What do people who have Hi-End systems get?

This is an exciting feeling of musical flow and harmony, clarity, transparency and generosity of the sound picture, the complete illusion of the presence of live performers in your room. As well as emotional pleasure and satisfaction from meeting your idol.

By definition, Hi End means

• The first is the highest level of quality of everything - electronic components, body parts and of course assembly, almost always manual. The artist's signature and an individual passport often accompany such products.
• The second is an uncompromising design and the most expensive high-tech solutions and methods used in production. Borrowing from the aerospace and defense industries is not uncommon.
• Third, if possible, eliminate everything unnecessary from the design, reducing the number of elements to shorten the signal path and have less impact on the sound. Everything ingenious is simple.

Production of Hi-End equipment

Designing and manufacturing Hi-End systems is similar to the art of creating musical instruments. This is the lot of creative, passionate people who understand how to achieve the highest sound quality. It is not for nothing that the founders and owners of many well-known companies and Hi-End brands are musicians with engineering inclinations or engineers who are seriously passionate about music.

Hi-End equipment is capable of revealing another side of very familiar and perhaps beloved music, allowing you to experience the sound palette anew and give vivid impressions. In rare recordings, many draw deep positive emotions from the skill of the great performers of yesteryear.

Our specialists with extensive experience and qualifications are happy to help you in the subtle and delicate process of selecting components for a future Hi-End system.

High-end-audio is a passion for music itself and its reproduction with the best quality; it is the recreation at home of the listener of the musical idea of ​​a composer or performer with maximum naturalness, emotionality and strength. Since the music itself is important, it is necessary to ensure the highest possible, impeccable fidelity of its reproduction.

High-end audio components are unique pieces of sound reproduction equipment that bear only a vague resemblance to all the "stereo systems" sold in department stores. Sound reproduction systems are not home appliances like washing machines or toasters, they are a means of expressing the vast emotional and intellectual potential of the music encoded on our cassettes and CDs.The higher the quality of playback, the deeper our immersion in the music.

The core idea of ​​high-end, expressed in the high-end-annapatype: music and the quality of its reproduction are paramount. Enthusiasts put technical skill and musical sensitivity into creating components that bring us step by step closer to the original musical event. High-end equipment developed by ear, constructed by hand and used for in-depth perception of music.

A common misconception among hi-fi consumers is that high-end audio is necessarily expensive and is essentially nothing more than advanced stereo equipment with fancy features and price tags designed to appeal to millionaires. Sure, its performance may be much better than that of the hi-fi equipment sold at the local radio store, but who can afford it?.. High-end audio equipment seems to be something created only for trained, discriminating listeners - snobs or fans of technical innovations, but not for the average person on the street.

No, high-end audio is something completely different.

First, the term "high-end" refers to the technical characteristics of the product, but not its price. Many true high-end systems are no more expensive, and often cheaper, than store-bought stereo systems designed according to the "all-in-one" principle. one." I've listened to many inexpensive systems that fit within the average consumer's budget and that capture the very essence of high-quality music reproduction. Although many components of high-end systems can be expensive, this does not mean that you have to take out a bank loan to purchase high-quality equipment. Great-sounding systems are sometimes much cheaper than you might imagine.

Secondly, high-end audio equipment serves to convey a musical experience, and does not need additional complications that make it difficult to use. In fact, high-end systems are significantly easier to operate than mid-range residential systems. The design ethic for high-end equipment is to eliminate unnecessary features and invest the savings in improving sound quality. This equipment is for music fans, not for fans of electronic effects.

Third, anyone who enjoys music can immediately appreciate the value of high-quality audio reproduction. You don't need perfect pitch to determine which sound is better. The difference between good and mediocre music reproduction is immediately noticeable. The usual reaction of anyone listening to a true high-end system for the first time is joy and surprise, which proves that high-end audio can be appreciated by everyone. If you love music, you'll enjoy it even more thanks to the high-end system. It is so simple!..

In conclusion, the goal of high-end audio is to make the equipment “disappear.” When this happens, the highest degree of mutual understanding between musician and listener is achieved. By and large, high-end audio is more about the music than the equipment.

