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It blows my mind sometimes that here on this forum we have a bunch of people that share the same hobby, have some of the same components, are here to try (or at least should be) trying to help one another out. I might be sadly mistaken, but in my humble opinion there should be a camaraderie that just doesn't seem to exist here most of the time. Sometimes I get the distinct impression that this website could be called anti-Club Classe.
I respect the fact that not everyone here is superficial like me and and feels the need to have my source player to match or be every bit as sexy as my processor and my amp. I appreciate that people love Blu-ray and think that DVDs are archaic and almost as obsolete as a VHS tape. Even some think it's as obsolete as 8 track tapes. I will never argue that you cannot make your DVD on your $8500 MSRP (which I would NEVER pay) source player perform at the same level as a Blu-ray disc on a $300 player. What I can say is that from my seating position and on my plasma panel, I think my Classe CDP makes my very inexpensive DVDs look outstanding. Do those DVDs look as good on that panel if I queue up a Blu-ray disc and get up close and personal with it and A/B the DVD to the BR disc? We all know the answer to that.
Sure I am going to be able to count a lot more hairs on heads, see bigger pores on somebody's face, or see all of those faces instead of blurs in the background of whatever war epic you might be watching. The thing is, I don't watch my TV up that close and is does not minimize or make my viewing experience a disappointment when I choose to watch that DVD that I paid $4 for instead of that Blu-ray disc that I paid $25 for. It doesn't matter that I am comparing an $8500 player to a $300 player....MSRP mind you.
It's safe to assume that a person can buy a paint by number paint kit, paint it, and the picture look a heck of a lot more clear and identifiable than something Picasso painted that sold at Sothebys for $72 million dollars compared to the $1.97 paint by number kit that you bought at Wal-Mart. Does this mean that art collectors should not buy their multi-million dollar paintings, and instead put a nice frame on their paint by number painting? I hardly think so. Nobody is stupid enough to think that buying a high dollar piece of audio or video equipment in today's economy is going to be a real good investment but one thing for sure, buy it and when it comes time to sell it, it's going to have some value. How many high-end audio products do people buy and use a few years and when it becomes obsolete you toss it, or throw it in a yard sale for $10? What can a person buy a $400 (when new) VCR for now? What can somebody buy one of the first DVD players that they paid $1000 for now? We literally watch these components in plastic or stamped sheet metal become totally worthless. Does this mean they are bad or we shouldn't buy them of course not. Does this justify spending 20 times more for one audiophile brand of source player over a discount store model that will do the same thing, play discs? Not necessarily. It's all in what you want and what is important to you.
A Timex keeps much better time than any automatic swiss watch that costs thousands of times more but does this stop people from buying Rolex watches? I hardly think so.
Why do people pay an average price of about $70,000 for a Steinway grand piano (I used average because some people want a baby, some people want a parlor, and some want a concert grand) when they can buy a Korean piano for less than one tenth? They both have 88 keys and they both play music. They are both black and use the same principles to produce sound with hammers, strings, and a sitka spruce soundboard. They even have the same shape and from several feet away it could be quite to tell a difference in brand. Let's face it, if someone mentions a grand piano we get an image in our head and it's pretty consistent. When somebody mentions a set of speakers or an electronic component, you could conjure up thousands of different shapes, sizes, and looks.
I have a 14 year old Toyota Supra Turbo with a couple of thousand dollars worth of performance modifications will blow the doors off of almost any new Porsche you can buy today. Hell, I have an 07 VW GTI with several hundred dollars worth of modifications that can beat the pants off of several of those new Porsches. Does this mean that a Porschephile should not buy that Porsche or sell the one he's got because a $17-$20K used car will outrun it, in some cases out handle it, get better fuel economy, or go faster for a fourth or less of the money? I hardly think so. People buy that Porsche because it's sexy, it's legendary, it exudes class and quality, and it will always be worth something whether it be 5, 10, or 20 years down the road. Would I rather have a new 911 Turbo that the old Toyota or the little GTI? Hell yes I would! I just can't have it all as much as I'd love to.
We could all take the stand that the lower cost options are much more intelligent, fiscally responsible, and an all around much smarter choice because it will do the same thing as the high-end product, and in some cases will do it better. If we could take the difference in money spent if we opt for the low cost choice and invest it in whatever investment you feel comfortable with this day and age then there is absolutely no case whatsoever in buying the higher-end item.
