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Audio Lessons Learned - post your best advice for the newer members!

Hi,
I thought it would be great to have our longtime audiophiles post their "lessons learned" along the way.

This is not a thread to start arguments, so please do not do that.
Just a repository where newer members can go to get a few good tidbits of knowledge.

I'll start - I have been an audiophile for 50 years now.

1. Learn about how humans hear sound, and what frequencies SHOULD NOT be flat in their response.. This should be the basis for your system. "Neutral" sounding systems DO NOT sound good to the human ear. You will be unsatified for years (like I was) until you realize this.

2. I do not "chase" DACS anymore.. (I went up to 30K Dacs before realizing the newest Dac chips are now within a few % of the high end Dacs.) Do your research and get yourself a good Dac using the best new dac chips. (about 1000.00 will get you a good one) and save yourself a fortune. - This was one of the best lessons I learned (and just recently) . It allowed me to put more of the budget into room treatment, clean power, and cables which are much more important.

3. Do you want a pleasant or unpleasant sounding system?
I had many very high end systems with NO real satisfaction, until I realized
why a certain company aimed for a particular sound..

4. McIntosh:
As a high end audiophile, I regarded McIntosh as just a little above Bose for about 40 years.-- (not good)
I thought I was an elite audiophile who knew way too much about our hobby to buy equipment that was well made, but never state of the art and colored in its own way.

This was TOTALLY WRONG, as I realize now.
McIntosh goes for a beautiful sound for HUMAN ears, not for specification charts. This is not a flat response, and uses autoformers to get this gorgeous sound. If you know enough about all the other things in our hobby, such as room treatments, very clean power, and very good cables, you can bring a gorgeous sounding McIntosh system to unheard of levels. I have done this now, and I have never enjoyed my music more!

Joe55ag


joe55ag
audiodwebe's avatar
audiodwebe
231 posts
 
1.  Bose-bashing not required to prove your audiophile credentials.

2.  We're all lusting after that last 5% improvement in sound quality.

3.  The last 5% is mighty expensive.

4.  Trust your own ears.
audition__audio
1,442 posts
 
I totally disagree with the entire premise of the OP. System neutrality is critical. To chase a system that makes poor recordings sound good is a serious mistake I think. A system should faithfully reproduce what it is fed. 
speakermaster
738 posts
 
Everything is important to good sound but the synergy of the entire system is the most important thing it is not just one brand or how much you spend on the gear price does not determine quality of sound. Good sound is determined by good design and execution of system setup and component interaction as well as careful setup in your room of choice.
joey54
434 posts
 
My advice would be to find a good dealer and listen to his/her advice. A good dealer will be motivated to help you achieve good sound within your budget and will help you with your upgrade path when you want to and can afford to. 

Also, don't buy anything you haven't listened to personally. No review or advice from someone else will let you know if you are making a good buying decision based on your preferences.
bikerbw
108 posts
 
1.) Buy from a dealer in your own country, so if you have issues, it will be easier to get them resolved.
2.) Make sure you have the money to pay for it - just don't make it another charge you put on an overextended credit card.
3.) Don't be conditioned into thinking you have to spend large amounts of money when putting together your system to be completely satisfied.
4.) Always deal with sellers who will take a unit back for free, or at least make you pony up the shipping costs one way (that's fair).
5.) Don't ever ask a person who wants to sell you a product whether it's a great product or if you should buy it - similar to the universal advice of never asking the person who might buy your goods how much they're worth. 
6.) Once you get a component, live with it for a while; don't listen to it for a couple of hours and decide it's not what you want.  I didn't have an opinion on whether break-in was real or not for components; I just played them and paid attention to whether their sound or my feelings changed about them after a time.  Some things did seem to change (and some took 50 or so hours), others not.  I've found that certain amps sounded better after being played for a couple/few hours, my phono cartridge sounded better after quite a few hours (and still needs to play a bit every time I start playing records), and there was a time that I noticed my speaker changed after a lot of time played.
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