Perhaps we should stick with midfi...


I just bought a $60,000 system with big names like krell, Audio Research, Mcintosh, B&W 802 D speakers, Sony SACD, Transparent wires, etc, and I get more enjoyment from my sub $1000 I put together used with ADS speaker, NAD monitor pre amp, Onkyo Integra M-504 power amp, Toshiba SD-9200 DVD player (as CD and DVD).

I am thinking I should have stopped with my midfi system now...

Anyone else have similar sentiments, or is my ear not golden enough to hear the difference yet?
gonglee3
That was really funny you all!
Thanks for the laughters (which we all need, don't we?)...

Since someone asked me to chip in, I will upload another picture proving that the 2 systems are indeed in the same room - I don't know what that accomplishes, but since some of you asked, I will oblige...

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vdone&1283411725&view

I am coming to like the hifi system even more everyday - perhaps the system needed burning in period, or my hearing is becoming more audiophile.

I know I don't have the golden ear yet for sure, but the higher end system sounds better than the midfi system in some ways - more liquid and transparent.

For that reason, I haven't mixed / matched the system yet, thinking it might get even better as time goes on.

Is it possible that the cables were installed in the opposit direction when it was moved, requiring a burning in period ?

I don't know for sure, but it's clearly begining to sound better - I am pleasantly surprised... I like the dynamic power of 250 watts per ch. Krell amp, and the sound just hovers in the air in a pleasant way...

But still, I would stop with the midfi if I had a chance to do it all over again. The difference is minor, and the cost is too high for me ...

AS someone mentioned, I am begining to believe that you can assemble a pretty good sounding system for not much money, if you know what you are doing - especially if you buy them used on sights like this...

I wish you all can hear my midfi system, and you might agree that it does 90% of the new hifi system, if not better it in some aspects...

I am still seduced by the wide soundstage of the bigger woofer ADS speakers - the B&W 802D has smaller woofers - almost sounds like a bookshelf with subs to me.

Anyway, thanks for playing detective with me - your intellectual curiosity is sparkling, and we all need a pinch of skepticism now and then, don't we - to go through life succesfully...

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By the way, someone mentioned that since I rave about a $79 sony sub, I must be happy with a boombox. The sony sub, SA-WM500 is recommended by the pros in hifi magazines.

Hear it for your selves at the Bestbuy (of all the places!), and you too might be pleasantly surprised... It has a nice smooth amp section - perhaps a class D digital, and it has an echo button which is good for movies.

I was so happy with the sound - had me dancing for an hour.

Also, there are pretty decent sounding boomboxes out there - since this sight is really hi end, you might not be familiar with it.

JVC Kaboom has a sub built in, producing pretty full warm sound, with mid and highs that are pretty decent as well - if you want to have music at a barbecue...

If you want to introduce your loved ones to this exciting hobby, you might want to consider these, and other affordable good sounding gears.





Gong,

Shh, ixnay on the don't have to spend a lot thing. We don't want that to get around!

You'll spend more than for a boombox and less than for Carnegie Hall with booked acts hopefully.

Stick around here for a while and then let's see what happens. Heck you already have some pretty nice toys to play with!

This site is a nice tweak that tends to lubricate your ears and wallet together by design. You're off to a good start.
Douglas Schroeder,

My reasoning was that the overwhelming majority of homes use the same baseboards throughout. When doing renovations/additions, people take great pains to match baseboards, trim, etc. That being said, some people do just go over to Home Depot and buy what's available/cheapest. I made an observation. If I was wrong, I'll be the first to admit it.
Nothing wrong with sticking to “mid-fi.”

I’ve been in the wine biz for 35 years now. Sometimes the best glass of wine is just a glass of wine - and ought to be. I taste/sample thousands of wines in any given year so I have a reference point for what I’ll deem personally acceptable at any price. 

I don’t have a $60k stereo system, but it’s better than what my girlfriend has. I wouldn’t hesitate spending that or more if I could, though.

I gave her two stereos, both vintage receivers. A Pioneer SX1050 & Meadowlark Kestrels for her living room, Marantz 2250b & small Ushers for the bedroom.  The Meadowlarks are truly excellent speakers, $400 used from a fellow member. 

They both sound fine.  We have yet to NOT enjoy listening to music at her house. My home stereo is a Modwright integrated paired to a pair of Vandy 3A Signature speakers - not too shabby. 

I could easily swap the reviews of sound equipment here with wine reviews.  Much of the language used to convey the impressions is interchangeable.  That’s the fun of it.  But I think we all come to a point where we find ourselves questioning the validity of what may please us and what we may spend to get it.  Since joining this site about 5 years ago I’ve had more gear than I owned in the previous 40 years combined!

Has it been fun?  Hell, yes!  Has it been worth it?  Hell, yes!  I got into it because there was that ONE time when I discovered something that I never knew was there before - something within a very familiar tune that better equipment revealed. Voila!  Hooked!

Back in the 80’s I began collecting wine. Within a few years I had a modest assemblage of Bordeaux and Burgundy, perhaps 25 cases or so, with some California as well. When I had the disposable income I bought, when I didn’t, well, I consumed. 7Couldn’t help it. Then a nor’easter wreaked havoc in my house and what remained of my collection was rendered undrinkable.  Poof. Back to the drawing board. 

Just last week I was hanging support rods for sun shade curtains around my girlfriend’s patio when, on her cheap, yellowed,  white plastic am/fm cassette portable “Life Is A Carnival” started playing. Now that’s one busy little mother of a tune that I often find myself repeating ad infinitum on my home stereo, but there in her backyard through that ridiculously cheap, low-fi, weather-beaten p.o.s. it sounded GREAT.  It would sound great through two cans connected by a piece of string. 

It’s the music, not the gear. 

There’s hi-fi, mid-fi, low-fi, and now wifi. 

New one:  “My-fi.”