy mechanical watches and sports cars not just for their basic function.

25:00Deception begins when a luxury item is presented as a technical necessity.

25:04When someone is told that without two monoblocks weighing 100 kg each,

25:09their speakers will never reach their full potential.

25:13That's why before buying an expensive amplifier,

25:16first find out how much power your speakers actually need.

25:19Look at their sensitivity and minimum impedance.

25:23Take into account the distance to the listeners and the actual volume,

25:27and then do a comparison at the same level.

25:29If you can hear the difference, that's great.

25:32It remains to understand what causes it, and whether it's worth the asking price.

25:38Because anyone can see the difference between a 3 kg amplifier and a 150 kg monoblock.

25:45But hearing the difference, without knowing which one is playing,

25:49is a completely different experiment.

25:58And now we've come to the most important part of the audio system.

26:02The speakers, and here, the situation is fundamentally different.

26:07Speakers really do sound different.

26:10Moreover, the differences between speaker systems are usually much greater

26:14than those between working cables or properly selected modern amplifiers.

26:19It is the speakers that turn the electrical signal into air movement.

26:23Here, drivers, enclosures, filters, resonances, directivity, and interaction with the room all come into play.

26:33That's why speaker systems really differ in frequency response,

26:37bass, distortion, maximum volume, and spatial behavior.

26:41But does that mean that a speaker costing 100,000 euros will definitely sound better than a speaker costing 10

26:49,000?

26:49And is a speaker costing a million a hundred times better?

26:53At high-end exhibitions, speaker systems stopped looking like ordinary household appliances a long time ago.

27:00In front of us are lacquered sculptures, aluminum towers, carbon fiber enclosures, exotic wood,

27:07gold-plated parts and drivers made from materials whose names sometimes sound more expensive than your entire system.

27:14If regular aluminum isn't enough, you can use beryllium.

27:18If competitors have beryllium, then use diamond.

27:21And if even a diamond tweeter doesn't impress anyone anymore, you can install supports where metal balls make contact with

27:28real diamonds.

27:30I'm not joking right now.

27:32The company Harma uses diamond tweeters in their very expensive speaker systems.

27:38And in their proprietary isolation system, they use elements with diamonds.

27:43The diamonds under the speaker don't play music, but they do a great job of telling the buyer that they're

27:49looking at a product of exceptional quality.

27:52But it's important not to go to the other extreme here.

27:55A diamond tweeter isn't necessarily just marketing hype.

27:59Diamond has high rigidity with low mass and can be an excellent material for a high-frequency driver.

28:06So there is an engineering justification here.

28:10But the presence of diamond by itself doesn't guarantee anything.

28:14A speaker is a system.

28:16The result depends on the drivers.

28:19The enclosure, the filters, the suspension, the magnetic system, the relative arrangement of the drivers, and the directivity.

28:25And your room has a huge impact on the result.

28:30You can take expensive materials and make a mediocre speaker.

28:35Or you can use relatively ordinary materials and achieve an excellent result, thanks to proper engineering.

28:42And this is where the most important part begins.

28:45Can we even separate the sound from the appearance, size, brand, and price?

28:51Floyd Tool, Sean Olive, and other researchers conducted controlled listening tests of speaker systems,

28:58comparing listener ratings in blind and open conditions.

29:03When people couldn't see the speakers, they judged only the sound.

29:07When the same systems became visible, the ratings changed.

29:11Large, expensive, and impressive-looking models started to be perceived as better.

29:17And smaller, less prestigious systems could get lower ratings, even though the sound physically didn't change.

29:24The music stayed the same.

29:28The room stayed the same.

29:30Only the information about the product changed.

29:33And even experienced listeners weren't completely immune to this effect.

29:37Price, size, brand, and appearance really can influence our perception.

29:43High-end audio makes great use of this mechanism.

29:46If a speaker costs hundreds of thousands of euros, it should communicate that even before the music starts playing,

29:53it should look expensive, complex, unusual, preferably in such a way that a person is afraid to ask the price.

30:02And when the price is finally mentioned, the mind starts looking for justification for it.

30:07For that kind of money, the bass can't just be good.

30:11It has to be fundamental.

30:13The mids should be full-bodied.

30:16The highs should dissolve into infinity.

30:19And the sound stage should be so deep that the vocalist is somewhere out on the stairwell.

30:25And yes, sometimes I describe sound in my reviews with words just like these.

30:31But research on loudspeakers shows one more important thing.

30:36Listeners' preferences are not a complete mystery.

