DO AUDIOPHILES EVER LISTEN TO MUSIC?


I have'nt checked the archives on this and maybe it's been said before, but I was just thinking, when was the last time I or other audiophile nuts like myself, just listened to the music( No Doobie Brother pun intended). I just recently sold my Quicksilver Mono blocks and sometimes I don't know what to do with myself because I bought a Sim Integrated amp and there aren't any tubes to change. I still manage to pull my speakers out and toe them in or is that out. No I think I'll put them back the way they were yesterday because I know that I noticed a little more bass, but I did notice that the speakers did image better when I pulled them out further. I just think I should sell this amp or get another tube amp because I can modify it by putting some of these extra tubes I kept just in case I bought another one. Well, at least for now I can keep swapping my 10 brands of inter connects to see if that makes a difference. It has to or else I wouldn't have so many pairs. If I can just save enough money for that new 24/96 dac, I'll have the perfect system. I dont have a digital cable so I'll see what Stereophile recommends. I think I'll get some room treatments to cure the brightness or just tear down my drapes to liven up the room. If I just kept those tubes everything would be O.K at least for another day. Am I alone in this or are there maybe one,two or maybe three hundred people who feel the same way as I do. The only time I really listen to music is at my friends house when he has his old Onkyo receiver and Pioneer changer going on random play. It may not sound great but it's fun and I can actually listen to a whole song. This audiophile business is a chore and a pain in the butt, but I would'nt change it for anything else in the world. How about you? Any comments?
chipster
"I have tried to listen to music in the past, but found that it just got in the way of the equipment." Can't imagine that this is really true of anyone. Some people probably do only listen to a limited amount of music that is well recorded/engineered on high resolution systems, but I do not see anything wrong with doing so. I have a tendancy to select better recordings to play on my system when other people are present as I want them to hear it at its best (and show off). Though I have not been doing this (hifi as a hobby) for too long, this time round (took a long vacation from the whole scene, I still find myself going through cycles of attention spent to either the gear or the music. I always did this "cycle thing" in the past as well when the hobby was a larger part of my life. Guess that I havn't changed much in this aspect in the last 25 years. I am tired of our current main system right now (problem with the new speakers that I am trying to resolve with the distributer) and just purchased every Cowboy Junkies CD that we do not own while on line last night as a kind of retaliation to the whole situation. I have also been listening to our little mini system, since it pisses me off every time I listen to my new "defective" speakers. So in this case/cycle the gear stopped and the music continued.
After I rewired my house with Cardas Golden CrossSection Interdomicile wire, the noise floor was lowered, but I could distinctly hear an annoying 60hz hum coming from my 60W GE 'soft white' bulbs, and even more so from the smaller, more delicate fridge bulbs. After discussing this with my local audio gallery, I purchased 48 High Current Cardas Golden Orb Reference Illuminators! Transformation! The new Illuminators produced a pleasing, warm toned hum, punctuated by this wonderful authoritative 'static bite' when the heating system kicks in. Never have I felt so 'Close to the Electricity'. I now leave all the house windows open, have moved my listening chair next to the thermistat, and have sold all the 'useless' audio junk that was cluttering the room. The Orb series is soon to be complemented by a new Cardas Golden-Rod fluorescent model. I can't wait !
John_1.......I now understand all the "Dear John" letters.. ...best of luck during your recovery.
The most remarkably invective habit I had developed over the several years of critical listening was assessing the quality of sound during live performances. Sitting in a symphony hall or enjoying a festival band, processing the depth of bass. Even challenging the tonal truth. Frickin nuts. As of the last several months, this has much changed. I actually lay back, read, enjoy games with the kids with little corrective interference. There remains moments, though, when the vocals could be just a tad bit crisper and the violins a little less strident.
In answer to the question - I listen to music (this is as opposed to evaluating the system) on my system for between one hour and three hours every day - this is me sitting in the listening seat, sometimes reading.