What is Low End ?

[Sotsirc]

I'd say it depends on the price range. But generally stuff that is aimed at the avarage consumer rather than the jaded professional, pricewise.

[TheLoud1Please]

anything that costs less than 50% of the average street price of the ideally suited device available for the same application :P

[deft_bonz]

It's mostly the price. The cutoff depends on what you do.

E.g. 2000$ for a fully treated room plus a booth (DIY of course) would be considered low end pricewise. But it doesn't mean that the treatment is worth nothing.

[robstercraw]

So if a dude just bought a house and found a peerfectly working ssl console in his basement and didnt know what it was and sold it to me for $500, would it still be considered low end?

[deft_bonz]

Originally Posted by robstercraw

So if a dude just bought a house and found a peerfectly working ssl console in his basement and didnt know what it was and sold it to me for $500, would it still be considered low end?

LOL

No, the original price is considered, not the reselling price.

This one is just considered low IQ

[psycho_monkey]

Originally Posted by NothingTheory

What is your definition of Low End ? The forum header says "Big sounds out of small pockets" .. is price the only consideration ?

If you could get something that was used in high end studios for a few hundred would that still be considered low end ?

Is the cutoff at $500, $1000 ? $2000 ? I occasionally see stuff in the $1000-$2000 range discussed here, is that appropriate ? Is there a Mid End that ends up here rather than in High End ?

Just curious what everyone thinks.

Mark

Plenty of things in high end studios cost a few hundred dollars.

But as with everything, it's common sense and soft boundaries. No hard devisions.

As for your $500 ssl, you realize it'd cost you another 5-10k to commission it for use, right?

[javd007]

Consumer oriented products vs pro.

[tINY]

The old 80/20 rule could apply here:

80% of the performance at 20% of the price....

Of course, most of the good "low end" pieces are closer to 95% of the performance of the best these days. And, sometimes High End actually performs less-well than the upper reaches of Low End.

I think that the 80/20 for low end might be in the cost of making the unit - 80% to things that make it sound better and 20% on making the chasis look/feel good.




-tINY

[jrod9900]

I'm curious if like the Chameleon Labs gear is considered low-end. The 7602 with Xmod upgrade close to N*ve specs puts you at almost a grand. Is that low end?

JROD

[ShadowAMD]

Originally Posted by jrod9900

I'm curious if like the Chameleon Labs gear is considered low-end. The 7602 with Xmod upgrade close to N*ve specs puts you at almost a grand. Is that low end?

JROD

It's odd really, spending $3000 on a mixer is low end but spending $3000 on an interface is high end.. $1500 on a mic is high end, but spending $800 on a mic with the exact same capsules and set up is low end..

Ha makes sense, I agree with Tiny especially in the mid market there isn't a whole load of difference.

[gouge]

i always thought low end was more about skill set than gear available.

[Stuart Coleco]

Originally Posted by gouge

i always thought low end was more about skill set than gear available.

I guess I agree, to an extent. Build quality is a good indicator. Hold an MXL 990 and a Neumann TLM49 side by side. I think you'll notice a difference.

[David C.]

I think of 'low end' as using Mackie mixer, under $350.00 mics and interface and perhaps a 70's Yamaha natural sound receiver and 80's Polk Monitor 4 speakers for monitoring.

Also things like the GAP 73 which is at a much lower price point than anything Nevey but sounds quite good. RNC is a great example of a low end device that can sound very good.

I guess there are a lot of mid priced gear items that are low end because they've sorted a way to make something that sounds great for not a lot of cash, or costing much less than they used to like all the LDC mics that have sprung up in the last decade or so.

[ShadowAMD]

Originally Posted by David C.

I think of 'low end' as using Mackie mixer, under $350.00 mics and interface and perhaps a 70's Yamaha natural sound receiver and 80's Polk Monitor 4 speakers for monitoring.

Also things like the GAP 73 which is at a much lower price point than anything Nevey but sounds quite good. RNC is a great example of a low end device that can sound very good.

I guess there are a lot of mid priced gear items that are low end because they've sorted a way to make something that sounds great for not a lot of cash, or costing much less than they used to like all the LDC mics that have sprung up in the last decade or so.

Exactly, I got a Mojave Fet for $800 not quite low end but not high end either and does as well as anything else I have ever used.

[hipporu]

I think the low end is where you spend the money that would get a concrete result. High-end when you spend money on a hypothetical problem that may never happen as a result ...

[fito_88]

Originally Posted by deft_bonz

LOL

No, the original price is considered, not the reselling price.

This one is just considered low IQ

[fito_88]

low end is what gives you 90% professional sound for 20% of the high end prices

whereas you pay the extra 80% to get the extra 10% sound improvement, worth it?

[deft_bonz]

Originally Posted by fito_88

low end is what gives you 90% professional sound for 20% of the high end prices

whereas you pay the extra 80% to get the extra 10% sound improvement, worth it?

This Pareto principle goes anyway for everything.

80% is reached with 20% effort, while the remaining 20% will need 80% effort. And most of the time 80% are way enough. But sometimes it's not.

Is it worth it? That highly depends on yourself.

[fito_88]

Originally Posted by deft_bonz

This Pareto principle goes anyway for everything.

80% is reached with 20% effort, while the remaining 20% will need 80% effort. And most of the time 80% are way enough. But sometimes it's not.

Is it worth it? That highly depends on yourself.

totally agree with you, it needs more personal skills too to achieve the remaining 20% not just gear.

[deft_bonz]

Originally Posted by fito_88

totally agree with you, it needs more personal skills too to achieve the remaining 20% not just gear.

I think so too. Personal experience and knowledge to get the best out of the best gear.

[kafka]

Low end is anything less than 200Hz.

[Seeker of Rock]

Originally Posted by David C.

I think of 'low end' as using Mackie mixer

Me, too. Here is my Mackie mixer in my low end home studio.

[Pezz]

Originally Posted by ShadowAMD

It's odd really, spending $3000 on a mixer is low end but spending $3000 on an interface is high end.. $1500 on a mic is high end, but spending $800 on a mic with the exact same capsules and set up is low end..

Ha makes sense, I agree with Tiny especially in the mid market there isn't a whole load of difference.

$800 on a mic is unachievably high end my ends. Low end to me is what i am ie. getting whatever equipment i can get at the cheapest cost and trying to get the best out of it.

[Stevil]

Price & Performance are the main factors.
For me low end = anything I can purchase retail without it effecting my credit score.

[NothingTheory]

Thanks for all the input everyone !

I was trying to come up with a good example for me where it starts to get grey ... and the best I could think of was Black Lion Audio. Lots of stuff to do/get for under $1000, better stuff for over $1000 .. and they are aiming the quality bar very high. Some of their stuff is used in very high end studios. So is it low end or high end ? Maybe the best of both.

[tINY]

"Pro" studios often have a collection of "low end" gear.

Sometimes, it's about the options....




-tINY