How does one get off the merry-go-round?


I'm interested in hearing from or about music lovers who have dropped out of the audio "hobby." I don't mean you were content with your system for 6 weeks. I mean, you stood pat for a long time, or--even better--you downsized...maybe got rid of your separates and got an integrated.

(I suppose if you did this, you probably aren't reading these forums any more.)

If this sounds like a cry for help, well, I dunno. Not really. I'm just curious. My thoughts have been running to things like integrated amps and small equipment racks and whatnot even as I continue to experiment and upgrade with vigor (I'm taking the room correction plunge, for example.) Just want to hear what people have to say on the subject.

---dan
Ag insider logo xs@2xdrubin
Detlof Yes indeed and happy I am but I want to be happier :). The problem is the compulsive search for the best which is fortunately/unfortunately, depending on the view, the course I'm on. I have designs on one of those ultraexpensive products which will make my "arrival" a reality (does that ever really happen?). The final purchase, for now. I been saying this all along but with each improvement the envelope is pushed further. Ironically the improvements are the driving force to see how much better it can get. You're a shrink, you tell me. A drive for excellence/perfection or obsessive/compulsive behavior (the merry-go-round syndrome).

Truly it is about the music and I never knew reproduced audio could be realized to this extent. Just wonder how much better it can get, thats all. Only regret is the cost
:(

So far as those products you mention, they mirrow my own lust wish but a decade forward. The Threshold SA-1 monos and ARC D-250 Servo and M-100 monos were my introduction into hi-end back in the mid 80's. Even ended up purchasing a lowly Class AB Threshold amp but unfortunately it wasn't in the same league as the SA-1's. I went tubes and never looked back. Now it's OTL amps which to me are the best yet. Will it stop there? I sure hope at that point the reconciliation you speak of is realized!!
Tubegroover, if your only regret is the cost, then actually you belong to the more lucky ones. If you can afford it, why not spend it. Life is too short, to castigate yourself, unless you are of fundamentalist disposition, where your rewards will be in heaven. Wether we're a bunch of compulsive neurotics or on a noble quest depends on your point of view. I personally think that Papa Freud was right, when he said, that the essentials of a healthy life were the ability to work and to ENJOY oneself. I'm probably a bit longer in this quest of ours than you are and my experience is - also after listening to many megabuck systems, costing several hundred thousand bucks - that there comes a time, when "improvements" happen only in very tiny steps, the cost of which is entirely out of proportion. Happy Listening! Detlof
Detlof: I don't mean to be pessimistic. My assesment comes from being associated with an audiophile company. I was at the Stereophile show in NY in 1996. Audio is more like a small club with rich members.Very select group.Manufactures have to impress reviewers to build demand.Reviewers are more impressd with themselves. Some reviewers have more fans than many artist. Add to the mix too many companies making software, decline in software quality,magazine distribution etc. The fact that music has been replaced by video games when it comes to young people with discretionary spending (video games are 50-70% higher than the average cd)and it all adds up to certain extinction. But, I enjoy buying music, (records mostly) and do so daily.I haven't had a significant change in my reference system in almost 12 years. Once I found the Quads and an adequate sub woofer system, significant changes are hard to make!! I did get a better listening chair.
Trebleclef, your points are hard to refute and in terms of sociological assessment probably more than correct. Looking at it that way, it is indeed a pessimistic picture. Here in Europe, people still flock to classical concerts and to opera, how much of that is social snobbery and how much true love of music is hard to say. Youngsters act much the way here too as you describe, but if you go to the local recordstores, they are ususally full of young people, but also here after the quick electronic fix, the demand for classical music has severely declined. However, I'm still hoping, that we are not a breed, that is dying out. Cheers , Detlof
Not certain I was as hooked as some but an old friend pulled me off with an experience close to Detlofs. My tweaker friend sat me down to his system based on an old Dynaco 70 that he tweaked a little and speakers that he made for under $750 (scanspeak drivers). I think Vance Dickason claims you can make 10k speakers for under 1k. Well, if you know what you are doing, I think you can lower that to $750. He made a few comments about the caps he used on his tweeters and fired her up and well... it was embarrasing to think about the money I had in my system. I have since spent a little time with the old Dynacos and in my opinion, all marketing and modern "improvements" aside, they stand up to 90% of the stuff sold at at 10-20 times the price.

I do not think that this is in any way unique to audio. I used to race bicycles and had a fair amount of experience in a cycle shop. The bicycle companies are so pressed to differentiate themselves from one another, and convince you to but theirs, that they throw out a steady stream of BS that has little to do with anything. They actually avoid the obvious and simple which is proven and effective for the gimmick of the week. I had to leave the business because it was hard to present the industry line with a straight face. Granted, audio needs folks pushing the envelope to improve sound... but I do not see a lot of that going on. Lots of gloss and ego.. reading most "audiophile" mags is like looking at GQ or something.