state of high-end

a high-end amp like krell fpb700cx offers unparalleled precision and control

if you cheerfully buy a piece of second-hand high-end stuff dated circa 1993, like the krell ksa300 and think that it can equal last gen's krell FBP or current-gen EVO series, then you are really kidding yourself.

high-end has progressed - not dramatically but sufficiently to warrant the extra money to upgrade. based on our experience in reviewing high-end gear of today against what what we used to own 10 years ago, there are significant improvements/changes in the following areas:

[1] tonal colour - high-end gear of yesteryear are coloured to a certain extent. today's gear adopts neutrality as its goal. gone are the colours but here comes naturalness. modern sound, whether it is tube or solid state share this commonality. folks who swear by those colourful and romantic found of tube amps like the old jadis may dislike this new direction. most modern push-pull tube amps operate in ultralinear for its power and stability but older folks (like yours truly) swear by triode sound, for its sweetness and wonderful tonal colour palette. a case in point - the famed china-made ASL hurricane power amp sounds much better in triode mode compared to pentode.

[2] imaging - today's high-end gear images much better. images are much more compact (in size) and precise, without the fuzziness, bloatiness and roundedness of the old high-end. this applies not only to amps but to cables as well. it is as if the sound has gone for slimming and trimming to shed off those excess fat.

[3] resolution - with better parts, this is to be expected. the increase in resolution is particularly relevant for digital gear. we were stunned when we heard the dCS purcell/elgar/verdi combo. the amount of details are just shocking.

[4] accuracy - today's high-end are not about accuracy per se. if you go chasing for accuracy, you will be grossly disappointed. high-end today goes for exquisiteness and beauty at all costs. this exquisiteness is far from accurate but it is tremendously pleasant to the ears! our experience with kharma speakers, goldmund gear, siltech G6 cables, stealth cables and many others shows us that high-end is about beautiful sound, extremely beautiful sound, even to the extent of being slightly unreal. many a times we were gasping "this isn't real but hell we like the sound!".

[5] soundstaging - with a doubt, today's high-end improves in soundstaging by miles. width, depth, layering and separation are hallmarks of today's high-end. we were shown all these exemplary qualities when we auditioned the audio research VT200 power amp.

[6] bass - bass is tauter, goes deeper and better controlled for modern amps. older amps tend to be "fuzzier" and "fatter" and less well-defined.

having said all these, all is not lost for high-end gear of yesterday. it used to be that ARC has its own house sound, krell has its own sound, C-J has its own but now they all seem to converge on neutrality and precision. it is no longer easy to attach a brand to a certain sound. high-end today is that much more homogenous. also, some old timers contend that older gear are more musical, which is really debatable.

plus, sad to say, high-end today is truly exorbitant.