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Future Classics

Awhile back I asked the Anachrophile himself, Ken Kessler, this same question. Here is the relevant part of his reply (kvetching deleted);
“...Modern classics? Audio Research Ref 6 and Ref 75SE, Wilson Alexia, possibly the KEF LS50, SME 20/12, the Nagra CD player, etc - there are plenty of candidates but little interest...”
Personally, I think the LS50 is a no-brainer classic. Surprised that there’s even a controversy about it.
 
Tony L said:
Not so sure. Collector/classic grade kit tends to be the upmarket stuff...
FWIW I’ve long felt that Kef should make an upmarket UK-made limited edition LS50 with an Eames-style thick shaped/curved plywood front and a black or transparent driver and charge about £3.5k for it...
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Well, I understand this sentiment, but when this happens a lot it just inspires other manufacturers to needlessly raise their prices and in the long run shrinks the overall market. At least, that seems to be what has happened in many cases in the hi-fi world where there used to be a pretty robust mid-range of quality that is now very much smaller while the tiny tippy top gone ever higher in price. Hard to imagine a pair of $200,000 speakers ever being considered “classic,” I think. But I am kinda old fashioned, so I could be wrong....
 
Brucedgoose said:
Well, I understand this sentiment, but when this happens a lot it just inspires other manufacturers to needlessly raise their prices and in the long run shrinks the overall market. At least, that seems to be what has happened in many cases in the hi-fi world where there used to be a pretty robust mid-range of quality that is now very much smaller while the tiny tippy top gone ever higher in price. Hard to imagine a pair of $200,000 speakers ever being considered “classic,” I think. But I am kinda old fashioned, so I could be wrong....
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I view it that the LS50 (and any other Chinese-made kit) is vastly under-priced. To my eyes and ears it is a £2k speaker, maybe more. It costs under a £k as it is made in the totally fake economy of China which is ultra low-wage and absolutely flooding the market for political reasons (to undermine the western economy, remove any ability for industrial competition etc). There is so much Chinese stuff that is effectively free, e.g. you can buy a multimeter or whatever for about a fiver delivered. It’s crap, probably dangerous, but it is a multimeter. In any real economy it costs way more than a fiver just to post a multimeter to China. It is the same with the guitar and musical instrument market, a ‘Strat’ made by children in Indonesia or wherever costs <£100, a real one made by American craftsmen about £1200. There are obviously many exceptions, e.g. Apple stuff and a lot of hi-fi is made with cheap labour in China but is not cheap to the end-user. I hate to think what the corporate profit margin on Apple kit is, but I’d expect it to be about >80%. A lot of hi-fi is likely in that range too.

I do try and factor politics and environmentalism into my purchasing decisions and consciously avoid buying product made in dictatorships or with exploited labour. Obviously I’m trapped with a lot of stuff, e.g. computing and much consumer electronics is built on exploited labour in China in very non-green environments. I’m typing this on an iPad Pro which was likely made at the notorious Foxconn where they actually had to put nets up to stop workers committing suicide! With hi-fi it is very easy to avoid if one chooses to and is prepared to either pay someone a decent living wage in the UK, America, Japan or wherever, or do the really green thing and restore and enjoy the best of classic audio.
 
A selection of my future classics -

ATC curved SCM11

ATC curved SCM40A

Naim Audio SuperNait 3

Naim Audio NAP300 DR

DENAFRIPS Ares II DAC

DENAFRIPS Terminator DAC

QLN Prestige 3

Audionet WATT

Acoustic Energy AE509

Monitor Audio Apex A10 and A40

Monitor Audio 5G Gold 200

JL Audio Gotham g123 v2
 
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ProAc Tablette 10

Audionote Arm1v2 ( in an underground way.)

Graham Audio LS5/9

Rega IO


Possibly one of the Gato amplifiers.
 
ampedup said:
I thought the Brio would be a candidate, but I'm surprised at your comment comparing it to the Elex-r. Would you mind explaining why you prefer the Brio-r?
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Not the Brio-r, the Brio(2016 model) haven’t heard the r. Have owned both brio and elex-r and thought the brio had deeper bass and was an overall warmer presentation particularly in the treble. Whilst elex-r was quicker but more forward in the treble so can be bright with certain speakers, whilst the brio was easier to pair. In my view the brio is one of the best value items in Hifi.

In fact I may change my mind - will add Brio to my list of future classics.
 
Neil P said:
I keep hearing about Accuphase ... never heard one, but I love the look ... will they ever be regarded as classics?
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The early models already are, so yes they are clearly in the frame. A lot depends on how service-friendly they are, e.g. are schematics and service data available, how many parts are bespoke. I haven’t researched this, but really this is the potential stumbling block for most things. FWIW I like Accuphase kit.

PS As I point out in the Right To Repair thread the current classics (Quad, Leak, McIntosh etc) actually shipped with a full schematic in the back of the manual, and were of simple construction. Most of the next generation (‘70s-80) had service manuals and schematics that were available to independent repair techs and are now in the public domain. It is only comparatively recently that there has been a culture of secrecy and the built-in obsolescence that brings. Nothing will attain classic status if the majority are broken and unfixable! IIRC Devialet Phantoms are classed as ‘non-repairable’ even by their manufacturer, let alone independent techs (the cabinets can’t be reopened), so no way in hell they’ll ever attain classic status as they’ll all be in landfill by the time that call is made!
 
Tony L said:
IIRC Devialet Phantoms are classed as ‘non-repairable’ even by their manufacturer, let alone independent techs (the cabinets can’t be reopened), so no way in hell they’ll ever attain classic status as they’ll all be in landfill by the time that call is made!
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Apologies for the off-topic aside but I had to laugh at this bit of marketing on the Phantom website: "The only thing better than one Phantom? Two. In stereo, Phantom's soundstage expands even further and listening takes on a new dimension as the speakers dance in absolute synchronicity. More extreme, more powerful, more exhilarating. It is an unthinkably immersive experience. When combined, Phantom becomes the most compact high-end stereo system on the market. Hint: stand in the middle and you'll feel like you're center stage. Really." They've invented stereophonic sound! I hope they patented it.

But anyway, it's reprehensible for them to have made such a device to be irreparable. That said, the software will likely be useless on it before the hardware gives up, so its shelf life is rendered even shorter...
 
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