The high-end credo is as follows: the less signal processing the better. Any electronic circuit, wire, tone control or switch distorts the signal, and therefore the musical experience. That's why you won't find graphics in high-end equipment. equalizers, “stereo effect expanders,” “subharmonic synthesizers,” and other contraptions. Not only do these devices take away from musical reality, they add unnecessary circuitry to the signal path. By minimizing the amount of electronics between you and the musicians, high-end equipment can maximize enhance the immediacy of musical perception. Here “less” means “more”.

Imagine standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon, stunned by its magnificence. You experience not only the bottomlessness of this gigantic gorge, going deep underground, but also see all the smallest details of the relief, bright and alive. You can distinguish subtle gradations of shades in the layers of rocks - the nuances of red are clearly visible. Subtle details of huge formations become more distinct, you just have to look closely at them, and this deepens your sensations. The contrast of light and shadow highlights the infinity of the labyrinth of cracks and crevices. The longer and more closely you look, the more you notice. The abundance of sensations keeps you on the edge of a cliff in awe of the incomprehensible beauty of nature.

Now imagine yourself viewing the Grand Canyon through a window made of laminated glass, each layer of which reduces the clarity of the image. The first layer is slightly smoky, it mutes the bright tones and eliminates subtle differences between shades of colors. The fine granular structure of the next layer reduces your ability to contemplate the details of the rock relief. Another layer reduces the contrast of light and shadow, turning the immensity of the depth and width of the Canyon into a flat picture. To top it off, the window frame limits your field of view and completely destroys the image of the Canyon. Instead of the immediate and direct feeling that you are standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon, what appears before you is a gray, unnatural and essentially dead landscape. This can be seen on television, especially if the “picture” is not important...

Listening to music on mediocre sound equipment is like looking at the Grand Canyon through laminated glass. Every device in the playback path—CD player, preamp, power amplifier, speakers, and the cables that connect them—distorts the signal passing through them in some way. One component can give a rough, grainy character to the textures of instruments, another can reduce the dynamic contrasts between loud and quiet passages, distorting the composer's intention or the performer's expression. Such a system “throws a thick, dark veil” over the music, destroying its subtle tonal shades and making the timbres of all instruments indistinguishable. To top it all off, the “window frame”, the role of which is played by the electronic and mechanical components of the playback system, compresses the space created by the artistic design musicians.

High-end audio strives to remove as many “layers of glass” from the system as possible, and make those that remain as transparent as possible. The fewer “layers” and the weaker each of them affects the information passing through it, the closer we come to direct perception, the closer our contact with the musical work.

Why are high-end components more transparent “windows” into the world of music than mass-produced “stereo systems”? They are designed to sound good, ideally like live music, rather than to achieve "good" ratings according to some arbitrary technical criteria. A true high-end designer "listens" to a component during its design process, changing details and trying different methods to achieve the most natural sound possible. He uses both his technical skills and musical sensitivity to create a product that best enhances the music experience. This dedication often becomes an obsession, requiring you to spend many hundreds of hours listening and painstakingly analyzing every factor that affects the sound. Often, more expensive parts are used in the device to improve the sound, keeping the retail price of the product unchanged. Why? Because a true high-end designer equipment is primarily passionate about music and the problems of its reproduction.

In contrast, commodity audio components are often designed to look good “on paper”—on the spec sheet—sometimes sacrificing sound quality. A good example of this: the “THD wars” of the 19-70s and 80s THD stands for Total Harmonic Distortion, a technical parameter widely used by uneducated consumers as a measure of amplifier quality. If you've done this too, don't worry. Before I learned more about audio, I did too took into account THD values. It was believed that the lower they were, the better the amplifier. This prompted electronics industry giants to produce equipment with extremely low THD values. There was a competition to see whose equipment had the most decimal places in the harmonic distortion distortion (for example, 0.001 %).

