Emotional rollercoaster


I think I've been slowly improving my system over years. Starting with garage sale finds and tip finds to eBay and ultimately spending serious dollars on some decent amplification and speakers. I was even going to post recently about how the journey has been worth it.
Then this afternoon I tested an old Akai AA-5200 that I'd retrieved from under my ex's house (left it there 8 or so years ago) and I connected it to some old magnat 10p speakers I picked up for about $40 ages ago.... and behold.... I was listening to about $60 of hi-fi equipment that sounded extraordinarily nice and made me wonder why I'd spent a hundred and fifty times that much "improving" my main system over the years. 
It's left me disillusioned and fragile. Is spending big bucks a sham. Where have I gone wrong. It's an emotional rollercoaster. Help.



mid-fi-crisis
barts,

Good for you. As Clint Eastwood used to say, "A man’s got to know his limitations."

Maybe it’s the same for audiophiles - knowing when enough is enough.


audiorusty,

'If you can imagine your perfect audio system in your mind, what would it sound like? If you don’t know, how will you know when you have a system that has achieved it?’

I can’t speak for anyone else but in my main system, which does so many other right things, the speakers are just a little obvious. Large 1970s chipboard cabinets probably leave a little to be desired when it comes to self effacement and neutrality.

The final frontier (or crossing the Rubicon as someone wittily said earlier), would be precisely that kind of loudspeaker that Siegfried Linkwitz talked about.

One that does most things right and somehow seemingly disappears just leaving behind a phantom musical image.

Just like a reasonable facsimile of performance in front of you.

In the meantime perhaps it’s better to take a leaf out of barts book.
Lots of good information here. I agree that a properly treated room is very important, in fact it's a prerequisite. After that, I'm with mill in regard to everything being important. Obviously speakers will bring a dramatic change to the sound, but if they are transparent, they are only as good as the equipment (including cables, power cords, etc.) upstream. High end audio isn't a sham. The sound I have now is something I could only dream about 20 or 30 years ago. The stage is wall to wall, deep, with ambiance accurate to the recording. I don't regret any of it & typically listen to music 4 or more hours a day. 
I have a mint Mossberg bolt action that might be worth $60, but when a fast flyer drops on the Doyen Superposed, even the Labrador can feel the fluid swing....

but for grins a NAD 3020 with a few tweaks will hunt...

enjoy the music...
noble Tim....*G*=Grin, as in not a *S*mile or a *L*augh.....

It's OK....Old (age and era) previous 'webchatters' sometimes find emoji-speak time consuming....;)
That, and they've made Tribbles look slow in reproduction.....

I'm just obviously somewhat weird in this venue....not that I give a rats' arse over it....;)
How do you know the ambience was accurate to the recording @boxer12? How many of your recordings are live miked with only 2 microphones placed head width at a typical listener position? .... Oh and that you were there for the recording?
More to discover