Difference between $2 and $2000 DAC

[Jim Alfredson]

Evidently, not much.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/high-end-pc-audio,3733.html

[Chuck Nessa]

LOL!

[Stefan Wood]

And so it goes.....

[Scott Dolan]

Hee hee...

"Inconceivable!"

And I don't think I know what that word means!

[TedR]

Like so many product categories, it's so complicated and time consuming to choose audio components let alone match 'em up effectively. Won't the "you get what you pay for" rule work to simplify things a bit? Just a rhetorical question. :-)

[jazzbo]

Yes, no, maybe. Sometimes you're paying a lot of money so big corporation shareholders can open their mail to a nice check while overseas workers put together a product to barely survive. Sometimes you pay money for a little cottage industry member making a comfortable living pursuing his dream as an audio engineer. And there's other variables and scenarios that to my way of thinking makes the "you get what you pay for" axiom not a hard and fast rule.

[TedR]

My comment was meant to sound naive about applying "you get what you pay for" to everyday decisions. It's a phrase that has been repeated as wisdom for a long time. Unfortunately it really doesn't work. In a perfect world........

[Scott Dolan]

Too many people fall for the "you get what you pay for" thing in the audio world. It's unfortunate because in audio equipment it applies probably less than any other product world.

[porcy62]

I found this issue naive. I mean what audio firms are supposed to be? An engineer with the proper knowledge builts a good amp in his garage in his free time with parts worth one tenth or less then famous firms, so what? Why all these engineers doesnt start a business since they could built a good amp at low price? Have all these people rantin' against audio business ever start a business, any kind of business? Who pays for employes, rent, electricity, distributors, customer service, shipping, advertising? And taxes? And who pays research and development? Who goes to bank for loan? Who deal with part's suppliers? I am talking about small scale business, let's say under 1000 pieces per year, not a T Model Ford. Fifteen years ago I could buy an iPod, dismantle it and say: damn it cost 200 bucks and there are only 20 bucks of parts inside it! Does an audio businessman works in the charity sector or has the right to earn money from his job?

Some stuff are outragely expensive, true, you can get the same sound quality with less, far less, fine, but please dont be naive.

Edited February 26, 2014 by porcy62

[Scott Dolan]

Well, that is the bigger part of the problem. And it doesn't even have to be a large company. There are smaller companies that price the hell out of their relatively mundane products. Yet, if one chooses to spend an outrageous fortune on those products, they are already fooled into thinking they're getting something superior. It's one of the reasons why I'd never sink five figures into an audio rig. Diminishing returns come on quickly, and when you get into that price range there is an awful lot of chaff amongst the wheat.