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
08-15-10: Prpixel writes:
Definitely a troll. Most of his equipment listed in his four systems is bargain bin and EBay deals
Possibly so. In one of his systems ("Mid is my love") he writes:
All who are constantly upgrading, this might be your answere as well. Also a sub. I am so satisfied with my system, I don't feel the need to upgrade any more, even after hearing a Krell/B&W combo.
So it seems like he heard the system he mentioned ("krell, Audio Research, Mcintosh, B&W 802 D speakers") rather than bought it.

Regards,
So what is the definition of low fi, mid fi and hi fi? Where do they fall in the wallet?
Definitely a troll. Most of his equipment listed in his four systems is bargain bin and EBay deals. He mentions things like "bright and airy highs", "nice boomy bass" and "amp has no highs and lows". He raves about a $79 Sony sub. So, do you think a guy with a house full of yard sale finds is going to go out and blow 60 large on Krell and Macintosh? Not unless he hit the lottery and someone talked him into it. Judging from his system comments he would be perfectly happy listening to a boom box.
In all reality,an upgrade of a component should be just that.We should hear an improvement that makes us happy.If we get the opposite,we should resell it.That is what Audiogon is all about.A component may sound great in someone else's system,but not ours.Of course the opposite is true also.We shouldn't end up with a poor sounding costly system if,each piece we upgraded was listened to carefully, then decide whether it's a keeper or not. Carefully done,I don't see how someone would end up this way,unless buying higher priced components first,then listening to them later.If you don't hear better sound when upgrading a component, its not an upgrade(to us),even if the component cost more.
08-15-10: Rlwainwright
Maybe I'm wroing, but I smell troll...

-RW-

08-15-10: Daverz
I don't believe it, either.

If you look at all his systems he has, none of them have the higher end equipment that he mentions. Mmmm.....
Like others have said, it could be a system mismatch. Why don't you post a couple of photos with your virtual systems ? Maybe it is your room set-up, and other members could help you with that. I have no personal experience, but from everything I have read, those B&Ws can be annoying if they're not fed right.
It makes sense to me. Even assuming the high cost system is completely synergized it's possible and reasonable for someone to prefer a less refined sound. The key is that he enjoys his listening experience.

As a rhetorical question - what's the difference between a $1,000 system, a $10,000 system and a $100,000 system? The cheapest system could actually sound pretty decent, especially if purchased used. The middle system will be clearly better in every area and will be capable of very high quality sound reproduction. The expensive system will perform better than the middle system in certain areas, but the difference between it and the middle system is less than that of the middle system and the cheapest system.

I frequently read posts where "the journey" aspect of this hobby is invoked. This person's journey deserves as much respect as any other. And as a point of reference his mid-fi system isn't all that mid-fi.
I think we have all been there at one time or another. I think it is psychlogical. When listening to an inexpensive midfi system we don't expect much from it, so we relax and just enjoy the music. When we listen to a $60,000 system our expectations are high. Instead of listening to the music we are listening to the system and looking for flaws.
Definitely a troll, he's got one too many "big names" listed. He has an extra piece from Krell/ARC/Mac for his amp and preamp. To front that equipment with the Sony player is also very unlikely......lastly, he has like 4 systems listed.....RILLY?
Go back to the dealer where you spent your $60k and work with him/her until the system meets your expectations.

It should knock your bloody socks off for that sort of cash.

Regards,
I have been a part of this hobby for some 46 years and if there is one lesson I learned it is that equipment matching and system synergy has a far greater correlation with musical performance, overall transparency, and general tonal accuracy than cost. In my lifetime I have heard in my own home three superb systems, and each one of them had a total cost of less than $8,000. A friend of many years standing, who also happens to be a reviewer for one of the two leading audio publications, described one of these attampts as possibly one of the best in-home system he had ever heard. Sadly, I succumbed to the supposed "improvement itch" and moved backwards, rather than forward, a bitter experience many of us have encountered.
Could be, but we have seen this type of question/comment before and it is interesting and a place some themselves.
System matching is work and trial and error. It takes time. Maybe this is part of the reason? Almarg is also correct about the nature of a revealing system making poor recordings sound worse.

I also think expectations play a huge role. You don't expect too much from your $1000 system and thus can simply rest in the music. The $60,000 sysem IS ATTACHED TO SIGNIFICANT $$ and has mental stuff tied to it. Hard to just enjoy when perfection is expected. One gets all tied up with performance perfection and enjoyment is lost.
Did you research and try out all these different components to see if they would work together or just haphazardly buy them because of something you read or heard?Equipment has to work in harmony to produce pleasing results.I know it's a trite cliche but,sometimes less is more.
Try some other cables and see if that fixes the problem. I think you might be pleasantly surprised. Obviously, though, the more you spend on a system, the higher your expectations will be.
The following thread may be relevant, about the conundrum that the better the system the worse many recordings will sound:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ymisc&1267312247

Regards,
-- Al