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I can't get no satisfaction ...... smile

These days with my allaerts breuer tonearm cart combo and the rest of my system, together I have a sound that is very close to the kind of sound i am looking for and the kind of sound i expect from a hi fidelity system. At moments it sounds state of the art... with certain recordings, with certain instruments. I'm talking mostly hear about the timbre of certain instruments and overall tonal shadings.

I am still trying to identify the qualities that i dont feel i have with my systems sound that once i DO have, will get me to the point where i am absolutely blown away almost every time i listen!

Huge order I know. But i feel like i'm getting close to that. I might be just a couple tiny steps away from that. It could be a record mat change or a stand or a cable or something. The quality that i lack isnt obvious but subtle and fine but i can't seem to pin point it.

Part of my problem is...I have no idea of how good it can get? I wish i could fly to some of the systems that are shown here on audiogon so i can get a better read on how i'm doing! [smile]

I have heard other audiophiles systems but the more the better i think.

Does anyone else struggle with the question of how good their systems sound or doesnt and with the question of whats possible?[ i guess as audiophiles we all do to some degree or another]

How many people Love the sound of their system every single time they listen and are not trying to find ways to better their sound? [i thought this might become an interesting thread]

I would imagine their are some really, really frustrated people out there! some wont even find this thread because they sold their gear about 3 years ago and bought an ipod!

[smiling]

I would say for me it changes, not because i get a new component but even from one listen to the next with the same identical system. It could be my mood...ie, the angle at which i come at the music, if you know what i mean.

Overall i am pretty satisfied, sometimes all the tweaking of vta and vtf and different pressings can throw the sound, that drives me batty sometimes. For many years i went back and forth between loving hifi and loathing it. I'd say i'm a couple years away from having all the bugs hammered out of my system and will have it running optimally and will be just listening and buying records only, with maybe the occasional exploration into different gear for pleasure purposes. We'll see what time brings though!

How bout' you?

.
vertigo
inna
7,923 posts
 
Vertigo, I agree with everything you said.
I have Nottingham original Spacedeck/Spacearm with soon to be replaced Dyna 10X5 cartridge and Acoustech PH-I phono. I am thinking about either trying Goldring 1042 MM or Garrott MM or perhaps Lyra MC though the latter is expensive to me even directly from the UK (about $800). Also, I have no idea how Lyra would match with Spacearm; should match well with my phono though.
Yes, it's a neverending quest for the perfect sound.
By the way, it's summertime now, and I can't listen to my stereo in the daytime when it's hot. It just sounds very congested and overall terrible in a way that's not easy to describe.
tmsorosk
1,013 posts
 
I think building a system with good neutraility will get you close to what you are looking for . I've built a system that sounds very involving night or day , hot or cold , Jazz or rock/pop , good recordings or bad . I won't say it makes a poorly recorded disc sound like a good one , but almost all disc's are very listenable and enjoyable but never frustrating . It's taken many years , much listening and of coarse $ to finally get a system that sounds right all the time with all music , and there's no hint of anguish just pure pleasure .
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
no stereo can replicate the sound of a live orchestra. that can be vexing.
tmsorosk
1,013 posts
 
I don't whats vexing about it , we new from the first audio component we purchased many years ago that it would not sound like live music and to this day we no that a new piece of kit , no matter how great will leave something behind .
What we can do is create a music maker that will entertain and dazzle us into joyish submission .
vertigo OP
130 posts
 
Inna,

I used to have a goldring 1042 i bought it cause the reviews looked pretty good. I found it pretty resolving, kinda so so, but didnt really do anything especially special. The denon 103 is very balanced and quite complete. It makes a very coherent picture of the music without over emphasizing in any areas to make some fault. It tries to be neutral and succeeds quite well. It produces timbres that are a little "greyed". It is of course not world class in transparency. It is still a great cartridge for what it is! at its asking price.

Lyra makes great cartridges. The little denon might make you as happy or more happier but i have no experience with the lyra you are considering. What i'm trying to say is the denon is a no brainer and that its a cartridge the plays higher than its price and can sound better than many more than double its price. [i think thats a fair statement]. Anyways just something to think about. That said...lyra makes some of the best cartridges available.

I have quite a few tubes [happily] in my system. When summer comes i dont feel like adding more heat and then try to listen. Something says..."you should go outside" so playing music when its hot feels a bit couped up and how can you enjoy music if your feeling suffocated!{smiling}
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