Many people buy receivers or amplifiers based solely on this technical parameter. While low THD is a worthy design goal, the real question is how these extremely low distortion values ​​were achieved. To reduce distortion, amplifiers use "feedback" - this means that part of the output signal is fed back to the amplifier's input. Large values ​​of the feedback signal reduce THD, but create various other problems that adversely affect the sound quality of the amplifier. Did the electronic giants care? industry that increasing the depth of negative feedback to reduce THD degrades the sound of their equipment? Not in the slightest! All they cared about was producing a consumer product that could be sold in large quantities. They sacrificed musical quality for the sake of unimportant technical parameters presented to the public as very important. Buyers who selected components based on a specification chart rather than on listening results ended up purchasing systems with mediocre sound. Interestingly, amplifiers with the lowest THD values ​​tend to have the lowest sound quality.

This example illustrates the significant difference between the views of mainstream manufacturers and high-end companies on what audio components should be. Companies that produce high-end equipment care more about how their products sound than about the parameters they show on the test bench. They know that their audience of musically sensitive listeners will make purchases based on sound quality and without regard to technical parameters.

High-end gear is not only designed by ear, but is often handcrafted by highly skilled craftsmen who take pride in their work. Builders are often audiophiles themselves. They make equipment with such care, as if they were making it for themselves. This meticulous attention to detail results in higher quality design and manufacturing. Particular care in development not only improves the sound of the product, but also increases the reliability of the equipment. Moreover, beautiful, handcrafted components can instill in their owners a pride that mass-produced manufacturers have nothing to match.

High-end systems often provide better service than mid-fi products. Because high-end hardware manufacturers care more about their products and customers, they typically offer longer warranties, more liberal parts replacement policies, and better service. It is not unusual for manufacturers to repair a product free of charge after the warranty period has expired. This does not mean that you should expect this kind of treatment, but this sometimes only happens with high-end equipment and is completely unthinkable with mass-produced products. High-end companies truly care about their customers.

These qualities are also inherent in those involved in retail trade. The high-end dealer shares a passion for high-quality music reproduction and a commitment to customer service. If you have ever purchased audio equipment in a regular retail chain, then you will be pleasantly surprised when you visit a high-end store. Instead of trying to get you to buy the first piece of equipment that comes along, a conscientious high-end dealer will strive to build a system that will allow you to enjoy music for a long time. Such a dealer will put your musical satisfaction above your monthly income.

Finally, most high-end equipment is designed and manufactured in the USA by American companies. In fact, American-made audio components are highly sought after throughout the world. More than 40% of American high-end products are exported to other countries, especially to the Far East. And this despite the fact that the price of high-end equipment abroad is almost twice as high as in the United States - due to transportation costs, import duties and importer markups. The interest in American high-end products abroad is also surprising due to the popular misconception among Americans that the best audio equipment is made in Japan.

High-end equipment differs significantly from mass-produced products. In concept, purpose, design, design, marketing and how they are used, high-end hardware components are very different from their mid-fi counterparts.

What most distinguishes high-end equipment from mass production is the caring attitude of the developer to the music. He does not create consumer goods, but instruments whose highest quality will allow his customers to perceive music more deeply. The components of a high-end system are tangible evidence of a deeply felt interest in how well music is reproduced and, moreover, how enjoyable it is for listeners.

The designer of high-end equipment creates products that he himself would like to listen to. Since he cares about music, it matters to him whether the unknown listener enjoys the music. The more the listener is involved in the music, the better the developer has done his job.

One of my friends, a designer of digital processors, is a living embodiment of these qualities. In one of the nodes of his new processor, he used an extra-class resistor that costs $1, and not a few cents, like most other resistors. At the moment when it was necessary to transfer the development to production, he once again carefully checked whether any other improvements were possible that would improve sound quality. Just for fun, the designer used a very exotic $10 resistor in the circuit instead of a $1 one. He was surprised by how much better the product sounded after this change, and did not want the processor to start shipping in the $1 resistor version. The company released the device with the part for $10, although the retail price had already been set taking into account the use of one-dollar resistors. Designers of high-end equipment try to improve quality in any way possible, rather than subordinating technology to the sole purpose of reducing cost.

