Hunt for hifi VII: Verdict prelude

Before I reveal to you, my imaginary horde of loyal readers, what the final outcome of my quest to replace my old speakers is, I will briefly summarize the previous posts in this series:

Part I briefly touched on my approach to music and attitude towards high-end, or audiophile, sound, before telling the story of how my eyes (or rather, ears) were opened by what may well be the most impressive speaker I have encountered.

Part II explains in greater depth how I think with regards to assembling a stereo system, and then tells the tale of my first auditions of the Focal Diablo Utopia speakers, where I tried very hard to find something cheaper to redirect my lust towards.

High-end audio is full of bullshit snake-oil superstition, and in Part III some aspects of this gets a going over, summed up with some basic advice on how to steer clear of the nonense.

In Part IV the drama becomes palpable as a real monkey wrench is thrown into the mix with the MBL 121 speakers. I describe my listening experiences in some detail and try to shed light on the difference between them and the Focal's.

As I've become more or less obsessed with this process, I have rambled about speakers to everyone I meet. This is often met with what almost amounts to ridicule once I mention the price range these things are in. So for Part V I put this type of investment into some perspective, hopefully showing that it's not as insane as some would make it out to be.

Finally in Part VI I have reluctantly accepted that this is the price range required to make me happy. I talk about my axiety over having to make a choice, somewhat pessimistic about the goal of every being satisfied.