On the other hand, I have never had anybody regret owning or buying the very best. I have seen in many cases, especially in the HVAC business some major regret from those people that opt for the off brand, builder model instead of the ultra-high efficiency, top of the line, name brand product that will be running 20 or 30 years from now. Even though in 20 or 30 years there will be more efficient and technologically advanced models available it will not make the ownership of the older unit a bad choice if it's doing the job, is reliable, and is affordable to operate.
From an investment standpoint, in almost all cases I can never justify to that homeowner that the new unit is an investment that will pay for itself. It's a matter of not just efficiency and operating costs, it's also a matter of comfort, reliability, durability, and peace of mind. If is wasn't for that then everybody would always opt for the cheaper, builder model because the initial outlay is cheaper. Problem is for the (shorter) life of that builder model you will never be as comfortable, and you will be putting larger checks in that envelope every month when you get your utility bill.
Whether it's the Classe source player, the Picasso, the Porsche, the Steinway, or the top of the line home comfort system. It's because we have choices. Sometimes it's so we can make a smart purchase, save money, be financially responsible, or prioritize. On the other hand, it might be because we appreciate that best, or the top of the line model because it's beautiful to look at, because it matches the rest of our collection, because it's what gives us a reason to go to work and work towards obtaining something we want, or because there is no guarantee that there will be a tomorrow to have what you really wanted in the first place.
There is no right or wrong here, there is not intelligent or stupid, there is no legitimate universally accepted formula that says which is the right choice or the wrong choice. This is about what we want, what we can have, what we don't want, what we can't have, and ultimately, it's about choice and that choice is yours and you can justify it any way you want to. Truth be told, there should never be a reason to justify buying or having what you want if it's your choice and you made it for whatever reason.
Choices and variety are what keeps this world from being a very boring and mundane place and there should be no argument, and by all means there should never be bashing or judging others. In a classy (no pun intended) forum like Club Classe it should be about supporting your fellow members of the forum, sharing in the fun and love of the hobby, and supporting their decisions for whatever reason they decided on whatever they chose.
Sermon over, just my 600,000 cents worth. Let the movie or the music play, may we all enjoy it in peace and comfort, may we be happy along the way, may we be thrilled with our choice or decision without fear of criticism and flaming.
Rodney King said it best, "can't we all just get along?"
I say Amen!
I respect the fact that not everyone here is superficial like me and and feels the need to have my source player to match or be every bit as sexy as my processor and my amp. I appreciate that people love Blu-ray and think that DVDs are archaic and almost as obsolete as a VHS tape. Even some think it's as obsolete as 8 track tapes. I will never argue that you cannot make your DVD on your $8500 MSRP (which I would NEVER pay) source player perform at the same level as a Blu-ray disc on a $300 player. What I can say is that from my seating position and on my plasma panel, I think my Classe CDP makes my very inexpensive DVDs look outstanding. Do those DVDs look as good on that panel if I queue up a Blu-ray disc and get up close and personal with it and A/B the DVD to the BR disc? We all know the answer to that.
Sure I am going to be able to count a lot more hairs on heads, see bigger pores on somebody's face, or see all of those faces instead of blurs in the background of whatever war epic you might be watching. The thing is, I don't watch my TV up that close and is does not minimize or make my viewing experience a disappointment when I choose to watch that DVD that I paid $4 for instead of that Blu-ray disc that I paid $25 for. It doesn't matter that I am comparing an $8500 player to a $300 player....MSRP mind you.
It's safe to assume that a person can buy a paint by number paint kit, paint it, and the picture look a heck of a lot more clear and identifiable than something Picasso painted that sold at Sothebys for $72 million dollars compared to the $1.97 paint by number kit that you bought at Wal-Mart. Does this mean that art collectors should not buy their multi-million dollar paintings, and instead put a nice frame on their paint by number painting? I hardly think so. Nobody is stupid enough to think that buying a high dollar piece of audio or video equipment in today's economy is going to be a real good investment but one thing for sure, buy it and when it comes time to sell it, it's going to have some value. How many high-end audio products do people buy and use a few years and when it becomes obsolete you toss it, or throw it in a yard sale for $10? What can a person buy a $400 (when new) VCR for now? What can somebody buy one of the first DVD players that they paid $1000 for now? We literally watch these components in plastic or stamped sheet metal become totally worthless. Does this mean they are bad or we shouldn't buy them of course not. Does this justify spending 20 times more for one audiophile brand of source player over a discount store model that will do the same thing, play discs? Not necessarily. It's all in what you want and what is important to you.
