Anyone Totally Content With Their System?

it is hard to be content with a stereo system when live music is so much more satisfying. after attending a recital of acoustic performances, i have no interest in listening to any stereo system for a while.

stereo systems are a distant second best to the real thing.
consider the chain:

live performance---recording---stereo system---listener.

it is hard to be content with a stereo system when live music is so much more satisfying. after attending a recital of acoustic performances, i have no interest in listening to any stereo system for a while.

not my experience at all. I often go to a live performance and I am frustrated with both the audio and the quality of the musicians playing...a great live performance is rare local occurence compared to the quality of what you can find at the music store.

11-28-06: Shadorne

it is hard to be content with a stereo system when live music is so much more satisfying. after attending a recital of acoustic performances, i have no interest in listening to any stereo system for a while.

not my experience at all. I often go to a live performance and I am frustrated with both the audio and the quality of the musicians playing...a great live performance is rare local occurence compared to the quality of what you can find at the music store.

Shadorne, are you talking about live ACOUSTIC performances like Mrtennis? If so, then maybe you have an amazing system. If you are talking about a live ELECTRONIC performance, then you are not talking apples w/ apples.

IME, a stereo cannot approach a live acoustical performance, and I agree with Mrtennis. However, I have heard electronic performances that are poorly set up, with poor amps/speakers, that I feel I've heard better at home. I can agree with you in this situation.

Cheers,
John

Well I've attended a lot of recitals and listened to a lot of small jazz goups, including at Shelly's Manne-Hole, and I'm always amazed at how close the sound in my room is to that I remember.

I am content with both stereo and 5.1 audio, but I want to determine if moving my Sony 36 XBR from between the front LR speakers improves the depth of soundstage. Setups with really outstanding soundstaging always seem to have the speakers farther into the room than I can without blocking access, so this weekend I hope to find out how much if any improvement there is in removing the TV.

And that brings me to my point of discontent: Size and configuration of video. I plan to replace the 36 XBR with either a 70" Sony SXRD RP or a plasma/LCD combined with a pull down screen for FP, depending on the result of the experiment this weekend.

db