@mapman wrote:
Also I think I no longer would lay any claim to being an "audiophile" anymore having made things so relatively simple. I will call myself an "audio enthusiast" now, however I still will always want to keep an eye on what else is out there...especially the latest and greatest innovative applications of technology that might still move things forward. "Future Fi" is the term I have read that seems to describe these kinds of transformative products these days.
Thoughts?
Knowing your own bearing here is what matters, and you seem to thrive with your choice into simplification via the Cambridge - kudos.
I know I challenged my own heading buying used pro segment speakers (an experiment, to begin with) costing 1/10 of the ones I had at the time that were hand-made in Brighton and tailored to me specifically. Turned out those Duratex finished, actively configured pro cinema speakers went from experiment to permanent residency in my setup. In my own mind I’m no less an "audiophile" now than I was before, perhaps even more so for getting ever closer to this sonic ideal of mine, but the outside perception may be one of perplexity and wondering what it’s all about.
Re: "Future Fi" I had myself look up a pair JBL 250Ti in teak veneer on Google the other day. In the late 80’s I stood next to such a brand new pair of 250Ti’s at a local dealer, mesmerized. They had just been unwrapped, and standing there hooked up to a pair of Threshold SA/1 amps + pre and SME turntable, grills off, they glowed in their slightly orange-tint teak veneer with that very particular smell of wood-oil combo filling the locale - intoxicating. The sound of it all bowled over me, and how I wished I could afford them at $3k/pair (indeed the whole shebang). Yes, $3k - a pair. Yet, I was still a highschool lad and had to settle with my JBL 4408 monitors, NAD 7240PE receiver and Rega 3 turntable - absolutely OK in its own right.
Then I’m looking up what can be had today for ~$7k/pair (adjusted for inflation), and mostly it’s a range of rather sterile and anemic looking square boxes with nothing approaching the sheer girth, physical presence and sensory awesomeness of the JBL 250Ti’s - not even from JBL themselves. Future Fi? A sad excuse, if you ask me.
With regard to other areas in gear (particularly digital) I can see progression for sure, but I guess I’m the one to linger more in the old-school way of doing things, with the periodic modern "sprinkle" here and there like DSP usage, HDD source and a mixture of class A and class D-based amps.