30:40Good speakers usually have a fairly flat frequency response, smooth off-axis behavior, and controlled directivity.

30:49And in many cases, listeners' ratings in blind tests can be predicted quite well by solid measurements.

30:56This is a very inconvenient idea for marketing that's built around secret technologies, musical soul, and miracle materials obtained exclusively

31:06under a full moon.

31:07A poor frequency response doesn't become good just because there's a famous logo on the front panel.

31:15And a small speaker doesn't become bad just because its case isn't carved from a solid block of aluminum.

31:21Price, of course, can be related to quality. A large enclosure costs money.

31:27Deep bass requires serious drivers and volume.

31:31High sound pressure with low distortion requires good engineering.

31:35Complex molds, quality materials, precise assembly, and research all cost money too.

31:42But the relationship between price and sound quality is not direct.

31:47Doubling the price doesn't double the quality.

31:50After a certain level, more and more of the money starts going to other aspects of the product.

31:55The enclosure, the finish, hand crafting, rare materials, limited production, logistics, dealer network, exhibitions, advertising, brand history, and the feeling

32:06of exclusivity.

32:07And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

32:11Skeekers are always in our room.

32:13They can be a beautiful piece of interior decor and a work of industrial design.

32:19A person has every right to pay for carbon fiber, aluminum, rare wood, or a diamond tweeter simply because they

32:26like it.

32:27But it's important to understand which part of the price is for the sound and which part is for luxury.

32:33There's another problem.

32:35Listening in the store, you walk into a beautiful showroom.

32:39In front of you are huge speakers.

32:40They're connected to equipment that costs as much as an apartment.

32:45The salesperson plays a specially selected recording.

32:48Seats you in the right chair and explains in advance what exactly you should hear.

32:54Now pay attention to how natural the voice sounds.

32:57And you pay attention.

32:58Look at how far the sound stage goes.

33:01And the sound stage goes exactly where it was told to.

33:04But then you bring the speaker home.

33:06Instead of the prepared showroom, there are walls, windows, a closet, a table, a sofa, and your wife,

33:13who for some reason refuses to let anyone install bass traps in the middle of the living room.

33:18And a system that costs 100,000 euros starts interacting not with the showroom anymore, but with your real room.

33:26No diamond tweeter can cancel out reflections from the wall.

33:29No logo will fix the bass dip caused by the position of the speakers and the listener.

33:34In a room, the final sound is not created by a single speaker system.

33:38It is created by the speakers, the room, and their placement relative to each other.

33:43That's why much more affordable speakers, properly installed and tuned in a suitable room,

33:49can sound more convincing than a much more expensive system placed somewhere just because it looks better there.

33:57Large, expensive speakers can have real advantages.

34:00For example, deeper bass, higher maximum volume, and less distortion.

34:06If you're listening to a symphony orchestra at a realistic level in a huge room, that matters.

34:14But if you're listening to jazz in the evening at a volume of 70 to 75 decibels,

34:18from a distance of 2 to 2.5 meters, a significant portion of that extreme headroom may never be used.

34:25You buy the ability to reproduce a concert in a huge hall,

34:29but all your life you listen to music in your living room at minimal volume,

34:33so you don't wake up the kids.

34:36That's why, before buying speakers, the right question isn't,

34:40which speaker is considered reference?

34:42Ask yourself, what size is my room?

34:45What volume do I actually listen at?

34:48What kind of bass do I need?

34:49Where will the speakers be placed?

34:51What is their directivity?

34:53What independent measurements are available?

34:55And how well will this system actually work in my home?

35:00But for the high-end industry, it's much easier to ask a different question.

35:04What's your budget?

35:05After that, expensive components start to require each other?

35:09If the amplifier costs 50,000 euros,

35:12it just feels wrong psychologically to connect speakers that cost only 5,000.

35:17If the speakers cost 100,000, then they'll definitely need matching cables, monoblocks, a source, stands and power.

35:25So a person gradually ends up assembling not a system for playing music,

35:29but rather an ensemble of equally prestigious logos.

35:34And here we come to the main conclusion.

35:36High-end doesn't always deceive us technically.

35:39Expensive speakers can be magnificent.

35:42An expensive amplifier can have a huge power reserve.

35:46A diamond tweeter can have a real engineering advantage.

35:51A beautiful enclosure really can be complex and expensive to manufacture.

35:56And the deception begins when the cost of all this is passed off as the cost of sound.

36:02After a certain level, each additional percent of improvement becomes more and more expensive.

36:08And sometimes there's almost no improvement left.

