Upgraditis?

Amen!

@rvpiano what were the differences heard? Could it have been the room?

Music first, sound second. However, improved sound quality does get one closer to the music. No more upgrading equipment for me. Just tweaks that work from now on. 

Frank

rsf507,

Thanks for asking.

Basically, there were two parameters that impressed me.  1. Front to back imaging with RCA Living Stereo records — very impressive.
2. Bass response.  His new speakers (GoldenEar Triton 1) have built-in subwoofers.  I have none. Again, very impressive.
His music room is a hole of a basement surrounded by thousands and thousands of CDs and records.

After the shock has worn off, I’m listening to my system more calmly and don’t feel so bad, thanks to your question.

A lot of us completely understand your experience rvpiano. That’s why we are here. If everyone was simply satisfied with what they have and at the end of their journey, much of the conversation here would evaporate.

It reminds me of a passage in a book that made waves in popular culture years ago (and I can’t remember the name) in which the author was trying to explain the nature of men to women. To paraphrase:

A man can be sitting happily on the beach during a tropical vacation, cool drink in hand, under a perfect sun, beside his bride, thinking "all is perfect. This drink, this beach, the sun, and I’m with my wife-to-be. I’m just so totally and happily in love."

And then he spots a gorgeous, sexy, bikini-clad woman emerging from swimming in the sea, and he immediately thinks "My gawd how I’d love to have sex with her!"

It’s just the way men are wired.

Same with gear hobbies like high end audio. Many of us are just fascinated by the gear, and we wouldn’t be here if it were really only "all about the music." There are tons of music forums that would meet that need if that were the overriding concern.

I’ve been amazed at how I can sometimes sit in wonder at just how beautiful my system sound, and yet if my mind goes there, like the bikini-clad vixen emerging from the surf, I can imagine better...and also know that I have HEARD better in one parameter or another.

We get a charge from the performance of a new piece of gear. That rush can be addictive in of itself, and when you adapt to the sound you have, you can want to experience it again. Hence the upgrade itch.

Some audiophiles *claim* they no longer face the desire to upgrade. But very often this is coming from people who are still in the throws of a relatively new piece of gear they think is so awesome "well, that’s it, done! I’m satisfied." And then you see them upgrading in a few years.

Personally, for this reason, I don’t put a lot of stock in to many of the claims that an audiophile here is off the merry-go-round....UNLESS we are talking about a truly long period of not upgrading.

I have been using the same Conrad Johnson amps for about 18 years. And still I occasionally ponder upgrading ;-)