Opinion: What ‘High-End’ Actually Means

Posted on 4th September, 2024
Opinion: What ‘High-End’ Actually Means

Nigel Ng sings the praises of exceptional sounding – as opposed to expensive – audio systems…

Hi-fi systems, like anything in the luxury sector – wines, cars, boats, watches – come at many different price points. The cost of a pair of loudspeakers can be as low as a few hundred dollars and go all the way up to the millions – like Wilson Audio WAMMs that sell for a cool $1.5M in Australia. Sometimes, this makes eyeballs fall out of sockets. If one's experience is limited to a $100 Bluetooth speaker or a $1,000 pair of wireless speakers, then sheer consternation is expected when they find out speakers can cost even $20,000. Does this mean that price is what defines 'high-end'? 

Tempting as it may be to justify the term with dollar signs, this definition is flawed. Like wine, the most expensive bottles aren't necessarily the best, nor are the most affordable bottles guaranteed to suck. For my colleagues and me, a better definition is to call a product or brand 'high-end' as a statement about its approach and methodology. A high-end audio brand makes products that reproduce music as true to the original recording as possible. 

This is why price is such a loose indicator of high-end status. I've encountered plenty of highly-priced items over the years from well-known manufacturers that were lacking in so many areas. Not areas that are subject to taste, mind you, but fundamental areas that all high-end products should cover – like a basic level of audio resolution, simple features, sonic impact, and presence in a room. A lot of hi-fi judgement is subjective, but there is a standard that reveals itself when you listen to enough of it. 

On that note, however, there are also some stellar performers that punch well above their price class – more evidence that price is simply not a reliable indicator of quality. In short, it's a brand's ethos that determines its high-end status – that which drives its research and development, quality control and, ultimately, sonic performance. Of course, this begs the question, 'What should the listener look for in a high-end system? The answer is, in a word, emotion

Music is an art form created by humans for humans. It's a way to express emotions – those once felt by artists, which inspired them to create music. From a break-up to the passing of a loved one, from pure joy to anger – all the world's revered music is born of emotion. A well-chosen high-end audio system brings this to life. 

This brings us to another topic: accessibility. Let's rewind to the years before the internet – before CDs, cassette tapes and vinyl. Before we could even record music, attending a live performance was the only way to experience it. With your very own eyes and ears, you had to witness a live performer expressing their emotions through music. 

This form of entertainment still exists. Live concerts are as engaging and exciting as ever – perhaps more so because we experience songs we already love (on Spotify, for instance) in vivid reality. Whilst a highly engaging medium, a live performance isn't always practical for most people. Sometimes you want some musical entertainment at home, on a Friday night with a glass of red. That's why the accessibility of music is ubiquitous. There's a plethora of streaming services all screaming at you for that monthly subscription, and still plenty of brick-and-mortar stores selling vinyl, tapes and CDs. 

The good thing about so much access is that there are plenty of passionate music listeners out there. The bad thing is that so few of them have access to decent hi-fi, so they're hearing a poor reproduction of the original sound. The part that suffers the most is the emotional experience. They're usually listening to compressed music, which still sounds like the song but is missing the finer details that were originally recorded onto the track.

Going back to our wine analogy, a poor Shiraz will still have the 'grapey' tart and tannin notes of a high-quality one – but it won't have the depth of flavour, the ebbs and flows of tasting notes, or the flavour length after each sip. Now, I'm certainly not advocating against this much accessibility. The more people who listen to music, the better it is for the artists and the music industry in general. But I am saying that most people are woefully unaware that they're only hearing half the music they think they are. 

That's often why new customers who visit our showroom and hear their favourite track on one of our systems are completely stunned. They sit there listening to a track they've heard a thousand times, and disbelief washes over them as the music they thought they knew takes on a second, third or fourth dimension. They become connected even deeper to the track. No word of a lie; I've seen many grown men cry in one of our demonstration rooms after discovering the emotion behind a song they thought they knew. It's a very rewarding feeling! 

The next question is, are high-end systems worth the cost? While price is a poor indicator of quality, it's still a factor. But we must remember that we're not just paying for a product. A $50,000 Rolex doesn't tell the time better than a $20 Casio, and a $100,000 loudspeaker may not sound twice as good as a $50,000 one. There's more to the story. As you explore the limits of what's humanly possible in any space, hi-fi included, costs go up. You're not just paying for materials, shipping, and the cost of doing business. You're paying for decades of engineering and research and generations of artisanal skill. And there are 'brand costs' that come with the territory…

The reason companies like Wilson Audio or Gryphon are so highly sought after isn't just because of the performance of their products but also their status. This is built on decades of excellence in their respective fields, and is a guarantee of quality and service for decades to come. The latter is something that isn't true for smaller operations that may produce a fantastic product but might not survive the year, leaving you with a product you cannot service or support.

To drive this point home, consider buying a modern Ferrari over a BMW M3 on specifications alone. Fiscally, it makes no sense. The two cars are almost identical in acceleration and braking times, Nürburgring lap times, standard features, and so on. Yet generally, the Ferrari is more sought after for reasons that aren't pragmatic, and that's completely fine. There should be no need to justify that lustful, emotional desire for something – if you can afford it and want it, why shouldn't you have it? Those of us who can't afford something are never served by indulging jealousy and begrudging someone who can. 

The same is true for high-end audio. Too often on forums and social media, keyboard warriors and trolls come out berating someone fortunate enough to own such a system and brave enough to share it. They spew ridiculous statements like "my $500 speaker I built in my backyard is better" or "you wasted your money on the wrong speaker." Why cause someone else angst out of your own jealously? It serves no one, least of all the trolls who say such things, as it pushes those trolls deeper under the proverbial bridge. Instead, why not join others to celebrate their success and appreciate their ability to own something nice, prestigious, and, most importantly, something that brings their owner joy?

High-end audio isn't for everyone – like fine wine, luxury cars, and watches, not everybody appreciates it. That's alright, but if you love music and never listen to it through decent hi-fi, you really are missing out. So my advice is that if you want to fix that problem, find a good hi-fi specialist, build a relationship with them, and let them show you the way.

For more information visit Audio Connection

Nigel Ng's avatar
Nigel Ng

Having started in the industry at the young age of 14, Nigel has had experience across almost all sectors of the AV industry, nationally and internationally. As Managing Director of Sydney’s Audio Connection, his outlook on life is that “he just wants to do cool stuff with good people”, and “a high tide raises all ships.”

Posted in: StereoLUX! | Hi-Fi

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