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The 5 stages of making a bad audio purchase

This is tongue in cheek people, so let’s keep the replies light shall we?
The 5 Stages of Making a Bad Audio Purchase:

1. Denial: "My system, which before was of course totally awesome, is now totally awesomer! The sound stage isn’t just 3 dimensional any more, it is 4 dimensional. I can feel fingers sliding across guitar strings, drums are like my head is against the snare, and the bass goes 10hz lower ...."

2. Anger: "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T BELIEVE MY SYSTEM WENT FROM AWESOME TO AWESOMER!!!. You obviously have a crap system, your ears are crap, you are just jealous."

3. Bargaining: "Hey, this gadget will make your already awesome system totally awesomer! 60% of MFR list is a great deal for it! That’s 40% off and you don’t even have to pay tax. I am only selling it because I am upgrading to the even awesomer version 2. My loss is your gain."

4. Depression: "I can’t believe I spent $5,000 on this thing ....."

5. Acceptance: "Sure, 75% off list is fair."
atdavid
ieales's avatar
ieales
1,201 posts
 
the assessments are split right down the middle 50-50

Simple explanation: Half can hear and half can't.

More likely explanation: Any particular component may have some particular merit in a particular system. However, the remainder of the system may exacerbate or ameliorate its flaws.

People do not have identical hearing. Any sonic claim for any component is mostly hogwash and applies to only a miniscule subset of the population with similar systems.

Unfortunately only a tiny subset of audiophiles frequently attend live acoustic performances in good spaces and therefore base their assessments on their fantasies.
glupson
7,842 posts
 
"...and therefore base their assessments on their fantasies."
"The truth of the day"
atdavid OP
736 posts
 
+100,
Not to mention most of the music they listen to isn't even recorded in a fashion that a single listener would hear.
glupson
7,842 posts
 
Smearing others aside, but I often, if not always, find music played at home (any home) way more "exciting-sounding" than the one played live. In some sense, the artificial one sounds "better".

I spent last two weekends checking out two audio shows. Say whatever you want about their hotel room acoustics, it is a world better than my room with no treatment. I managed to hear some piano and some guitar at those shows. Sounded great, but I was suspicious.

Later, I checked how piano and guitar truly sound. Nothing like those expensive systems at the shows. Yes, not the same piano, not the same guitar, but it was too much of a difference. Electronic one was more "real" than real one was. I do not really mind it, but let's not kid ourselves.
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,801 posts
 
Live event and stereo system are sometimes nearer each other, but this is the exception in a very good audio room and with a very good audio grid...My criteria is not how much my audio system reproduce a live event "per se" tough, but more, is my audio system giving me a relatively realistic natural musical timbre for voices or instruments? If I feel yes, I sense more involvement of the heart and mind in the music sound...But now I appreciate live recorded files or cd, more than studio one, it was not the case some years ago...The reason is my audio grid can simulate more the living atmospheric presence of the concert participants....


And my system, remember, is relatively cheap cost, with good components link in the chain tough, the difference comes only from room treatment, and multiple others homemade low cost tweaks....
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