Law of Accelerated Returns

You dont know what you are missing until you have heard an extraordinary system. Only at that point do you have a frame of reference. 

When the trappings are the best it becomes even more about the music. I dont understand the need of some to differentiate and then attempt to ascribe purchase motivations.

Wanting something better is not envy. Being bitter that others have better equipment is. Worse still is attempting to diminish those that spend more than you think is acceptable and attaching some sort of moral imperative to the action.

Reference my trappings cost $45k.

Once again this goes over ones head and between their knees.

Thinking OCD Mikey is right....

It's all subjective. Enjoy what you have and envy is not worn well.

One mans garbage is another mans gold.

If I die tomorrow I will die a happy content man.

Remember it is about the music not the trappings, at least in my world.

You are right on jerryg123! 

What an insane idea, applying "the law of accelerated returns" to the reproduction of music in the home.  Without context.  I have heard many, many systems over the past 40 years (more but I'm embarrassed to admit it :-)) and each one sounded great in it's own way.  They were/are great because the owner cared deeply about music.  Some were super expensive and some were modest.  

I hope newbies to this hobby understand that you simply don't have to spend a fortune to achieve fantastic sound.  It's still all about the music.  Who cares about the last 1%.  

Thank you @steveashe this thread reminds me of the posers at the racetrack with their new Ducati’s and zero skills at dragging a knee and I stuff them on a 20 year old VFR400 or Hawk GT.

Question is do these posers know how to listen?

Music first.

As a musician I know, I know how to listen.

You can spend a $100k and if you have no listening skills then you just wizzed away $95k.

I am done here today off to Whats Best Forum.

@jerryg123 who has apparently left us brings us a good point which I'd like to elaborate upon.

There have been several times in my audio journey when I listened to a system that was beyond my ability to fully process it.  Over time and with experience, our brain fine tunes itself to discern the differences in fidelity.  

The differences I hear in my system to a non audiophile might be difficult for them to hear.  When I point things out, sometimes they can hear it, sometimes not.

So perhaps the law of diminishing returns also plays into not yet having the developed palate to hear the full differences.

I posted about this previously, but I recently evaluated high end shotgun mics for my film shoots.  

Schoeps make a full size and smaller size of the mic I just purchased.  The smaller mic has the same capsule but different electronics.  Common wisdom in the pro audio world (and manufacturer) is that they sound the same, just without the filter switches.   However,  to my ear I could easily tell the difference in the side by side comparison.  The larger electronics with higher current sounds clearly more dynamic to me.

If I didn't have the experience from listening to high end audio (and a lot of live music,) perhaps I wouldn't have been able to hear what pretty much no one else on the pro audio world