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What I wish I knew before starting my audiophile journey

I’ve considered myself an audiophile for over 3 years now. In those 3 years I’ve owned over 12 pairs of speakers, 10 amplifiers, 4 pre amplifiers, 7 DACs all in search for the perfect sound. What I’ve come to learn is I knew nothing when I started and now have some, not all of an understanding of how this works. Im passing this on to anyone that’s getting into this hobby to help fast track them to a better sound and learn from my experience. If I were to do this all over again, here is where I would start and invest my money.

1. Clean power- I wasted a lot of time and probably sold very good gear thinking it wasn’t good enough because I didn’t have clean power. I installed a dedicated 8 gauge power line with 20 amp breaker and hospital grade plugs for approximately $800. This was hands down the single biggest upgrade. You really have no idea what your gear is capable of delivering until you have fed it with clean power.

2. Speakers-this is where I would spend the a big chunk of my budget. I could make tweaks all day to my system but until I had speaker resolved enough to hear them, it all seems a waste of time. I discounted many things like cables because I couldn’t hear the difference until I had speakers that could actually produce the differences. Keep in mind the room size. I believed that bigger was better. I actually now run a pair of very good bookshelves that have no problem energizing the room. 

3. Amplifier power. Having enough power to drive the speakers is crucial in being able to hear what those speakers are capable of delivering. Yes different amp make different presentations but if there’s enough power then I believe it’s less of an issue and the source determines the sound quality more.

4. Now that I have the power and resolution to hear the difference between sources, cables, pre amplifier, streamer, DACs ect. This is where the real journey begins. 
 

On a side note, my room played a huge roll in how my system sounded but not a deal breaker. I learned that it’s possible to tweak the system to the room by experimenting with different gear. I learned that speaker size based on room size is pretty important. Have good rug!!

For reference my set up

Dedicated power

Lumin U1 mini

Denafrips Venus 2

Simaudio 340i

Sonus Faber Minima Amator 2

cables, AQ full bloom. NRG Z3, Earth XLR, Diamond USB, Meteor Speaker cables.

128x128dman1974
cd318
2,636 posts
 

@tonywinga 

Audio: It is the best of hobbies and it is the worst of hobbies. It starts with a love for music but that quickly leads to obsession.

 

It's this transition from the love of music to the love of gear that separates the true audiophile from the herd.

However you decide to travel, whichever fork in the road you take, the destination is usually the same.

Peace to you and now your heart is full of gladness because you can get back to the music. Or maybe you simply run out of money and can no longer fund your voracious appetite for more and better upgrades. A very sad ending for many of us.

In any case, the OP's opinion on the importance of loudspeakers and sufficient amplifier power is correct.

It has to be.

There's nothing wrong with using 20 watt per channel tube amps if you prefer their sound but you'd probably want to pair them with a pair of reasonably efficient/easy to drive loudspeakers, wouldn't you?

As for power conditioners, room treatments, isolation etc there's no doubt that these might be useful in some circumstances but it's difficult to generalise here since rooms and equipment are all built differently.

@dman1974  Thanks for sharing your story. Posts like yours can often cut to the chase in a faster way any amount of reading reviews ever will.

curtdr
348 posts
 

@pwayland   +1 on building around the speakers.

stuartk
2,857 posts
 

I didn't start until 20 years ago but here are a few...

1) Don't buy anything you can't demo in your room, with your components and your music and return, if necessary.  

2) Trust your own ears but give any component plenty of listening time before making any final decisions. The mind can play tricks. 

3) Realize that each time you introduce a new component you may have to re-establish system synergy which may be simple or not so simple. 

4) If you ask for advice, be prepared for a wide range of responses

5) There's an advantage to being born an ardent music lover (someone who HAS to listen to music every day, even if it's on a cheap boom box) and having a relatively modest gear budget. 

lradder
56 posts
 

dman, thanks for your post. It made me think and appreciate the journey...my journey! I began my second journey after the kids left the comfortable confines of mom & dad's house and went on their own. The "before" kids group had decent equipment like a Luxman R117, Yamaha NS 1000 speakers, and an Akai Reel to Reel, to name a few. But when my wife said, "You owe it to yourself, Go for it", I started again. 

My point to this is first and primary, is research. Read, ask questions and listen. Call the company headquarters of the equipment your interested in and ask questions. Then, before you buy anything, find the right, knowable dealers. We all know that once the journey begins, there will be a lot of upgrades. Having a dealer who participates in your journey with you and gives you reasonable "Trade Up" opportunities is tantamount! Allow me to give two shout outs to 2 of those dealers - Eric at Salon 1 Audio and Taylor at Gold Print Audio. They do it right!

Then I agree, Clean Power is a must. Including proper wiring, upgraded outlets and a power conditioner. All a must.

After that, enjoy the swapping, the trading up, the tube rolling, the cable changes and the new equipment. BUT, take the time to listen and enjoy each new tweak before you do another one. Discern if, and what, should be the next move so you don't have regrets. 

I have no idea if I'm done on my journey. As we all know, can I get any better? Of course, you can always spend more money, but are you getting the increase in benefits, or are you just spending more money? Don't go on an equipment journey...partake in a listening appreciation journey. Listen to your collections whatever format they may be and appreciate the sound you've created. Enjoy a good bourbon and get lost for a few hours before life interrupts. Enjoy the journey but enjoy the music escape first and foremost!

unreceivedogma's avatar
unreceivedogma
980 posts
 

In my 54 years in this hobby, I’ve owned …. 5 pairs of speakers.

Your philosophy ain’t too far off. I don’t waste money on cables: they are at best 2% of my budget. I don’t even bother to mention them in the link below  

 

theaudioatticvinylsundays.com

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