Over the weekend I had an opportunity at a local hi-fi store to hear Richard Vandersteen give a talk on speaker design and his audio philosophy which was truly fascinating, and I could have listened to him for hours.

At the end of the presentation was a demonstration of his latest Kento Carbon floor standing speakers which run $42,000 per pair.

They were powered by a pair of Vandersteen M5-HPA high pass mono blocks at $17,000/pair.

The source was a dCS Dac ( can't remember which one, but it was at least $20,000) .  I did not take note of any of the other aspects of the system.

I have to say - I was underwhelmed.  I am relatively new to this hobby but the sound was not engaging.

It was impressive in that it was a BIG sound that was crystal clear and played without distortion, but it felt incredibly sterile.  

I would imagine this has as much to do with taste as anything, but I want so much more from my system.  Especially for that kind of money.

When I listen to my comparatively pauper-like system at home, I get drawn into the experience, and I can't count the number of times if I happen to be reading, the music makes me stop and just listen.

While it was certainly a lot of fun to see that level of equipment, it gave me great reassurance to know that you don't have to spend nearly that much to have a transcendent experience.

Dr3, you have a local hifi store?  That’s weird!

Vandersteen has built quite the business.  I’ll bet he has a million great stories.  Glad you had a good time.

I had a pair of his model 2 speakers around the mid-80’s that I drove with a big VTL PP amp.  I read somewhere that Vandersteen has sold well over 100,000 pairs of the model 2.  I guess the model 2’s are ok for what they are, but they’re not that good, and yet, Richard continues to sell them!  He must be a marketing master and a great salesman.

Dr3wman, unfortunately that’s the way the mainstream industry has been going. Super high price point components that don’t sound like music. Topping it off, a terrible room. Leaves me shaking my head.

Your experience is the norm. I’ve heard from multiple people who have gone to listen to high end systems, coming away unimpressed.

I spent a bunch of time with a system consisting of CXNv2 -> ZROCK2 -> ZMA -> F15 Iconoclast RCAs and Zenwave speaker cables and DECWARE PCs. It was a fantastic setup! Emotionally moving and could get lost in the music.  Guessing this setup is less than the cables used in the demo system you listened to.