I thought this hobby was all about enjoying music. Your personal enjoyment and satisfaction in your kit no matter how little or much cash you spent. For some it is about the gear, reminds me of the arms race. I have listened to some awesome sounding systems that came in under $5K.
Am I Getting Soft Here?
I’ve just been loving my stereo lately, this despite the fact everything is far from bank-breakingly expensive and is, well, at least a few years old. Right now I’m streaming CD quality music from Idagio and the sound is just glorious. Timbres are lovely. Sure, I’m listening to a modest. perhaps a ten person Baroque chamber ensemble, but there’s a convincing sense of image, dynamics and space. I’m not in the first row of the venue but I’m far from the nosebleed section or hidden in a corner. Hoping I’m not cursing things with this post!
NOLA Boxer Speakers. Primaluna Integrated amp. Cambridge Audio streamer. Interconnects, etc., at a similar quality level. But yeah, I was able to build my listening room pretty much to audiophile precepts, and everything is painstakingly positioned.
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- 47 posts total
I agree 100% with the salient point being expressed here. Listening to music should be fun, immersive and thoroughly emotionally involving. The experience is utterly subjective by default as it’s such an individualistic endeavor. The priority and goal has to be determining the type of sonic/music presentation that makes you most happy and content. In my opinion this mindset and approach leads to the best possible long term happy outcomes. Recognize and identify what you like in terms of sound and then earnestly do your best to fulfill it. Charles
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@edcyn It sounds like you've hit a really good equilibrium point. You've put time and money and intelligence into your setup and you're immersed in experience. That's how it should be. That said, everyone knows that aesthetic appreciation is a stepwise process. First we learn to appreciate; then, upon further exposure and some helpful conversation, we learn what more we might discern and enjoy. Then, we try to step up to that next level, and we shift from critical listening back to immersion enjoyment. In other words, there are at least two reasons people get dissatisfied. Sometimes, they are just chasing what other people have. That's not good. But other times they're trying to step up to the next level of aesthetic discrimination-and-then-immersion. That's how this is supposed to work. Perhaps you're doing this? |
Congratulations. You do not need astronomically expensive equipment to achieve outstanding sound or really satisfying sound. +@Millercarbon. Sounds like you have synergy between your components and room and the sound meets is of a character that satisfy your values. Just enjoy… forget all about equipment.
A word of caution. If the upgrade bug bites at some time in the future. Proceed with caution. It can be easy to upgrade one component and improve the level of details, good, but throw off the tonal balance… while it may sound better… it might not be as satisfying any more. Then change something else, and else and end up far from where you started. If the bug bites, I’m not saying you should never upgrade, but well, choose wisely… take your time. |
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