Well maybe it IS my hearing

Thanks for the kind words everyone!


I’m actually running a Luxman 507ux , not the 509 with the luscious aluminum top. :)


I don’t see myself swapping a lot anytime in the future, I’m afraid. I am happy with what I have and need turn my attention elsewhere. Mistress Lilly (the Luxman) will have to be happy with her Louibouton knock-offs for now.

A boat is a truly harsh mistress $$$$$

i agree buy what you value but also do not attack the values others see or hear

iF only I could hold myself to that, dark matter ideal....

For anyone prepared for a rather depressing shock, do have your ears tested by an audiologist, and look at the printout of the results; it's not pretty. But here's the thing: we hear reproduced music with the same ears we hear live. Within the frequency range of one's hearing, a comparison can still be made between the two, and judgments rendered. One benefit of advanced age is in not having to pay for the best tweeters ;-) . Use the money saved for buying four subs.

I am 70 now, spent 8 years in the service, qualified as expert in many arms, incl M60 machine gun, 1911A1 45 cal sidearm, M14 & M16 rifles, M79 grenade launcher.  Tou get the idea, no hearing protection in the 60s.  Then there were the concerts, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Allman Brothers w/Duane, Stones in many occasions.  

Thus my hearing is less than stellar.  Yet I can discern quality from crud, but the nuance of power chords and mega dollar cables is beyond me.  Thankfully so.

Now I enjoy the Maggies mid range and nuance of jazz.  I still love old Rock n Roll, but can only take it in small doses.

Long way to saying Buy what sounds good to you within your budget and care not about the lunatic fringe with agendas.  Enjoy the music!!

I think hearing acuity is only part of the equation as had been mentioned above. And physiologically acuity of sight, taste and hearing are no more than half of the equation that results in perception.

Many people have exceptional vision but do not observe well. I'm sure hearing is no difference. I think one can train for that. But like so many other human attributes, some people are superior to others in some aspects.

Here at Audiogon those claims of superiority seem to abound. But I suspect that is natural for a site about fine audio.

I know that my high frequency hearing is diminished. I know that I have bilateral tinnitus 24/7. But I know that for me there is a bigger problem. I have a hard time being consistently objective about finer points of hi-fi reproduction. In other words, I can frequently hear differences with various component/media changes but often can't tell if one is superior to the other. Likewise, I can hear the same media on the same system and it sounds different to me from one day to the next.

But I also know that I love music.

And I like the way it sounds on my system. 

So I am not on an upgrade treadmill and never will be.

For me this hobby is not a pursuit. It is not a fetish.

None of which is to say that I might not change components but that will have a lot more to do with moving towards a decent streaming setup than a pursuit of some unattainable standard.