Chronicles of obsession: Magazines for the audiophile

Abstract

The December 1992 issue of Stereophile featured on its cover the magazine's choice for the best product of the year: the Mark Levinson No. 30 Digital Processor. This $15,000 piece of stereo equipment is designed to accept the digital signal from a compact disk or other digital recording medium and convert it to an analog signal that will be amplified and sent out to a pair of loudspeakers. A close examination of the Levinson No. 30 reveals it to be a marvel of state-of-the-art electrical engineering, using parts of such high quality that jealousy might be induced at the Pentagon. The Levinson No. 30, however, is marketed as a consumer product. It stands as an example of how far an audiophile's obsession can extend. The quest to accurately and fully reproduce recorded sound in the home knows no boundaries other than those set by the laws of physics and the size of an audiophile's budget. An audiophile committed to putting together the best stereo system possible can easily spend over $100,000. The components will typically come from manufacturers whose names are completely unfamiliar to those who buy their stereos at local discount stores like Circuit City, Silo, and Best Buy. Manufacturers like Audio Research, Madrigal Audio, Krell, Apogee Acoustics, and Thiel Audio Products sell their wares at high-end audio stores, many of which have the air of specialized boutiques and serve as gathering places for a community's audiophiles. In recent years American manufacturers of high-end stereo equipment have