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Many of us want to Changegrade instead of Upgrading

As I may have mentioned, I once saw an anime where the protagonists had a music cafe bar.  They had half a dozen bookshelf sized tube amplifiers on the shelves.  I guess the idea was they'd swap them out from time to time.

I really love the idea of doing that as audiophiles. Instead of chasing the next big score we should look for things that interest and excite us.  To chase the change instead of the "upgrade." So many see upgrading as a way of self-care or self-love.  I must love myself more, or be capable of more self-love because I just spend 10x what I spent last year on my speakers.  If that's you, who am I to stop you?

But it is worth stepping back from the "upgrade" ramp and asking whether money is actually paying for better or different.  If it's just different, maybe we need to do a changegrade.

erik_squires
facten
2,880 posts
 

On the change grade side of things I have 3 amps in my main system that I rotate through every 2-3 weeks for a different flavor of things : Finale Audio 7189Mk2 integrated (EL84M/7189A power tubes) ; Line Magnetic 518IA integrated (845 power tubes) ; Modwright LS100 tube pre/KWA100SE ss power amp.

sgreg1
612 posts
 

@waytoomuchstuff 

I did look into bass traps but my wife could not tell if her car was running or not!

then I concluded that no garage upgrade can make the 901’s sound any better or even any different. 

waytoomuchstuff's avatar
waytoomuchstuff
1,121 posts
 

@sgreg1 

"I did look into bass traps but my wife could not tell if her car was running or not!"

Good one.

FYI- I use Bose 201s in my boat house.  The catfish, turtles and ducks have never complained.

lanx0003
849 posts
 

Yep many of audiophiles were doing it already.  I had 3 amp/int. amp, 3 sets of speakers and two DACs, which render 18 combinations.  Of course not every combination is equally satisfactory but even a subset of those give sufficient rotations to fulfill your enjoyment or simply curiosity.

barrysandy
192 posts
 

I rarely upgrade. I'll always try modifying something.  If you don't like what you've done, put the old parts back, try something else, or forget it.  

This is not for most people.  It takes a few years to learn what parts of a circuit to change. Most manufacturers spend a lot of time voicing their equipment, so you'll have to too.

It's cheaper than buying something new every year. You'll end up with something that sounds a little bit better. None of my stuff is new. I don't care about warranty or resale.  

 

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