For a high-end developer, electronic or mechanical design is not just a technical activity, it is an act of love and dedication. Every aspect of the product's performance, both technical and musical, is tested in a way that would surprise those unaccustomed to such an approach. Ethics in music reproduction is the very essence of being a high-end hardware designer; this is the work in which he expresses himself every day. And as a result: the listener's involvement in the music is much more powerful and intimate than in the case when development is carried out without this dedication.

What is high-end hardware? What is high-end sound? This is when you forget about the playback system, when in the listening room its place seems to be taken by the performer. This is when you feel that a composer or performer is speaking to you across years and distances. This is a feeling of extraordinary uplift during musical climaxes. This is an indescribable “roller coaster” of emotions that the composer somehow magically managed to encode in a combination of sounds. This is the disappearance of the material world, when only your consciousness and music remain...

That's what high-end audio is.

Based on materials from the book “Encyclopedia of High-End Audio”
Written by Robert Harley

People have been striving for the ideal sound for a long time - from Thomas Edison's first phonograph to today's low-quality recordings - and they have achieved it. You can listen to the excellent sound of your favorite songs without distortion or extraneous noise at home for at least several decades. Reproduction technology, amplification, the media themselves and acoustics have reached incredible heights of quality, and manufacturers are trying to find at least something else that can positively affect the sound.

Hi-Fi

Hi-Fi systems (short for High Fidelity) have become synonymous with the highest sound quality for most people. And this is not at all surprising: all equipment complies with DIN 45500 and IEC 60581 standards - this is a wide range of amplitude-frequency characteristics, noise level and low nonlinear distortion. Such strict limits allowed manufacturers to compete fairly, but in pursuit of customers, many are trying to reduce the cost of production by using inexpensive materials: chipboard is used instead of natural wood, and sound processors in receivers are used from models of previous years.

It is worth understanding that the Hi-Fi equipment segment is designed for the mass consumer, accustomed to the sound of a car radio on the way to work and the droning of an old radio in the kitchen, but wanting something more. On Hi-Fi-level equipment, sounds take shape, open up, and the purity of the recording is shocking at first - all this creates an indescribable effect. I no longer want to return to the world of wheezing radio; a person becomes dependent on high-quality sound.

Rules for installing Hi-Fi components

All elements are usually made in a modern style and will fit perfectly into almost any interior, except for a very pretentious and colorful baroque. Traditionally, they have a rectangular shape and are combined with each other, even if they are produced by different vendors. Neutral tones, a minimum of decorations - one appearance can already tell everyone about the owner’s musical preferences. This technique reveals itself best in classical works, jazz, and rock.

An abundance of furniture and interior elements can significantly deteriorate the sound quality - the sound will be reflected from many surfaces and lose integrity.

The ideal placement option is a living room or office. From Hi-Fi components you can assemble a magnificent home theater that will outshine any cinema hall in sound.

Hi-End

With high-end technology everything is much more complicated. Here the issue of price is probably in the last place. These are more works of art than components for listening to music. All Hi-End equipment is beautiful both inside and out. Standards and objective measurements do not apply here - such sound is assessed from the point of view of its pleasantness, “tube-likeness,” “warmth” and a million other factors that are sometimes understandable only to audiophiles themselves.

To join the world of ideal sound, it is not enough to have good hearing; you also need to have a good income - prices for components are measured in tens of thousands of dollars. It’s difficult to say how much better a triple-shielded gold cable transmits a digital signal of zeros and ones, but experts and audiophiles tend to agree: Hi-End is the only possible option for listening to music for those who haven’t had a bear step on their ears.

It’s worth agreeing: in terms of frequency characteristics or other parameters in tests, this equipment may show itself worse than the budget Hi-Fi segment, but when listening, you will discover the incredible depth of music and sounds that you have never heard, although you know the composition by heart - it’s really worth it your money.

Rules for installing Hi-End components

In search of harmony and balance of sound, manufacturers often produce acoustics of unique shapes. By the way, most of the high-end equipment is made to order in a single copy or in a very limited batch. This tactic helps avoid creating consumer goods. An example of the balance between style and quality is the famous acoustics from B&W Nautilus. She has received awards more than once for her sound quality and special shell-shaped style.

