Gentlemen, this is an amazing occurrence. We're in general agreement on the subject in discussion. *G*
Once upon a time in the distant galaxy known as CA, I used to haunt Pacific Stereo outlets and other retailers to the point that other customers thought I worked there. But from it I learned what I liked and what I didn't, and made my selections of what I wanted to live with from those. In home demos didn't really exist then, and I wanted to get the best bang for my bucks and my ears that I could reasonably afford....
Very little got returned, and I became educated on the hows' and whys' of setting those items up to become what worked for me wherever I was calling home at the time. As the market aged with us, and the esoteric telescoped out of my reach financially, I opted to 'detune' my tastes. Rather than reach for the untouchable, I moved towards active eq and simpler 'tricks' to make what I had create the performance I could live with and enjoy the music it could recreate. Which is what I thought then and still do now was the whole point of it....ultimately the music, and not the pursuit of the equipment that recreated it. If it sounded good to me, it worked and was 'good enough'.
The analogy that I draw upon is this:
V. van Gogh created painted with what he could afford, as did many of the Impressionists'. Jackson Pollock used ordinary house paint for many of his works. Some of the blues musicians that are now legends began with guitars from pawn shops or other 'affordable' outlets.
We all listen within our means. Some means are broader than others. No less valid, no less satisfying. If it makes you smile, taps your foot, or drums your fingers, or moves your soul, It Works. *S* And life is beautiful for awhile. ;)
I'm still chasing an impression, a desire for 'something different' in what I've listened to. I'm just involved in a different approach, a pursuit of something I heard long ago that I'm attempting to recreate for myself for my own amusement and desires. These devices do exist but are beyond my means to merely buy. A Quixotic pursuit perhaps...but, as it stands now, they work decently enough to make me smile. And I'm curious and engaged enough to pursue making them Better, to see how far I can push my personal envelope of skills and abilities....
If, one day, I can make you drop your jaw and widen your eyes upon hearing them, I'll know I'm getting there....
If I can make you drop the drink in your hand, I'm There. ;)
(Concrete floor, no concern about the mess....*G*)
We all have our goals. My 'bucket list' is just a little Different...
