Can speakers cause mental illness?


It's important to keep in mind that speakers can in fact cause mental sickness. We are all chasing something which ultimately cant be found. Every new purchase brings nothing but temporary pleasure. The long term effects of this hobby are despair, frustration, depression and possibly even suicide. 

We are being tantalized with the promise of perfect sound which is ultimately unobtainable. 

The scheming speaker companies are certainly partly to blame for this. They are always thinking about what speaker they will put on the market next. They are responsible for making us believe that if we buy their new speaker designs we will be more happy than before.

There are hundreds of different speaker companies out there and we are led to believe that each company offers something different. But when you really think about it, you will realize that cant possibly be true. What we are being offered is just the same basic recipe with minor variations in crossover tuning, port tuning and frequency response. Most speakers are not fundamentally BETTER than other speakers. And therein lies the deception.

The irony is that high end speakers were invented to allow music lovers to experience the maximum level of pleasure from music. Instead what they have done is cause misery and depression. Its a fact that most audiophiles are simply unhappy with what they have. That is why there are forums like this with hundreds or thousands of folks who are desperate for advice on how to achieve even better success.

The level of unhappiness and despair does not go down as you spend more money, contrary to expectations. People that buy Magicos and Wilsons are no less unhappy than those that buy cheaper speakers. 

Being a speaker enthusiast is like being a drug addict. Its a neverending cycle. We want more and more and in the end it often leads to death. 

Listening to a new speaker is a bittersweet experience. You will hear new things that you may have never heard before but then you always begin to hear problems which were initially inaudible.

This is a dangerous hobby. Do it at your peril. 
kenjit
It’s interesting how much hate Kenjit gets but I guarantee kenjit is being entertained as well as every person responding whether being entertained in a positive or negative way. Saying something rude  just speaks truths about responder. Carry on..
This is so weird, but no, absolutely no, audio equipment, speakers in general being the cause of mental illness?  No.  People obsess over many things, speakers and audio probably at a much lower rank than other obsessions.  Automotive would probably rank higher.  There isn't anything going on in the world of audio in regards to personalities, habits or behaviors that is unique to the world of audio.  And if one can't fathom that possibility then I say get out more, be involved in other hobbies.  

I think there are some privileged folks (or irresponsible) who have the means and desire to be on the constant chase for the best sound and I don't think they will ever attain it or even know when they have. There is no end in sight for them. Until you hear it, you don't really know what the "best" or "better" really sounds like, you can read volumes about it and never know how that really sounds to your ears.  

Regarding unhappiness, I think that's just a function of the level of understanding some of us have when it comes to this hobby (if you want to call it that).  I've seen and experienced some pricey setups which were less than ideally setup and performed as such.  The brand and dollar amount simply won't save them.  Some will have all sorts of reasons for not getting the basics right, and run straight for expensive gear.  Too bad for them that they may never get it right.  Can't help them.  The rest, I don't think are running around buying tons of equipment on some endless chase.  Some do it because they find it fun and still take the time to do things right simply for the experience.  Some haven't found that right combination, that's understandable, there's a wide variety of gear out there. 

If I had the funds and square footage, I'd have a  play room or two or three to mess around with different setups.  I'd want planars in one, open bafffle in another, and dynamic enclosed in another, and of course a dedicated home theater. (I'd also have a dedicated billiard room, I need that, badly.)  Does my wanting to have different setups to be able to have different playback experiences make me mentally ill?

Some day a forum will exist where constructive conversation around the hobby can take place and be devoid of the constant questioning and criticism of the hobby.
Kenjit is the best thing on Audiogon! The responses he illicits from the usual suspects are absolutely hilarious!

Thank you all for a merry Christmas present!

 -G
It’s a shame no speaker will ever be good enough for kenjit to actually buy because the padded walls in his room might actually produce decent sound.