This style of components requires a modern design in the room; the best option would be high-tech. Particularly ardent fans of ideal sound even create special listening rooms with good sound insulation and without unnecessary furnishings to prevent sound reflection. Here the design is somewhere next to the price, at the very bottom.

To fully reveal the sound of the entire system, you need to follow many rules: for example, use a filter for power supply, and the acoustics must stand on special legs or podiums - the floor under it should not resonate. But you can beautifully place the entire Hi-End system without disturbing the harmony of the sound, and charming amplifiers with overhead lamps will help give the interior a touch of steampunk.

The non-standard design of some speaker systems, created for the sake of even better sound, sometimes helps determine the style of the room itself - in the case of audiophiles, it is the interior that adapts to the style of the equipment, and not vice versa.

We can say that Hi-End is truly an uncompromising option for an audio system. Price, appearance, manufacturer - everything pales in comparison to the pursuit of perfect sound.

What does the term High End mean?

High End (Hi-End - English) is a marketing term. It denotes the highest class, belonging to the elite. As a rule, we are talking about sound amplification hardware and software. As we know, Hi-Fi in the nomenclature of modern radio electronics has its own GOSTs, as well as other technical characteristics that qualify Hi-Fi in one way or another. There are no such concepts in relation to High End. Why? Since Hi-End products declared by manufacturers contain only high-quality components, there is simply no need for this.

What is High End Audio Equipment?

Hi-End equipment is exclusive, and often extremely expensive, sound-reproducing equipment. To manufacture such elite equipment, non-traditional, non-standard technical solutions are often used. As an example, we can cite tube or hybrid (tube-transistor) equipment, as well as electrostatic, counter-aperture or horn acoustic systems.

We emphasize once again: the term Hi-End does not refer to any standard.

Hi-End equipment is considered Hi-Fi, which is manufactured using such components, the use of which is not economically justified for the production of serial equipment. In addition, hand-made equipment falls under this term. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that this also includes products that may not meet industrial standards and even the stated technical characteristics in general.

What is indicated in the description of High End equipment?

This is actually a very interesting question. Because both users and manufacturers of Hi-End equipment use non-numerical measurements of parameters when describing and comparing their equipment. Numerical measurements of parameters are easily checked, as we understand, in any specialized laboratory.

This description is completely subjective! And it consists of the opinions of several listeners. Listeners describe the different sound features they experience using the same non-technical term. For example: emotional, soft, sandy, warm, cold, transparent, holographic precision, sunny soundscape, etc. True. Very unusual? That’s why High End equipment is a world of subjectivity and taste preferences of musical “gourmets”. It is clear that the circle of such people cannot be large. But such a small group of clients is ready to pay a lot of money for their addiction.

How to choose high-end equipment?

As we have already figured out, Hi-End equipment cannot be selected based on technical characteristics. Here the emphasis is on the radio components used and, often, archaic technologies. It is interesting that if such equipment is subjected to painstaking analysis in terms of technical characteristics, it will show far from “advanced” results. But subjective sensations, if you listen under certain conditions and on certain musical material, will simply show a colossal advantage of High End over ordinary budget Hi-Fi equipment.

Let's talk about cost

Hi-End is a single piece of equipment, unlike mass Hi-Fi, so cost doesn’t matter here. It is clear that priority economic feasibility is clearly indicated for Hi-Fi equipment. Here, buyers are guided by something completely different. Therefore, the owners of Hi-End equipment are audiophile fans who are willing to pay any exorbitant price for pleasure. Or these are simply very wealthy people, for whom having such a thing is a matter of prestige. In any case, Hi-End is a truly unique solution that can fully satisfy the needs of a particular “audiophile”.

But it must be emphasized that due to the very high Hi-End price category and the almost complete ideological absence of requirements for technical characteristics, a huge amount of other types of equipment is often offered along with recognized devices. This is a technique that is unreasonably overpriced. It may have an incredibly luxurious design, but it doesn't actually have the unique-sounding components or connecting cables that make it worth paying that much money for. It is clear that such equipment is also purchased by a certain category of very wealthy citizens for the purpose of prestige. But, in fairness, it is worth noting that for many buyers, Hi-End is, first of all, a luxurious and exclusive design. And, to be honest, not every listener is able to adequately evaluate the sound of music and its individual components by ear.

