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

"Flipping the same recordings over and over to make comparisons is a completely different experience then enjoying music. Which would you prefer?"

I've headed down the latter path in recent years as a result of bringing in internet radio, music server, etc.

My favorite station now is my own, Mapman Radio, which streams on my home Wifi network only off my music server with Squeezebox set to random tracks.

I add to the musical rotation there more liberally now than I have since 30 years ago in college.

Early on in my audio career, the choice was FM versus LPs. With WFMT available, all was good. Then there was Eugene and Tallahassee with a brief time in Philly. The only real music was on public radio. FM radio was on decline. While I still have a FM receiver, it has not been on in twenty years. In short for me "streaming" is gone. Now, however, I have a music servers, but I do no streaming from it throughout the house. We have a house intercom system which allows listening to a fairly good NPR station.

For me the thrill of audio is realism. The music server makes it easy to get even DSD files and HD 96/24 and 192/24 files in addition to cds. I must say, however, that if I want real music, it is still vinyl. And now with real isolation available thanks to StillPoints, I have achieved realism especially with vinyl. I am at many very special performance available on demand.

I certainly appreciate that had I gotten out of audio earlier, I would never have known such realism and the thrill of it.

The simple answer is you find what works, and stick with it. That means know when to stop.

Like many (most?) here, I've bought and sold more hi-fi components than I can count, trying this new source, or swapping one amp for another, changing these speakers for those other ones, etc.

For me personally, I got off the merry go round when I found components that sounded simply spectacular, and everything else I was trying just didn't sound as good. Of course it's a subjective thing, and what sounds good to me, may not to you. Not to mention the different listening room shapes and sizes that will make a component sound great in one room, but not so good in another.

FWIW, my "I got off the merry-go-round" components are the following:

Tyler Acoustics taylo reference monitors
Decware Zen Torii mk3 integrated amplifier
North Star m192 mk2 DAC
Slim Devices Transporter

The transporter is connected to the DAC via balanced AES/EBU. All interconnect and speaker cables in my system are from Blue Jeans cable. Power cables are generic IEC hospital grade.

I'm in listening bliss, nearly everything it plays is the perfect balance of detailed, musical, warm, and massive 3D soundstage. I have no desire whatsoever to change any of these components - I don't even browse the equipment classifieds any more. I couldn't be happier!

Again, this stuff is all quite subjective, so take it with a grain of salt, but now you know my experience.

First: try to go objective as much as possible to cut down brands to pour over. If you hate solid state, great, you have just wiped out over half the products out there. Narrow it down further to SET and you've wiped out, say, another 80%.

Second: Get components which do not draw attention to themselves. A highly colored amp (like Naim to my ears) is fun for a while (Naim has rhythm) but gets fatiguing in the long run. Sorry to all Naim owners out there - just trying to make an example.

Third: Get a system which has no blatant flaws to YOU. A system that satisfies on its own terms. Because if you listen and say "This lack of bass is annoying" or "They HF harshness is irritating" you can't listen in peace and always itch for something else (I'm not even saying better)

Fourth: Ignore magazines which try to undermine your security. Shake people's confidence in their own stereo and then they are open to buying something new.

03-29-05: Detlof: "As time went on, I was forced to realise, that my mind got more and more entrapped by the gear and less by the message the music might have to convey. This was not merely bad, because through this, I became more aware of that musical message, which managed to get through the audiophile smog"...

Could "audiophile smog" be defined as:
manipulation of the sound in a certain way, which, in turn, draws attention to the component itself and not the music?

It's no wonder people get audiophile nervosa. It plays on the thought "I just spent $10,000 on a preamp I want to HEAR what I got for my money." Result = listening to the component, not the music.

Look at new cars compared to old cars. With old cars you adjust the heat by turning a knob. With new cars you practically have to be a computer programmer to figure it out. There is no need for this complexity. The result is that it draws attention to the controls and not the act of getting some heat. Some type of pride by the designer?