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An unscientific poll: How often are you happy?

What percentage of the time do you just break out in a smile and thoroughly enjoy the music *and* the sound when you fire up your system? 10%? 50%? 99%? (The other times: you hear something wrong, something lacking, needs tweaking, needs upgrading, colorations, distortions, you hear a noise, a tube might be going, not musical enough, can't suspend your disbelief the way you want to, your expectations are disappointed, it doesn't sound like you remember the dealer's system did, doesn't sound like you remember your friend's system did, you made the wrong move with the last upgrade, you doubt the money you recently spent really made a difference, the recording is too flawed, you wonder what it would sound like if you changed this or that, you enjoyed it more in the car, you question whether you've truly got your priorities in perspective, etc...) Give your %, and list the approximate $ investment you have in the system (specify new or used valuation). Mine: happy about 15% of the time, valuation around $17,000 if all bought new. Conclusions - if any - drawn later...
zaikesman
zaikesman OP
3,017 posts
 
Going through all these great responses makes me want to clarify a little something about my original post: I didn't mean to imply that the remaining percentage of the time (about 85% in my case) that we are apoplectic or despondent - merely that we are not completely satisfied and blissful (with the system/sound/music, that is) to the point where there is no perceived impediment to enjoying the moment. So far, no clear correlation seems to be emerging between $ spent or represented, and % of pure joy (maybe I should have also specified $ spent on recordings?). Many mentions of one's pre-existing mood being a determining factor in peoples' response; this interests me because I've frequently regarded my music and system as a balming counteractant to the exigencies of everyday BS. I want to be so arrested by what I hear that I literally forget what I wasn't feeling good about!
ozfly
887 posts
 
Excellent thread and responses! I have about $50k (MSRP)in my main system. If the recordings are good to great quality, I'm very happy about 60% of the time. That rises by about 5% with each scotch. After six scotches, even the bad recordings start sounding good. I do not have perfect pitch (what is the opposite of that?) but think that about 75% of my recordings are good to great quality. The rest don't get spun very often.
lazarus28
339 posts
 
90-95% of the time. i'm only ever not happy when the recording is subpar, which doesn't happen too terribly often. if it were all new, it'd run about 40k.
kthomas
911 posts
 
Six scotches for me and it wouldn't matter what it was sounding like because I'd be unconscious :-)

Zaikesman - even with your clarification, I'd say I'm happy nearly 100% of the time - the two things I can count on being happy about are climbing into my car (I've never been a car hound, but currently drive an M3 and every time I get in it I think "this is nice!", even three years into owning it), and when I turn on the audio system. The % goes down with poorer recordings, which (I agree with the others here) are the source (no pun intended) of most of my dissatisfaction. It's still rare though. -Kirk

gregm
3,405 posts
 
Unsurprisingly, this kind of discussion indubitably leads to recommendations for audiophile approved Scotch! My vote goes for Lagavulin -- but I won't turn down a Laphroiag (sp?) or any other single malt in the offering...
After the 8th scotch, the home system sounds BETTER than live (-- not that I can tell the difference anymore...)
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