About High End Hardware Software

Such software is used when it comes to application software. Software is custom-made for one person or a limited group of people. It is capable of providing a solution to a full range of tasks posed by a specific consumer. It is clear that the cost of such programs is very high. But, in fairness, it must be said that they fully justify their considerable price with their status, convenience, and complete absence of failures, as well as simply excellent technical support. After all, such software is a specialized project that is developed and implemented for a specific consumer.

Instead of an afterword

Many do not understand the choice of true music lovers. They think that everything is very exaggerated. Is it so? Let's think about it.

A simple experiment. If we listen to music on Hi-End equipment and do not see the sound source, we will never be able to distinguish the copy from the box from the original live sound from the world.

A professional will distinguish the numerous shades of sound, its beauty, life, breathing. A non-professional will listen without tension to all sorts of creaks, noises, rustles, crackles... Such a listener, in principle, doesn’t care. The creative individuality of a performer can never be felt with conventional equipment. This is the prerogative of a true music lover.

Today the time has come when everything can be broken down into mathematical formulas. So is the sound. But is it possible to describe the sensations with some number? The device will sort everything out “on the shelves” - it will evaluate the fidelity curve of pure tone reproduction and the harmonics introduced. But what device, soulless and dead, will distinguish the soul put into music?

The article discusses the features of approaches to the development of audio equipment designed for different layers of consumers.

What is Hi-Fi and High-End

It is unlikely that anyone will argue with the fact that the impetus for the development of audio technology was the desire to get as close as possible to the live sound of music. Therefore, no matter how much sound equipment was tested, live sound was always the standard for the quality of its work. At the same time, it was the most reliable sound reproduction that received the highest rating. But that was in the old days, now everything is not quite like that.

The emergence of the Hi-Fi standard and the High-End concept. It was developed in 1973 in Germany. Its essence was to formalize the then minimal requirements for the parameters of audio equipment that ensure decent sound reproduction. Many believe that the High-End concept appeared later than the Hi-Fi standard and is its development. However, it is not. The fact is that the High-End concept originated much earlier, around 1962, and has nothing in common with the Hi-Fi standard.

At the same time, a distinctive feature of the High-End concept is that the only criterion for the quality of equipment is the method of expert evaluation of its sound, regardless of its technical characteristics. It is important that for such an assessment the opinion of one single person was sufficient. In the early 1960s, the High-End concept certainly had some sound grain, since the measuring technology of those years was very far from perfect, and even inaccessible.

At first, the Hi-Fi standard was a very good incentive for audio equipment manufacturers to develop and improve their products. In the 15-20 years since the advent of the Hi-Fi standard, a lot of high-end audio equipment has appeared. Moreover, many devices had a similar sound, and soon the market was overflowing with them. As a result, audio equipment manufacturers' profits decreased, and they began to look for a marketing solution that could change this situation.

"Utility" of the High-End concept. Then they remembered the High-End concept. After all, despite the technical parameters, the very criterion “But I really like the sound of this device” allows you to sell anything. The success of the High-End concept is also that
that it involves the creation of exclusive technology, namely:

• made especially for you;
• handmade by music lovers and connoisseurs just like you.

True, no one asks the consumer whether he needs expensive gold-plated
legs, cast metal, front panels that weigh many kilograms, and whether or not it needs a tone control - they just don’t install it and that’s it. Moreover, all these exclusive devices
They are sold at a very high price, but they bring in excess profits. Of course, the buyer had to be prepared for such a turn in the development of audio technology.

Those. explain to the buyer that the truths that seemed immutable to him are in fact incorrect, and the situation is just the opposite. In other words, the buyer must be made to believe in an impossible dream, i.e. in a fairy tale, namely in the excellent sound quality of High-End equipment, which, of course, is much better than that of Hi-Fi equipment, which is simply boring and reproduces sound correctly. And really, how can these tens of kilograms of metal, glowing with orange filaments and consuming enormous power, sound bad?

