RANT: Giant Killers & The Myth of Something for Nothing

He's Doomed.

When you look at various forums, and talk to audiophiles, there is a common mythical beast, the so-called Giant Killer.

The Giant Killer means many things to many people, but in essence, it is a variation of the "something for nothing" but its story is one of hope that there exists a combinations of improbable engineering successes, and marketing blunders that offers incredible performance for a pittance.

Audio reviewers talk about Giant Killers in hushed tones, audio enthusiasts look for these deals (usually fruitlessly) in new and used gear to try to find that magic component that would be like a sprinkle of pixie dust to suddenly propel their system into a new category of performance.

As you can guess, we're skeptical about these so-called Giant Killers (heneforth referred to as GK in this entry), and think the sweat, time and effort would be best spent making synergistic upgrades, careful experiments with cables and room treatments and speaker placements.  We've seen that a modest system that maximizes synergy, speaker placement, and acoustics will tend to outperform other systems that are more of a muddle of gear, placement and acoustics even if significantly more expensive.  If there is a path to killing those giants, that's more or a sure bet, hunting Boogfoot/GK is less certain.

So ... About this Giant Killer

There are lots of perceptions about GK's.  One is that it is a piece of gear that when places with significantly more expensive stuff, doesn't suck, and in some cases might improve the sound.  We don't doubt that synergy is possible this way under specific and limited circumstances.  But it is also probably not what the GK hunter is after.  What most GK hunters are after is, for lack of a better term, magic pixie dust.

The typical GK hunter, is looking for a piece of gear that though a combination of improbable engineering successes, and marketing blunders, as well as a certain sumpin' sumpin' else, when placed in a modest system, will transform it into something that performs at a level well above what would be expected for what the entire stereo costs.  It's the typical punter that wants to spend $500 and get $5000 of value when placed into a stereo stack made up of $500 parts.

Probably the wisest and most successful approach would be to find something that enhances the system synergy, and pay attention to speaker placement, room acoustics to extract the most.  Most stereos are capable of performing well above the level they normally do when those things are addressed.

But ... I have heard that XYZ is a Giant Killer!

While we do not feel that there really is anything that is really a Giant Killer, there are lots of things out there that offer good value when in the right system.  While we have yet to find the 'magic pixie dust' type of GK, there are a couple of our favorite values, but they are by no means GK, though some think they are:

The Denon DL-103r:  Fantastic Value but the Giants are Still Standing
As a "for instance" let's look at a very common cartridge, and one of our references, the Denon DL-103r.  It is oftentimes called a Giant Killer, and of all the cartridges, is probably closest to a Giant Killer as I have ever experienced.  What it's go going for it:  It's "only" $350-380, and for a decent LOMC that's cheap.  Compared to MM catridges, not too bad either.  We'd select this cartridge over nearly anything that shares its price range.

 It seems to bring recordings done in the 1960's and 1970's "alive" in a way that many similarly priced cartridges simply do not.  It's warm, which does a lot of help records that are of average quality.  It's also very forgiving of setup, though careful setup pays off in a big way.  But the downside?  It isn't as good at rejecting surface noise and retrieving detail as some cartridges a little bit more expensive.  You will need a phonostage (or transformer) to take it's very low output.  While it pays nice with less expensive tonearms, it does much better with a medium to heavy arm.  It's excitement has more to do with being a little midrange-forward, and less in accurate sound reproduction.  Most cartridges in the next price category up from it, in the $600-1000 range, clean its clock on all fronts. But wait, you might say, those catridges are more expensive so it isn't fair.  You are correct, though if it is a true GK, then the comparison is fair, isn't it?  If it is a Giant Killer, what sort of Giant is it supposed to Kill?  Lyra?  Ortofon Cadenza?  Dynavector XX-2?  I am not sure that any Denon DL-103r is under any notion that they have secretly bested those pickups, just they have a highly resolving, well engineered value.

But lt's be clear:  we love Love LOVE this pickup.  We will always own and use one.  We think it offers a unique presentation, voicing and value that's rare in audio today.  It may be one of the more musical cartridges we own.  But we don't think it is a GK, just a great value and a great choice.  It might just be the exact right thing someone wants out of a setup.  In fact, we know of quite a few people that use this in rather expensive setups, too.  Nothing wrong with that, too.  (There is something to be said for a slightly less detailed presentation - actual live performance doesn't have the breath, lip smacking and other incidental noises praised by some audiophiles.  But to be fair, it is detailed compared to a lot of carts sitting at and above its price range)

Hey, aren't there others ?

Of course, but we also don't want to pick fights.  Usually every single review and every one we've auditioned has a caveat attached - a "for the money" or some drawback or expensive accommodation in the system to extract full measure of the value (like a popular panel speaker's low price is usually paid for by the larger more expensive amp, for instance) None of the products that are claimed by some to be "Giant Killers" are actually bad products, and we don't want to give out the message there are flaws or problems with this - because there aren't.  Just the value may not fall into the "magic pixie dust" or "something for nothing" category.

Conclusion:  Giant Slain?

The point we're making is that a product which is called a Giant Killer, may really be just a great product that can give you a high level of performance so long as you pay attention to system synergy, room acoustics and other aspects of setups.  Instead of joining Ponce De Leon on his search for the Fountain, metaphorically speaking, you may be better off paying attention to your system setup, and if there is any giant slaying to be had, it will be there, because a very modest system can destroy a poorly set up expensive system, and we can pretty much guarantee most people with expensive system are more comfortable in throwing money at it, that trying to get it to work optimally.

If there is a Giant Slayer, perhaps it's really what you do with what you have to maximize performance.