Am I Bad Listener?


Let me say from the outset that I love audio gear and I love the sound of mid-high end audio. But here's the thing ...

The only part of a system that I can hear a real difference in is speakers. In my system over the past few months I have tested three different amps (a 30W tube, a 150W SS integrated and a 200W SS amp plus a bi-amp configuration), a tube preamp, no preamp (direct to amp via DAC with volume control) and most recently a bunch of different speaker wires (my original Audience Maestros, a DIY Home Depot 10 gauge concoction, Anticables and two other sets of very expensive wires borrowed from a local dealer - some bi-wired & some single with jumpers). Oh, and a series of different IC's.

With the possible exception of the insertion of the tube preamp, I can't really tell much of a difference regardless of what I do. I have had similar experiences at dealers. But switching back and forth between different speakers I can hear huge differences.

I think my system sounds really good but is modest by comparison to many on A'gon - Olive Musica, Benchmark DAC, Minimax Preamp, Meridian G57 amp (sometimes switched for a Classe or Prima Luna) - so maybe that's it. In a modest system the effect of switching components or wires just won't yield huge sound changes. Or maybe I just don't hear in a very detailed manner.

I spend a fair amount of time reading posts here and people claim to have genuine sonic revelations by switching an interconnect or a tube or piece of speaker wire. I love buying the new stuff and giving it a try but I just don't seem to ever hear a sonic revelation and end up re-selling it.

Does anyone share my experience or is there something this sad, pathetic audiophile is missing?
Ag insider logo xs@2xitball
you are a lucky dude! While I do not claim to have golden ears, I can tell the difference between components up to a certain level. Perhaps my ear more tin instead of gold! I view this as a blessing for my wallet! Just sit back and enjoy and whatever system makes you happy. After all, isnt that the point??
Does anyone share my experience or is there something this sad, pathetic audiophile is missing?

A lot of the gear you describe is intended to sound correct so it should sound extremely close (often hard to identify in a double blind test). I share your experience that speakers make the biggest difference. The nest biggest thing for me is room acoustics. I am lucky that the vast majority of mid level amps and entry level CD players sound good enough to me. There are differences as you go higher in price but I find that these differences are dwarfed by differences between one recording and another.
It takes time, just like say, appreciating wine. my hearing, I am sure, is worse than in my twenties, but I ascertain differences in things much better now. I also have developed a set of discs for certain things to look for like soundstaging, congestion, etc. However, sometimes that just gets in the way of enjoying the sound. Now I go to concerts and wonder about changes in the acoustics of the hall, or what would happen if they used big ol water cooled tube amps, etc. I say enjoy your system, keep everything the same for a few months, and then change something and see if it makes a difference, if not, how cool, off the audio merry go round goeth you.

Cheers,
Chris
My problem is that when I hear a difference, I can't say if it's better. Usually, there's give and take.
ngjocky.. it's why almost everybody I know has a few favorite discs, (I have been using a Diana Krall disc forever) that they know really well. I play something, I hear something different, not sure what it is. So I play it again with the old component, the I switch it again, just listening for that passage, and eventually, if I am lucky I figure out what it is. Then I figure out if I like it. Here is a perfect example, I was trying some Nordost Valhalla interconnects. I heard a wider soundstage immediately vs. my reference, only slightly less deep. But then I kept listening, and there was something bothering me. So I took out a cd called Ucross, and there was no body to the bass relatively. It almost hurt my ears. But for six or seven other cd's, it wasn't immediately noticeable. So do ya want a soundstage, or do ya want fuller bass... or do you ya trash both cables to find the wider sound stage with the fuller bass? And therein lies the crappy part of cables.. the differences are generally subtle, it takes a while to figure out where the diffs are, and then if ya haven't found the perfect cable, ya try again. And then there are the times I am wrong. I remember a very respected reviewer loved some fibre optic cables, loved loved loved. He had them for months I think, and compared them against other cables. Come to find out he liked a very flawed cable, which after an even longer time bothered him, and which measured as it turns out terribly. Sometimes, like when I changed my preamp from a digital preamp, the differences are very apparent, and sometimes they are good, sometimes they are bad, and sometimes I'm still not sure which trade-offs I prefer. Confused yet?

Cheers,
C