In general, adherents of High-End equipment can be divided into the following groups:

1. Not completely healthy and/or easily suggestible people. They have a constant desire
   improve their audio equipment, supposedly striving to achieve perfection. But in the case of Hi-Fi equipment, they find themselves in a dead end - “If the parameters are already nowhere better, then what can be improved?” So they buy High-End, based on the opinions of other people who claim that yes, this device is very expensive, but it sounds the best.
2. Lovers of “the very, the most.” They buy only the best, and it is, naturally, the most expensive. In principle, they do not buy cheap things. They don’t want to understand that in High-End equipment the real cost of the product and the selling price differ by 10 times or more.
3. Connoisseurs of hand made products. Those. everything unique and unrepeatable. But there is nothing unique in mass products, so they buy high-end.

Expensive audio equipment has always existed, but only with the advent of the High-End concept
it acquired an ideological, namely ideological, and not technical justification. And the High-End ideology turned out to be able to satisfy the tastes of all three of the above groups of buyers:

1. group - an unlimited opportunity has opened up for them to “improve” the equipment by replacing conventional capacitors with expensive audiophile ones, conventional connectors with gold-plated ones, copper interconnect cables with silver ones, etc.
2. group - for them, UMZCHs are produced with an output power of 3-5 W and with a selling price of
   10-100 thousand USD.
3. The group created a whole surge of business activity in the audio equipment manufacturing sector, leading to the emergence of hundreds of small companies producing, almost in garages, incredibly heavy products with front panels, if not of granite, then of very thick steel and with more than modest technical parameters. Only a few such products are sold per year, so the audiophile who bought it, a fan of High-End, is unlikely to encounter such a device from a similar “music lover.”

As you can see, the promoted High-End concept is nothing more than a successful marketing ploy. How is it related to the sound quality of such equipment?

Currents in the High-End concept. It seems that the above circumstances should have pushed the leading manufacturers of audio equipment and electronic components for it to support the fashionable High-End trend. They simply had to, following fashion, start producing new components with an “original” and “special musical” sound. The production of germanium transistors, on which High-End UMZCHs were assembled in the 1960s, or “very musical” DACs, first released in the early 1990s, could well be resumed.

But that did not happen. All electronic component manufacturers continue to improve
parameters of their products. At the same time, in their datasheet they recommend using both Hi-Fi and High-End equipment, only very good components. Such components are expensive, and this is one of the reasons why they are rarely used in high-end equipment.
It seems that a contradictory situation has developed - High-End adherents stand for the unique and
high sound quality, components for the production of such devices are available.

But the High-End equipment itself is often assembled from very mediocre parts, and, accordingly, sounds pretty bad. The fact is that under the general name “High-End” there are at least 4 radically different trends among audio equipment manufacturers.

Let's look at them:

1. They provide very good sound quality, very natural and uncolored. Such products have very good parameters (frequency band, SOI, IMD, etc.). Refinement of such products is not provided. In the name of natural sound, functional equipment is kept to a minimum. The appearance is quite strict.
2. The main thing here is the unique sound quality. The parameters can be very different -
   from good to simply terrible from a technical point of view (for example, THD = 3...5%, or bandwidth 80 Hz...16 kHz). The sound, accordingly, can be from good to very specific, not to say very bad. Here, a lot will depend on what kind of equipment such a UMZCH works with, and the genre of music.
3. Everything here is the same as in group 2, but there is a beautiful and unique appearance
   device, and it costs accordingly more.
4. Everything here is the same as in group 2, but the design of the device provides for the possibility of replacing blocks and individual parts with others of higher quality. It seems to be like a UMZCH constructor. From the point of view of equipment, devices of group 1 require the use of very good, modern parts. For groups 2 and 3, the parts can be anything, but sometimes you come across samples of such products assembled from high-quality components.
5. The group intends to use only audiophile elements. But there is one peculiarity here: in order for the owner to feel the difference in sound during the process of upgrading his device, such a device must initially sound “not very good”. Another option is that newly purchased blocks have a specific sound, and then the owner of such a construction set will “feel the difference.” In modern conditions, all these trends in
   High-End products have the right to life because, despite all their dissimilarity, they satisfy the equally dissimilar needs of different types of consumers. But, we repeat, of course, good products belong only to the first of the groups listed above.

