I was perusing some reviews of some Pre-Amps, and ran across this in a stereophile review of the ARC Ref 3...
Quote:
Audio reviewers are regularly excoriated for saying that the Cosmic Kaboom Z-1 is "the best," only to say a few months later that the Planetsmasher Egomania 5000 is now the best of the best and the new state of the art. This is not evidence of conspiracy or caprice or bribery, but the inevitable result of the last decade's advances in all aspects of audio design and manufacturing. Today's finest audio gear is so good that ever-smaller or previously unheard differences are now much more apparent and important.
One factor in this is the boggling increase in broadband resolution available from modern cutting-edge speakers. Higher-ups at both Wilson Audio Specialties and Audio Research Corporation have told me that the reason each of their companies' current products are so good is because of what the other company's latest products are now able to reveal to them about their own efforts. Such symbiosis breeds improvement all around in an evolutionary loop of constantly increasing knowledge. Differences that would have been virtually inaudible with the best gear of only 10 to 15 years ago are now impossible not to hear.
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Stereophile: Audio Research Reference 3 line preamplifier