A personal take on HW, and the myths and legends of decent VS expensive.

[alex stone]

Found this and I thought I'd share, without comment.

Alex.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSiVgZWnoDE

[Audiojunkie]

Very interesting!! I may have to start following that guy's broadcasts!

[talby]

That video claims about good and bad, but it does not deliver any facts. Instead it ignores to comment on many aspects which would make the difference between the various products.

Better spend your time here: https://www.youtube.com/@JulianKrause
and additionally inform yourself about LINUX compatibility, sticking to the standards, reliability, longevity, ease of operation, support, other extras like accompanying software bundles and their LINUX compatibility, reliability, longevity, etc. .
That guy even claims in that video he would not be interested in anything more than having how many mic inputs for recording to his PC, and having some output to some speakers, is not discussing any preamplifier specifications, but still concludes that expensive gear would most likely just be overpriced. On that low quality level of comparing equipment I conclude that his writing about DAC won't be worth to read either.

[sunrat]

It's just an opinion piece, not the first one ever on the internet. His opinions align with my experience - the cheapest stuff is most likely rubbish, mid price stuff ranges from slightly better than rubbish to remarkable value for money, and the most expensive stuff is usually good but often overpriced. It goes for almost anything on the market, not just audio gear.

[glowrak guy]

The number of people willing to buy high-spec gear is always larger than the number of those buyers who understand it's capabilities, and are willing to do the work necessary to have their music take advantage of the specs. When I play one of my songs right after hearing a 'pro' release, on youtube or spotify, (and without understanding their 'compression' regimen etc ) I don't hear a need to invest in newer higher spec hardware. My newest gear is a Fender GT 40 usb modeling amp, IK Multimedia UNO analog synth, and NUX Mighty Plug 'headphone' ampsim, each getting old and replaced on shelves by newer versions. The three together cost around $320, and they sound better than I play But practice is quite inexpensive these days and many capabilities of the hardware are yet to be tapped, as the more obvious qualities take up the spare time.

But music, whether a hobby, a passion, a side-gig, or a career, is a healthy activity, comparison shopping and study are fun for me, and spending money on such things comes naturally, albeit rarely. I did spring for a Hive 2 synth soundset at $22 in the current sale, worth every penny tenfold, but not adding in the price of hours of lost sleep
Cheers