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Recommend me a good psychologist

I used to be a happy guy with a huge passion for music, especially classical music. Music was so important in my life that I almost quit my final engineering studies (electrical) to enter to the conservatory dreaming to be one day a great orchestral conductor. I realized that it was too late to continue with that dream and decided to finish the electrical engineering. I used to enjoy so much my classical music cd’s with my 70 bucks sony discman (with megabass!) that I really did not care about the perfect sound but the perfect performance. I used to be really transported by music until I accidentally met “Mr. High-End” in Internet. That was about two years ago when I finally decided to get a “dream stereo system” with a budget of $2000 (wow!!). To make this story short, I was entrapped by “Mr. High-End” and ended with a $10000 buck system after an extensive search and auditions of components. The very sad part of this story is that I enjoyed more the music with my old cheap discman than with this high-end thing. YES, the high-end system sounds much better but now I can not concentrate in the musical message but in those terms well known in the audiophile world (soundstage, microdynamics, warm, bright, transparency, focus, image, bla bla bla…). Now I find myself buying music that is well recorded and sounds good with this system and not the music that I used to love. To be honest, I would have preferred to meet Mr. High-End NEVER. Do I need to visit to the psychologist? Whom do you recommend me?
panchodde5
kthomas
911 posts
 
A great article in this month's Stereophile on what to do if you're wondering how to spend $1000 on cables - The Fifth Mark. He suggests buying / learning the guitar, hiring a quartet to play in your parlor, etc. etc., all in the same vein in which you ask your question - how to take the focus off the minutae and put it back on the love of the music.

My own answer is to buy a bunch of software. I regularly buy a handful of CDs (multiple times per month), and regularly listen whenever I can - on the "dedicated" system, on my office system, in my car. Talk about music instead of gear, turn people on to the cool music you've found (and you'll definitely find it). I find if there's always new music that I haven't fully listened to yet, I get more focused on that and less on the playback means. -Kirk

sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
I still purchase recorded music based on the quality of the performance only. The high-end system enables the great performance to sound the best possible. I could care less if another recording is technically better in an engineering sense. I have updated recordings if a better re-issue of the same performance comes out (or if I find a better performance). So now that you have a system you like, go back to your old way of thinking.
garfish
1,840 posts
 
Hi Pancho; you've apparently learned to listen to music using predominently the left side of the brain which is in charge of "intellectual or logical" matters. You need to re-order your listening priorities and re-learn how to listen with the right side of the brain as well, which takes care of the "emotional stuff". No, I'm not a psychologist, but I've read a lot and have experienced some of what you describe myself. Also, I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night.

You can do this because you used to do it when you listened with the $70. walkman and enjoyed music. In order to pick out good high-end equipment, you have to learn to use both types of listening, ie intellectual and emotional, and also learn how to integrate the two. And I know this is possible as I've been through some of what you describe too. I refuse to buy "audiophile approved" music, unless I really enjoy it.

As an example of what you describe, I recently auditioned a $1000. power cord. It provided excellent detail, had great tonal balance, transparency, soundstaging, etc., but it did not "boogie", ie it did not "move" me with my favorite R&R music, and I concluded that it didn't have very good pace, rhythm, and timing (PRaT). I rejected this power cord, and stayed with my inexpensive ($325.) PC 'cuz it does "boogie". Hang in there Partner. Cheers. Craig
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