36:11The design changes, the material, the rarity, and the owner's status in the audiophile hierarchy.

36:23So, what did all four chapters show?

36:27Cables really can affect the sound if they're too thin, too long, faulty, or have unsuitable electrical parameters.

36:35But a quality copper wire of sufficient gauge doesn't turn into a musical instrument

36:40just because it's put in a wooden box and given a price tag of several thousand euros.

36:46High-res is a real and useful technical format.

36:49It's great for recording and for professional processing.

36:53But the numbers 24 bits and 192 kHz by themselves don't guarantee an audible improvement in a home system.

37:01The quality of the recording and mastering itself is much more important.

37:06Amplifiers really do differ in power, noise, distortion, output impedance, and their ability to work with a complex load.

37:14But if two properly working amplifiers operate in normal mode aren't overloaded and are matched exactly in volume,

37:22the difference between them may be much smaller than what their cases, weight, or price tags promise.

37:28Speakers affect the sound much more than most other components.

37:32Here, the quality of engineering really makes a huge difference.

37:36But even for speakers, price is not an accurate indicator of sound quality.

37:42Part of the money goes to sound, part to design, materials, manual labor, limited edition, advertising, logistics, and brand prestige.

37:51And there's nothing wrong with that. The problem starts when luxury is presented as a technical necessity.

37:57The same mechanism works in all four stories.

38:00As long as we see the breadth, the case, the thickness of the cable, the HS logo, the size of

38:06the amplifier, and the price tag,

38:08we're not just listening to music, we're also listening to what advertising has imposed on us and our own expectations.

38:14The more expensive the device, the harder our brain tries to find confirmation that the purchase was the right one.

38:19A deeper sound stage appears, the vocals become fuller, there's more air, and more engagement.

38:26But when the device's name and price are hidden, and the volume is precisely matched, some of these discoveries unexpectedly

38:33disappear.

38:35High-end sells not just equipment. It sells a sense of exclusivity and an endless pursuit of an unattainable ideal.

38:43That's why the system is never complete. New speakers need a new amplifier.

38:48The amplifier needs the right cables, the cables need the right supports, and the source needs high-res.

38:54And after every purchase, there's always another component that should finally unlock the system's full potential.

39:01The perfect system for the high-end industry isn't the one that plays flawlessly.

39:06The perfect system is the one that's always missing just one more component.

39:12That's why a sensible audio system doesn't start with the question, how much can I spend?

39:18It starts with a different question, what problem am I trying to solve?

39:23Does this problem have a physical cause? Can I actually hear improvements in a normal comparison?

39:29And is that difference worth the asking price?

39:33Start by focusing on what has the biggest impact on the result. The speakers, their placement, the room, the listening

39:40position, and the bass.

39:42Then choose an amplifier that has enough power for your speakers and your preferred volume level.

39:48Use a laptop, choose proper cables of the right gauge, and go for good mastering instead of just the biggest

39:55numbers on the screen.

39:57Compare equipment at the same volume. If possible, do blind tests, look at independent measurements, take the gear home, and

40:06listen to it in your own system.

40:09Don't even trust me just because I make reviews and sell audio equipment. Check for yourself.

40:14That's exactly why, here at Premium Hi-Fi, we try to give you the opportunity to listen to the equipment

40:21at home.

40:21Because your room, your music, and your ears are more important than any review, including mine.

40:27If after such a comparison, you really like the expensive component more, and buying it doesn't create financial problems for

40:35you, go ahead and buy it. Enjoy it.

40:38You have every right to pay for design, materials, rarity, craftsmanship, and prestige.

40:43Just be honest in separating the cost of sound from the cost of luxury. Buy beautiful amplifiers, buy huge speakers,

40:53even buy cables in wooden boxes if they bring you pleasure.

40:57Just try at least once to hide the logo, remove the price tag, and match the volume exactly.

41:03You might find that the most important upgrade to your system doesn't cost anything at all, because music doesn't know

41:11how much your amplifier costs.

41:13It doesn't see the logo on the speakers, doesn't read the cable certificate, and doesn't care about the sampling rate

41:19on the sticker.

41:20We see all of that.

41:22And maybe the best moment in an audiophile's life doesn't come when he buys another component, but when he stops

41:30listening to the equipment, and finally starts listening to the music.

41:35I'm Arkady Zenin from Premium Hi-Fi.

41:38We are in Riga, and we connect people with sound.

41:41That's all for now.

41:42And yes, may the force of the sound that's right for you be with you.

41:46Come visit us.

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