Awkward High-End Ideas. One of the books valued among audiophiles is Robert Harley’s “Encyclopedia of High-End Audio.” Here are some excerpts from it:

1. Amplifiers with the lowest distortion typically have the lowest sound quality.
2. The huge surface of the electrostatic loudspeaker makes it possible to more accurately reproduce the dimensions of the images of musical instruments.
3. The very idea of ​​signal measurement contradicts the core values ​​of High-End.
4. The audio system is forced to balance on a fine line between natural resolution and analytical sound.
5. Try using surge protectors, in some cases they can make a significant difference, in others they don’t, and sometimes they can lead to poor system performance.” etc. and so on.

Of course, such, to put it mildly, contradictory legends and ideas (from a technical point of view -
this is obvious nonsense) mislead technically illiterate and easily persuaded people. In the complete absence of clear canons, such artificially created confusion allows, along the way, to come up with new concepts and nuances and speculate on the eternal desire of people for the ideal. At the same time, the most ardent adherents of High-End completely reject any scientific approach to sound. For them, neither metrology, nor psychoacoustics, nor statistics exist.

They only have a large set of “concepts” that are poorly understood even by themselves and an extremely subjective feeling of “being involved in music right here and now.” Fulfilling the requests of marketers, such High-End propagandists try their best to involve the buyer in their endless games of finding “their” sound. Almost like a shaman dancing with a tambourine.

What is his “own sound”? What is this “own” sound that High-End adherents and propagandists so insistently recommend looking for? Perhaps, in fact, you can find a sound: pure, uniquely expressive, airy, detailed, clear, revealing a whole range of musical nuances. But with one caveat: this sound will suit only you. At the same time, other listeners will call him too analytical, harsh, boring and colorless. We think it’s easy to agree that this option of having “your own sound” is extremely unlikely.

But in a situation where both you and the majority of other listeners liked the sound, can we talk about its “uniqueness”? Perhaps it is simply undistorted, and that is why both you and all those who value naturalness rather than coloring liked it? Although there will always be someone who doesn’t like the sound. But there are statistics: during any blind audition, the devices with the best technical characteristics received the best ratings from listeners. But this fact is just a knife in the heart of High-End adherents.

Note that the overwhelming majority of audio experts, like people in general, are among those who
has normal hearing. Those. They are distinguished by their ability to distinguish and prefer a more accurate sound, close to the original, over a less accurate sound. In this regard, I would like to quote the opinion of a well-known specialist in the field of sound reproduction N. Makhamedzyanov:

“Sound engineering is a largely subjective area of ​​creativity, and what some people like (aurally) may not like others for various reasons. For example, different preferred sound material, different listening conditions, previous musical experience, finally.”

One more point needs to be taken into account. Modern high-quality audio equipment -
This is a “ready to use” product. If there are shortcomings in his work, they will not be repeated when listening to different recordings. After all, not all audio recordings are perfect. For example,
on one of the audio tracks there is an obsessive “clicking” of high frequencies (there is such a defect). If
If you remove it by changing the settings of the audio complex, then on another, correct recording, you will feel a loss of transparency and air in its sound.

Recently, among such “correctionists” of the record, voices have often been heard advocating
"warm sound" Such High-End adherents, for some unknown reason, decided that the undistorted sound is “cold” and needs to be corrected by “warming it up”. It’s just not clear how and to what extent, and how they even know what should be right.

Let's summarize. If Hi-Fi equipment is designed to reproduce the original sound signal with minimal distortion, then for High-End equipment signal distortion is quite acceptable, even welcomed - the sound has become “warmer” and acquired a “unique sound.” Therefore, when choosing any audio equipment, if you prefer high-quality sound, you should always take into account the opinion of sound engineers, people who are very knowledgeable about such equipment, namely: “you need to purchase the most accurate equipment possible.”