The Law of Accelerating Returns

@jpwarren58 Headphones. Or hang a bunch of foil and crystals. @mahgister swears by the.

No mahgster I am not saying they do not work. But if I did that my wife would have left me at the Poland Ukraine border 2 weeks ago…..

That is not flying here.

I perfectly well understand...My wife dont want to touch my audio room....I manage the necessary cleaning ...She hate my room but my better review was his: "it is very good sound and it is suprizing in this mess of a room..."

😁😊

By the way my most important tool are Helmholtz devices and methods with resonators and diffusers...

Not stones and minerals, nor Schumnan generators nor ionizers all of which worked BUT are minor improvement compared to acoustic treatment well done and acoustic mechanical control especially...

My 8 headphones are in a closet now guess why ?

But the truth dont change with our spouse status , acoustic is key...

My deepest respect to you and your dedicated wife...

Kinda like getting your news from the MSM or Fox.

One point of view.

Bit it has people talking about other things than Russian Tubes. 

Speaking of Tubes I am listening to them. Enjoying an ice tea. 

When I read the article I had quite a laugh. We have to remember that TAS serves an industry based on the simple assumption that spending more money gets you better sound. Anyone, even multimillionaires, want to think they are receiving good value for their money so the theory of "accelerating returns" fits right into the agenda.

Wonderfully and simply stated.

When I read the article I had quite a laugh. We have to remember that TAS serves an industry based on the simple assumption that spending more money gets you better sound. Anyone, even multimillionaires, want to think they are receiving good value for their money so the theory of "accelerating returns" fits right into the agenda.

Wonderfully and simply stated.

I agree! Be careful when picking your experts.

TAS is the Fox News/CNN of audio publications. A clear agenda outside of reporting on audio. I've never forgiven them for their 4-part series on digital audio where they reported the original file on the hard drive sounded better than a copy on the hard drive.   

"Just the other day I replaced a 1.5m interconnect between the phonostage and linestage with a more expensive model."

More expensive?  It MUST sound better!  I actually insulate my cables with $50 bills.  The $100 bills were a mismatch with my amp. I can't wait to buy a "more expensive" amp so that I can re-line my cables with the hundreds! 

There are no experts only opinions.

They are like what?

Cheap is cheap though.

Very few people can beat my sound quality/price RATIO... 500 bucks for the system and peanuts cost for the room..

But no one take almost 2 years to tune his room ( 100 resonators and diffusers) many months all the day listening...It is also a PRICE to pay...

And i dont have an opinion, only experience and experiments with acoustic huge power for improvement WITH A CHOSEN SYSTEM...It is science easy to verify that acoustic matter the most not an opinion taken from a hat...

But acoustic dont perform miracles and never transformed my very good Sansui in a Berning superior ZOTL... Only Christ make bread with stones...

But i dont give a damn about the superior ZOTL now, my Sansui i can live with it easily...There exist a minimal TRESHOLD of sound quality with which anybody can live without being frustrated...It is WHY acoustic can teach us something no upgrade will never teach us...

Helmholtz founded modern acoustic thinking listening to his resonators and he founded modern psycho-acoustic thinking about the way the ears/brain can take notice of the frequencies differentials ...

And yes cheap is too more money for me , cheaper is better ...

Anyway acoustic dont give a damn to the price cost of materials, only about their location, dimensions and ratios and acoustic content...I even used empty toilet paper rolls by the way... 😁😊

Who will dare to laugh? i will laugh the last...

Sorry to put the point over the right letter...

😁😊

Acoustic optimization is the law ...

By the way the fact that a piece of gear upgrade could GIVE more resolving sound frequency-wise is not a proof that the sound will be IMPROVED at the end ... In acoustic frequencies resolution is one aspect, phase count also and timing, and ratios and balance between reflections/absorptions/diffusions... And the pressures zones distribution in the room, and more than that the way each one speaker will adress differently each one ear matter MORE than the difference in resolving power between a SANSUI amplifier and a BERNING ZOTL amplifier... Then acoustic rule over most upgrade choices, if what you already own is already very good...

This is not my opinion, this is experience and science...Sound come from the speakers/room not directly from the amplifier or from a dac...The dac-amplifier gear convey the information with variable success yes but they cannot translate the information in sound , the speakers/room/ ears/brain system do it....Then acoustic/psycho-acoustic explain it to us...

Don't worry Jerry I hear Ukraine is going into the scrape Iron business and will become the new world leader in scrap Russian iron for building a BETTER Ukraine.  After they refine the crappy alloys used enough, they could use them for new toilets and sewage line infrastructure. You know, "here's thinking of you" FLUSH!  

Underwood HiFi has terrific products priced well below the big name brands. Priced for the blue collar who loves excellent playback.

Their Voyager 350 GaN amp is amazing, as is their Core Power products. I also have their Emerald Physics 3.4s, which are out of production (sadly), but blew away my Magnepan 3.5Rs

I Can't quite determine if OCD is a pre-requisite to becoming an Audiophile or is an affliction brought on by being one.

Not that I don't believe in matching components and speakers to work together; not that I don't believe in proper set up of room and components, but sometimes, even when we think we have everything sounding really good, we can't just enjoy the music - we have to fix it till it's broke and then start over, or at least find the next new fix. Usually the more expensive the fix, the better we feel, at least for a while. 

Although reviews and articles on audio gear are sometimes interesting and informative, as far as the AS article, as well as other professional articles and reviews, it's important to consider that their primary objective is to push and promote expensive audio gear - that's what pays the bills.......Jim

I've never forgiven them for their 4-part series on digital audio where they reported the original file on the hard drive sounded better than a copy on the hard drive.   
 

I have noticed many things in digital audio That doesn’t make sense but nevertheless are audible.  A file played off my hardware raid sound better than the same file copied onto my software raid.  And Jriver is set to memory play.  Makes no sense but it’s there. 

@jhills

I have to attest to OCD coming with the audiophile affliction in my case. I am not a perfectionist… I am at the other end of the spectrum. I have a perfectionist friend… who has had his life destroyed by it. Not a fan. But audio… The incredible positive reinforcement I have received by attention to detail and paying attention to what stuff sounds like has been so rewarding it is amazing.

@ghdprenticeThe incredible positive reinforcement I have received by attention to detail and paying attention to what stuff sounds like has been so rewarding it is amazing.

I can agree.

I greatly enjoy exploring and auditioning fine audio gear, but I’ve found that, after the do-diligence of matching components, speakers, cables, etc. and tweaking in speaker placement and room fixes, I need to make myself just sit and listen to the music and performance of a variety of my favorite music. Then, when the music, the vocals and all else falls into place and everything sounds and feels right, I need to allow myself to spend more time enjoying the music and less time chasing my tail for that elusive something more

We, more often, need to concentrate and be pleased with what works for us and not worry too much about what it takes to please someone else......Jim

@jhills 

Actually, I go through the upgrade process about every 7 years. In the beginning it took a couple or more years to get through the process… then I would just really enjoy the music for years until I could afford a substantial upgrade. 
 

Now my upgrade cycles are pretty short as I know what I want, know how to read reviews,  know how to pick the right sounding peripherals. Then back to years of amazing satisfaction in just enjoying the music.