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The downward spiral.....

I've loved listening to (and playing) music for the last 35 years. I was trained as a pianist and suspect that my ears are at least decent (even if they do stick out
a little more than I'd like...)

Like so many of us, I suspect, I have assembled more high-end systems that I can remember - heaven only knows how much money I've spent, how many
reviews I've pored over, how many times I've labored over cable-matching, AB comparisons, toeing in massive speakers just that final 1/16 inch to get the soundstage
just right, rearranging living rooms to minimize that nasty hump at 56 Hz etc etc. I'm sure many of you can relate...

Being a bit of a contrarian at heart I recently have been conducting the Ultimate Experiment - the Final Downgrade. A few months ago I came into possession of an
old pair of Quad 57s (now being rebuilt) with matching 303 power amp. As those who know these things, the sounds emanating from these devices was sublime.
It made me think. Here I was listening to simply beautiful music through some of the cheapest components I've ever bought. What if I continued my downward financial
progress?
Out went some very expensive tube amplification, German turntable, carbon fiber arm, expensive MC cartridge, Nordost cable, tube output SACD player etc. In came a Thorens TD125,
complete with SME 3009, V15III, and the cheapest decent CD player I could find (the original Rega Planet). For the phone/preamp I chose a pair of Pro-Ject components,
As soon as I can find a Quad 33 I'll grab it and do a little renovation, esp on the phono section. As the speakers were being now rebuilt I acquired an old pair of
Maggies (12QR) to tide me over. The interconnects are strictly mid-fi, and the speaker cable less than that. The new (non-ported) subwoofer was relatively expensive - about
$450, but not well-known.
I anticipate the cost of the whole system will be around $2300. The average age of the components will be 35 years old.

What am I losing? Certainly not money, that's for sure! Perhaps a few Hertz at the bottom end. Perhaps. What surprises me daily (I listen usually for about 4 hours a day to everything
between 12th century plainsong to rap and everything between) is that this relatively cheap and certainly very old-fashioned system does so much that is absolutely right. I feel no
pressing needs to upgrade anything; no tweaking necessary. The music comes through as I want.
In my spare time I still haunt the local high-end stores and listen to some ultra expensive gear: not once have I gone home with an axe to do The Right Thing to my '70s
system.

So, my question is a simple one. How much progress has there been since 1970? For the last thirty years I have firmly believed that each year has brought some progress.
Now I question this. As I write this I am listening to a record pressed in 1975 (Neville Marriner) and my happiness is complete. Am I losing my grip?
--
57s4me
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,903 posts
 
I'm 57 and after reading these posts I've come a similar conclusion to that of
Csontos. A relatively flat response, amp and source wise, had gone a long way to making all of my CDs sound better than before. Since it has finally broken in, even recordings I wouldn't have listened to again sound pretty darn good, if not really good. The bad ones still sound poor but that is due to the limits of the recording industry back then. Granted, as 57s4me pointed out, every pressing is of different quality and nowadays you can really hear the differences, but a flat response will make most of them shine.
I left speakers out of this since they should be allowed the various shades of tone and rolloffs and what have you and not the other way so the music has at least a chance of coming through as clean as possible before it arrives at the speakers.
I hope I didn't open a can of worms here but that is my take.
csontos
1,311 posts
 
Remember, the entire system is nothing but a "playback device" and the weakest link,ie: your speakers, are what you get used to the quickest.
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,903 posts
 
Yes, the speakers are the easiest to acclimate to but they are definitely limited by what's upstream. Weak link though they are, they really shine and show their potential once something really good is upstream.
Case in point: I had an amp out for a mod and used a previous one that I hadn't sold yet and was vastly disappointed by what I heard. Had I not had the amp that I sent out, I would have passed on the speakers and the CDP and had and got caught up, again, in the chase for something better. That older amp brought everything down several notches.
The speakers were great as they were: they just needed something as good as they were.
csontos
1,311 posts
 
Right on! They actually end up becoming the " strongest" link.
orpheus10
8,668 posts
 

Although I'm poor, there is no way I can empathize with the "Downward Spiral". I am enjoying some inexpensive electronic improvements that brought about a quantum leap in sonics. As a retired electronics technician and audiophile, this is possible.

Music lovers who are not audiophiles, spend an excessive amount on "new music". That's because what they purchase quickly gets old, which is a result of the fact that they never hear all of the music that's on the CD or LP.

At this time, I am listening to music I bought ages ago that is brand new. Although I've heard this music countless times before; it is brand new today. I hear more detail, startling dynamics, and a soundstage which creates the illusion of phantom musicians in the room.

After you've been where I am, how can you go back?

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