I met a man on Audiogon who had a fairly high-end system and he was selling the whole thing off. I asked him why, which is the purpose of this posting, is that he was constantly trying to find the perfect sound from his audio system and came to the conclusion it does not exist. Additionally, he said most often all of his hours of listening were alone, taking many hours of quality time from his family. In addition, he said he was listening to his equipment vs. the music. He is now very happy listening to background music with his family from his AV system. I don't know, I just wanted to share this story as I myself fall into this trap (made me think).
he was constantly trying to find the perfect sound from his audio system 07-22-10: Rpg
It's too bad he had to learn a lesson the hard way. I'm not in this for perfect sound. There is very little perfection anywhere. To seek it would seem to be folly. A "satisfying sound" is all I hope to achieve. But even that is not so easy with a High end system. Does anyone agree with me? The performance of a high end system is UNFORTUNATELY sensitive to so many different variables, that putting together a satisfying system becomes a complex process of Applied Physics (control of resonance, vibration, isolation), Electronics (impedance matching, inductance, capacitance, resistance, emi, rfi,) and so on. Oh yeh! and then you need some luck after all the trial and error.
If you can't listen to music and are at the mercy of upgraditis to the point of having to sell off the system to be free of it, you are in way too deep. That's like going cold turkey from a nicotine addiction - pretty severe IMO.
@Hooper -- how did you lose sight of music to the point where your $150k system became a "miserable chore"? Were yo never able to sit down and appreciate what you had put together? I can't imagine it didn't impress at least a little. I've had my frustrations, system analyzing and upgraditis as much as the next audio nerd, but I can say with certainty that my system today has never sounded better, and I'm pretty pleased with what I've accomplished.
What I can say is that listening to the same music over and over again can get quite boring and monotonous, no matter how good it sounds. The cure, of course, is to buy new music for your system and ears to chew on.
As a long time audiophile I can tell you this, audiophiles go through many phases......listening to music (which is what got you started in the first place)...is not always first on the list.
If you stay long term, and get past the listening to everything but the music stage, you will, in the end be happy.
After 40 years I'm happy, and probably no longer an audiophile.......but I do listen to a lot of great music.
My audiophile years taught me a lot, and I'm glad I went through them.
My system is in the main, great room, of our house that connects the rest of the rooms, including the kitchen, and I play music CONSTANTLY. To me it's much better than the idiot-box on constantly.
My kids complain sometimes, but they sing along too, and they can, and do play anything they want. My 10 yr old is very adept at changing records, very carefully with attention played to cleaning them with the brush prior to playing.
I am addicted, but ironically, we all enjoy it, and my kids hear everything from Ella Fitzgeard, Prokeiv, Mozart to Led Zeppelin, The Beatles (whom they all love), Michael Jackson, Nina Simone.
Why music or audio and not both. What is wrong in having two hobbies?
Many posts suggest to not worry about sound and just listen to music. It was even mentioned that talented musicians systems are boom boxes while they "could not be happier". I like it and hope that it will convince more people to sell cheap.
I think a balance between the two poles is a good thing, but it is easy to find yourself out of balance. I realized recently that for the past year and a half I have not been spending enough on music vs. hardware, so I'm changing that. I have to say I'm pretty tame though, especially when I read threads by guys comparing the minute differences they have observed in 5 different brands of very expensive power cords. That is when it seems that perspective is being lost.
Hello, I am an avid reader of these forums and I have noticed recently that there have been a few posts regarding this issue. I have to say that yes, enjoying the music is number one. After all, isn't that what got us into high end audio? I do not agree that tweaking your system and looking for that little extra every so often is a bad thing. To me thats half the fun in this hobby. I have to go now, just got my 1000 ohm resistors to solder in my phono stage.
I think the best medicine for an Audiophile is to spend their money on music, be happy with their system as there comes a point of lower return and just get your mind off the equipments faults and enjoy the music. I have some friends who are talented musicians and their high end systems are boom boxes, they just fall into the music and could not be happier. Perhaps this is the definition of a true Audiophile.
I had a ~150k system that I sold because I had lost complete sight of the music. Audio was a miserable chore, and, as a result, the system ultimately had to go. I'm completely content listening to my infinitely cheaper second rig while I cobble together the pieces for a budget-minded main system. Music is now technicolor again instead of the black and white it was when I had my uber-rig.
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