Listening to Luxury: What does a $350,000 stereo sound like?

The very best high-end systems don't have a sound per se, they sound like the music they're playing. That's the goal at least, and the $350,000 system I heard at Bill Parish's GTT Audio & Video shop in Long Valley, New Jersey, was one of the best ultra high-end systems I've heard. And I've heard a lot.

Yes Virginia, that's a speaker.

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)

The wild looking MBL 101E Radialstrahler Reference speakers ($49,900/pair) employ utterly unique woofer, midrange, and tweeter technology to radiate sound with perfect, 360 degree dispersion. Sounds technical, but trust me you don't have to be a golden-eared audiophile to hear what that does for the sound of music. The first thing you notice is the sound doesn't sound like it is coming out of boxes, it's so much more like the sound of real instruments, and the MBLs can replicate life-like size and scale of the music. Grand pianos are nine feet long; saxophones emerge with all their brassy, breathy luster intact; and rock rocks harder. Which reminds me, the MBL speakers track the music's soft-to-loud, and loud-to-soft dynamics with remarkable ease. Then again, with 5,000 watt 9011 MBL amplifiers ($75,000 per pair) driving the speakers, you'd expect that. The MBL system isn't just about power, it sounds amazing cruising at late night volume. It's the closest thing to being there you've ever heard.

When Parish spun LPs on the V.Y.G.E.R. Indian Signature turntable the sound was even better, the flesh and blood presence of the music, compared to the CDs, bumps up another few notches. The one area that irked me was the deep bass; there was plenty of it, but it wasn't as precise (on CDs and LPs) as I would have liked.

Now, that's a turntable!

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)

GTT is located in Parish's home, so it's easy to imagine how all of his great gear would sound in your place. Most of his customers are music lovers, but he handles high-end home theater installations as well. GTT operates by appointment only; prices start at $10,000 for individual components and $50,000 for complete systems (there's also a number of more affordably priced trade-ins, check the website for details).

With seven rooms of the world's best gear, Bill Parish has plenty of reasons to smile

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)

Sure, the prices are in the stratosphere, but as I recall from my days as a high-end audio salesman, a lot of my customers owned all sorts of expensive stuff. In many homes the paintings on the wall or even the rug on the floor cost a lot more than their stereo system. A couple of my customers wore watches pricier than Bill Parish's uber system, and all a watch does is tell time. A great hi-fi is a time machine that can bring the Beatles back to life. How much is that worth?

[gt350]

Change is on the way

I have not been much of a C-Net fan, but could it be we are going to actually LISTEN to MUSIC. Now if your reviews will have some substance, (u might loose some AD dollars) U could be on fire. Time to teach the word ANALOG is FASTER SOUNDS BETTER but is inconvenient OH and it doesn't lock up and need to be rebooted. Sorry for the rant but we are few that like uncompressed sound. P.S. For the pod people I don't have 3000 songs but I have 500 Inconvenient but great records that have all the sound.

[7ate9]

Well almost...

Technology exists for convenience and enjoyment - this is also why we have choices. Your tastes, although respected, don't fall into the mainstream of the latest technology. Cnet is a corporation and relies on advertising dollars, like most very large companies. Therefore, they spend their time reviewing stuff that reaches a wider demographic. There are plenty of audiophile sites and magazines on the market. For those keenly interested, they go there instead. On a final note, most people don't care about the best sound quality, they want something that is convenient. 192kbps works better than 24/96kHz for most these days. That's life.

[metalhead11]

Lossless FTW

Analog still is the best... For all you with 30,000 songs on your ipod, i've got a
cool 15,000 RECORDS :P
CHEERS!

[Icaarus]

Analog rules

15,000 records is quite a collection, I do appreciate analog music. How do you get newer releases on vinyl?

[Rod Roddy]

UUUUGGGGLY....

I don't care how good they sound! at the end of the day and your done showing off to your friends, your the sucker that's gonna have to live with that medievil contraption in your living room. Do yourself a favor--if you have that kind of money, go for a "non-iron maiden" 5.1 surround system and save yourself a couple hundred G's.

[WhyFi]

Re: 5.1 surround

On Audiophiliac, the first time you mention 5.1 in a positive light, you get off with a warning. Second time, lifetime ban.

Or at least that's how it [/i]should[/i] work... ;)

Oh, FYI - these items look better in real life and if you have the money for the system, you're not going to squeeze them in to the living room of your 1000 sq ft apartment - you'll have enough coin for a larger home and a dedicated room.

[emailists]

Been in love with the MBL sound for years

I have been following these speakers for years, and immediately loved what
they did when I heard them at an audio show. One person commented he
though they looked ugly, but I think they look just fine. It isn't the look we
audio lovers are generally after, but the pure performance.

I am actually going to listen to a smaller version of these pod speakers in the
next few days, with the same 360 degree sound (same tweeter and
midrange, just lacking the big "footbal' lower midrange unit). If they sound
anything like the bigger version, I may just have to buy them, used of course.

[kryan88]

Vinyl isn't the only option for this stereo system

An audio system like this will sound just as phenomenal with high definition downloads from MusicGiants. For all of you audiophiles not familiar with this service yet, it's worth looking into. MusicGiants is the only digital music company that is licensed in HD from all of the major labels. Downloads sample at rates of up to 1100 kbps. But wait, it gets even better. They also have an exclusive selection of Super HD albums that are SACD and DVD-Audios that have been digitally remastered for 2.0 and 5.1 surround sound. You'll be hooked!