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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
 
Doctor, I must take pains to point out that the offending coronetist had undoubtedly been drinking beer (beir), not scotch, before performing his percussive exclamation! Wouldn't it be indicated only to imbibe spirits that are like in kind to those consumed by the musicians themselves, if one wants to stand a chance of most closely approaching the absolute sound? (Thread's dead anyway, may as well bury it...)
lazarus28
339 posts
 
does this mean that i should shoot up copious amounts of smack the next time i listen to any of my velvet undergroung/lou reed lps? maybe there *is* a hidden meaning in metal machine music!
detlof
1,899 posts
 
Zaikesman, what offense pray, are you talking about ?In fact, the coronetist, in his noble efforts, venting himself, so to speak in true stereo, both Wagnerian and eisbeinish with Sauerkraut ("bier" being released rather in upwardish ventriloqy)gives a true pivotal point between the ethereal of music and the ethyreal of Scotch. If we were, as you suggest, to emulate the drinking habits of orchestral players, we would all be soon lost in brutish debauchery and be quite unable to find the right balance between palate and ear.
Besides, I feel the thread is anything but dead. Our detour into baccantian pleasures will, I hope, enable us to tackle those poor percentages in a fashion befitting a seasoned audiophile.

Thanks Laz28, maybe I should fool around more...its hard to be music lover and audiophile all in one person (-;
zaikesman OP
3,017 posts
 
Well, if nothing else, Detlof may be on to a new criteria for establishing the benchmark in system resolution - that is to say, simply being able to *hear* the passage of said wind emanating from that particular location in the orchestral ranks, as recreated within one's suberbly extended and layered soundstage, can no longer be quite good enough. No, one must actually be able to *sniff* out the precise constitution (sorry) of the hornist's discomforture before he may lay claim to the acme of world-class, reference-level reproduction!
ozfly
887 posts
 
I'm having trouble taking this a step further since I'm laughing so hard, but here goes ...
Let's face it -- the electronics, mechanics and acoustics of our systems and room won't exactly reproduce the live sound for all types of recordings. With the right dosage of scotch, the imagination fills in the missing details. Detlof was kind enough to share the perfect test album. When you can hear "said wind", you've got a great system and you are still coherent enough to know it! When you can smell it, proceed to a maintenance level of drinking (or let out the dog): This will take time to achieve and I would strongly recommend meditation exercises. If you can hear it and smell it and the system isn't even on, seek help but you probably have a great artistic career ahead of you.
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