A Timex keeps much better time than any automatic swiss watch that costs thousands of times more but does this stop people from buying Rolex watches? I hardly think so.
Why do people pay an average price of about $70,000 for a Steinway grand piano (I used average because some people want a baby, some people want a parlor, and some want a concert grand) when they can buy a Korean piano for less than one tenth? They both have 88 keys and they both play music. They are both black and use the same principles to produce sound with hammers, strings, and a sitka spruce soundboard. They even have the same shape and from several feet away it could be quite to tell a difference in brand. Let's face it, if someone mentions a grand piano we get an image in our head and it's pretty consistent. When somebody mentions a set of speakers or an electronic component, you could conjure up thousands of different shapes, sizes, and looks.
I have a 14 year old Toyota Supra Turbo with a couple of thousand dollars worth of performance modifications will blow the doors off of almost any new Porsche you can buy today. Hell, I have an 07 VW GTI with several hundred dollars worth of modifications that can beat the pants off of several of those new Porsches. Does this mean that a Porschephile should not buy that Porsche or sell the one he's got because a $17-$20K used car will outrun it, in some cases out handle it, get better fuel economy, or go faster for a fourth or less of the money? I hardly think so. People buy that Porsche because it's sexy, it's legendary, it exudes class and quality, and it will always be worth something whether it be 5, 10, or 20 years down the road. Would I rather have a new 911 Turbo that the old Toyota or the little GTI? Hell yes I would! I just can't have it all as much as I'd love to.
We could all take the stand that the lower cost options are much more intelligent, fiscally responsible, and an all around much smarter choice because it will do the same thing as the high-end product, and in some cases will do it better. If we could take the difference in money spent if we opt for the low cost choice and invest it in whatever investment you feel comfortable with this day and age then there is absolutely no case whatsoever in buying the higher-end item.
On the other hand, I have never had anybody regret owning or buying the very best. I have seen in many cases, especially in the HVAC business some major regret from those people that opt for the off brand, builder model instead of the ultra-high efficiency, top of the line, name brand product that will be running 20 or 30 years from now. Even though in 20 or 30 years there will be more efficient and technologically advanced models available it will not make the ownership of the older unit a bad choice if it's doing the job, is reliable, and is affordable to operate.
From an investment standpoint, in almost all cases I can never justify to that homeowner that the new unit is an investment that will pay for itself. It's a matter of not just efficiency and operating costs, it's also a matter of comfort, reliability, durability, and peace of mind. If is wasn't for that then everybody would always opt for the cheaper, builder model because the initial outlay is cheaper. Problem is for the (shorter) life of that builder model you will never be as comfortable, and you will be putting larger checks in that envelope every month when you get your utility bill.
Whether it's the Classe source player, the Picasso, the Porsche, the Steinway, or the top of the line home comfort system. It's because we have choices. Sometimes it's so we can make a smart purchase, save money, be financially responsible, or prioritize. On the other hand, it might be because we appreciate that best, or the top of the line model because it's beautiful to look at, because it matches the rest of our collection, because it's what gives us a reason to go to work and work towards obtaining something we want, or because there is no guarantee that there will be a tomorrow to have what you really wanted in the first place.
There is no right or wrong here, there is not intelligent or stupid, there is no legitimate universally accepted formula that says which is the right choice or the wrong choice. This is about what we want, what we can have, what we don't want, what we can't have, and ultimately, it's about choice and that choice is yours and you can justify it any way you want to. Truth be told, there should never be a reason to justify buying or having what you want if it's your choice and you made it for whatever reason.
Choices and variety are what keeps this world from being a very boring and mundane place and there should be no argument, and by all means there should never be bashing or judging others. In a classy (no pun intended) forum like Club Classe it should be about supporting your fellow members of the forum, sharing in the fun and love of the hobby, and supporting their decisions for whatever reason they decided on whatever they chose.
Sermon over, just my 600,000 cents worth. Let the movie or the music play, may we all enjoy it in peace and comfort, may we be happy along the way, may we be thrilled with our choice or decision without fear of criticism and flaming.
Rodney King said it best, "can't we all just get along?"
I say Amen!
I could hve bought the SSP-800 8O
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