AXPONA 2016

Audio Alchemy's Peter Madnick Provides Tour of Great Sounding, Moderately Priced System

Michael Fremer  |  Apr 19, 2016

Industry veteran/designer Peter Madnick shows analogplanet.com the latest from the resurrected Audio Alchemy electronics line. Madnick was also responsible for the original 1990's era Audio Alchemy line.

He's also the chief designer for the high performance electronics brand Constellation. He's a busy fellow!

The Endeavor E5 speakers (circa $7000) driven by Audio Alchemy electronics produced ear-catching sound for around $15,000. Not exactly a budget priced system, but not super expensive either—for high performance audio.

The Endeavor E5 slender baffle speaker incorporates Cellular Matrix, non-parallel wall cabinetry, Linkwitz-Riley crossover network, in a design that's said to be 91dB efficient with a nominal 8 ohm impedance, making it an easy to drive design that's claimed to have a frequency response of 24Hz-40kHz±3dB. This is a re-worked version of the well-regarded speaker, featuring a new tweeter and various other upgrades.

The sound in this room was outstanding by any standard and sounded as if the assemblage cost far more than it actually did.

COMMENTS
AnalogJ's picture
Submitted by AnalogJ on Tue, 2016-04-19 14:25

As I understand it, this "moderately priced" system comes in around $15,000 without cables and just one music source.

In this day and age? What defines a moderately priced system?? As a country, we have been trying to define middle-class. $250,000?

So add in moderately priced cabling and a moderately priced turntable. Can we say safely say $20,000?

When I add up the retail of my system, it's up around $15,000 for everything, though I often bought used, or at a discount. But my system includes a turntable, two cartridges, and an outboard phono stage, not to mention a very good CD player. My speakers are very, shall I say, moderately priced, having retailed in the 1990s around $1500. But in certain contexts, those are lower priced speakers (and while they're extraordinary for the money, they're the relative weak link in my system, though they were heartily approved of by two different audiophile reviewers).

But what would probably come out to a $20,000 may or not seem moderately priced, depending on the eyes of the beholder.

cpp's picture
Submitted by cpp on Thu, 2016-04-21 16:33

Not sure what country your in but in the US middle Class or the a upper part of middle class is $52,800 a year and that is for 2 people.

AnalogJ's picture
Submitted by AnalogJ on Mon, 2016-04-25 06:06

From US News & World Report in 2012 (and keep in mind the further separation since then between the haves and have-nots, leaving more of a suckout in the middle): "...lower-middle class, which is primarily comprised of lower-level, white-collar workers. These workers typically have college educations, but lack the graduate degrees needed to advance to higher levels of employment. Income for these workers generally falls between $32,500 and $60,000."

That's per person.

You can read the whole article here:

http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2012/09/13/where...

AnalogJ's picture
Submitted by AnalogJ on Mon, 2016-04-25 06:11

That article states that Upper Middle Class starts around $100,000 per year per person.

Today, a family of 4 with a total income of $100,000 would have a hard time affording a single family home, plus college at a private school. My wife and I earn just under that amount in total, have no kids, live in a condo (that we own), live somewhat comfortably, but still struggle, living in the Northeast.

doak's picture
Submitted by doak on Tue, 2016-04-19 14:49

... is ALWAYS a subjective/relative term.

es347's picture
Submitted by es347 on Wed, 2016-04-20 07:56

..were not the E5s but rather the E3s...I agree that the room was right up there with the big boys..

Anton D's picture
Submitted by Anton D on Wed, 2016-04-20 08:41

Was he demoing his phono preamp?

It seems well placed in the price market.

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