Emotional rollercoaster

You people keep equating sound quality with price.  If you would learn more about parts and how they impact the sound you would find your ultimate happiness.  I remember going to a local audio club in New Jersey and one of the guys asked me to look at his $10K power amplifier from a well known manufacturer (probably 40 years in business now) and when I took the cover off, I said unfortunately out loud, what a piece of junk, not knowing the owner was behind me.  Parts inside were just basic caps and resistors, transformer was cheap.  So that is when he challenged me if you can do better go ahead and the rest has been history as they say.

I have a friend I call vintage Joe.  He goes to estate sales and he finds fantastic bargains.  Some of the stuff was very high priced equipment years ago.  For example Harmon Kardon series XX preamp and amplifier for $200 in mint shape with boxes and manuals.  Now that was a find and they sound great.  Old speakers like the KEF 104/2 105s, Sony, Rogers, etc.  All those old box speakers still sound excellent and so much musical in the mid-range makes me rethink everything also.

Happy Listening.

It’s much easier to buy integrated gear that works well rather than integrate it yourself.


The Bel Canto c5i digital integrated amp is a good example. Has most everything you need and will work well with most any speaker. 

Why do people with no experience think they can pick the right gear that will work well together? It’s not easy and most reviews are of little value for that.

     Some very good points there, mapman, Wise words spewing out of your pie hole, well done!

" We don’t know what we really want a lot of the time. You can’t hit the target until you know what it is."

     True, but I wanted to add that, even if we know the target, there are different methods to achieve it. For example, my target was an overall system experience that was dimensional, with solid and stable images in its stereo sound stage imaging, along with a sound that was on the warm side with a bit of sweetness and bloom. Sorry about the cliche audio terms but I think you and most others understand my meaning.
     From what I learned and heard along the way, I initially thought this type of target would require tubes somewhere in the chain. So I bought a VTL preamp, swapped out its standard tubes for expensive NOS Mullards and combined it with a series of high powered ss class AB amps. This approach actually did provide the target system qualities I sought and I always assumed the tubes were adding these qualities to the music I played.
     Recently, I had the urge to try out a different approach which consisted of pairing a very neutral, detailed, low noise and low distortion ss preamp (a ML 326S) with a pair of very neutral, detailed, low noise and low distortion ss class D monoblock amps (D-Sonic M3-600-M). My theory being that this approach would minimize noise and distortion, add very little if anything to the inputted signals, manifesting itself in a close approximation of the audio ideal of ’a straight wire with gain’.
     thought going in that this neutral approach would likely result in the quality of the recordings becoming the main determinant of the overall sound quality of my system and, therefore, a limiting factor.  However, I was willing to accept this compromise.
     What was the result of all this redundant low noise, low distortion and general neutrality?

     Well what do you know, I now perceive the overall sound of my system as having very low noise and distortion, having a high level of detail and generally being very neutral, like a ’straight wire with gain’. But the main lesson I’ve learned during this approach is that it allows the recording and music to be heard and judged on their own merits. I’ve learned that what qualities I thought tubes were adding to the overall sound of my system, the dimension, warmth, sweetness and bloom, are actually qualities that are inherent in the music itself.
     I no longer believe that adding even ordered harmonics are necessary for musical enjoyment. I now believe high faithfulness or fidelity to the inputted signals is a better approach because it’s a simpler, more conducive to being measured and it results in equally enjoyable musical experiences. It’s also important to recognize that high quality recordings are essential in conveying these qualities with a high degree of fidelity.
     My current opinion is that, once a high quality audio system has been assembled and created, that’s exactly where the focus belongs; on the quality of the recording and the qualities of the music. The more knowledge and experience I gain in audio, the more I believe hi-fi, as in high fidelity, is a very accurate and appropriate name for our hobby.

Tim

Trust what YOU  actually hear and spend accordingly

I am a newbie here, so my word won't carry much weight. But here it is. Upgrading is definitely worth it as long as you keep it within your budget. But starting with the listening room acoustics is the best way to go in my experience.  It took me to turn 65 to get serious about that and a year later my listening experience evolved immensely. It doesn't make much sense to upgrade the equipment if the room acoustics are bad. Too many people completely disregard that aspect in search of their ultimate sound. It will just lead to bad decisions and disappointment. The room acoustics are your foundation. Get that right and things will fall into place much easier.