13 TOlEU>NW Am U4- Dring the en;jgtertainer Into your home The ideal of any home stereo sys- tem is to make recorded music sound as if it is being performed in your liv- ing room. The pinnacle of ibis musical magic act is the products produced by smaller, no-nonsense, entrepreneurial companies generally classified as high-end audio. Once you close your eyes, you may flot believe your ears. "We are illusionists," says Dr. William Osgood, president of speaker- maker Snell Acoustics. -We are creai- ing an illusion that the Chicago Symphony is sitting there, or that your favorite performer is standing there. Our job is to make that illusion as con- vincing as possible. " To many of the companies in the high-end audio industry, creating these products is flot simply a business, but an art form. A majority of the compo- nents classified as high-end audio are ... ade ini the United States, designed by an aurai visionary andi built by hand, like a painting or a sculpture. -You get a designer's focuseti engineering efforts," explains John Bevier, manag- er of consumer products at hîgh-end heatiphone-maker Sennheiser. -Thai yields a more complete product than what might be the resuit of a team of lesser coordînateti engineers." High-end audio products are built to last. "You 're buying something that's essentially bult to NASA standards," says Daniel D'Agostino, CEO of Krell Industries. "Components are buiît well beyond the specifications of military equipment, 10 exact tolerances andi specifications." This care and attention 10 quality and detail can be expensive. But a basic high-end sysiemn consisting of a pair of loutispeakers, a power amplifi- er, a pre-amp and a compact disc play- er can cost less than $3,000 - a bar- gain at twice the pnice. "A lot of equipment is custom-built to last longer, sounti better and give lasting enjoymeni because it won't go out of date tomorrow morn'ing," explains D'Agostino. "It coulti be the purchase for a lifetime." High-end equipmenî is solti mostly in audio salons, where salespeople are highly knowledgeable, eager 10 explain and demonsirate equipment, andi allow you 10 shop ai a leisurely pace. However, many consumers are daunteti by the prospect of entering the often esoteric world of higji-end audio. WIten shopping, D'Agosiino suggests lisîening to nothing and no one but your own ears'. "Bring your own source material, stuif you like 10 lisien 10, no matter how il is recordeti or how much the salesman sneers," D'Agostino says. "Don't be swayed by the salesman's opinion. Just listen and choose with your own cars." Any Itigh-end system starts firsi and foremosi with a pair of quality louti- speakers, te heart of any gooti sounti system. '*The di-fferencc-beiween a mediocre speaker andi a good-qualiîy speaker cari be dramatically noticeti by even an uniutored ear," Osgood explains. "In a comparison tiemo, thai person would hear differences like night andi day." To compîcte a basic higIt-enti sys- tecm, speakers are pluggct 1 a Class A power amplifier. The power amp is hooket 1 a separate pre-amp thai pro- vides source switching between com- ponients - for instance, betwecn a CD player and a tuner - anti volume con- trol. This separating of functions mbt individual oomponents eliminates electronic and magnetic interference thai cari distort the sound. Finally, the use of premium speaker cables andi componeni interconnecis,. construcieti of high-grade condûctive copper and effectively insulateti against signai loss, provides the differ- ence befween a system -that merely sounds gooti and one tbat sounds greai. "AIl cables aci as filters," explains Steven Hill, owner and presi- dent of Straighi Wire. "Thtis filtering removes details andi musical informa- tion. Premium cables (reduce the fil- te ring and) will give the customer whai his systcm is capable of deliver- ing.". Cables are one of many incremental methotis that help create music that audiophiles describe as "transparent," as if there is'nothing between you anti the performance. -As you begin invesîing in degrees of illusion, it becomes relatively easy 10 pursue enhancemenis, not jusi to buy different pieces of technology, but because they increase the realiîy of the illusion," Osgood says. Stop in at a high-enti audio salon and hear thc illusion. ýý ý - - 0 > 1 à Il IWI ý - 1 - - ----