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.
@jimmyblues +1 sir.. "Ironically, after all these years my hearing is not what it used to be and I listen less critically now, and simply enjoy the music itself. The high end gear is long gone, yet I have settled with some nice components that faithfully honor the music without breaking the bank. 😊" |
Well, I really hadn’t thought that a dedicated 10gage 20amp line would make much difference. I’ve played around with power cables and conditioners and I’ve only noticed maybe a 5% increase in clarity at most. So I ask to those of you that have experienced huge gains, at what price point are your electronics? Are we talking ultra, hi or mid fi? |
I have had dedicated power to my stereo system since 1989. Every house I have bought since I have taken the trouble to run a dedicated line to my stereo but I didn’t add a dedicated line to my current house until I retired a couple of years ago since it was the most difficult to do of all of my houses. It is worth the trouble. First of all, a dedicated breaker and power line reduces voltage sag- ie, drops in voltage as the line is loaded down. I consider a stable voltage source a big deal for good sound. Second, it reduces but does not eliminate electrical noise from other sources inside the house. There is no single silver bullet that fixes all electrical noise for a stereo system. Each step taken removes a small amount of noise and grunge that affects S/N as in background noise, improves clarity and makes the highs sound sweeter. It nearly killed me to spend what I did on a power conditioner but it works. It adds to the improved clarity and sweeter highs. And then power cords do even more to reduce background noise and improve on the highs as well as bring out more detail. I have said it before, buying expensive power cords takes a lot of grit and determination. They aren’t sexy. They are nothing to look at but if you want the best sound out of your components that you can get then they are necessary. And much to my disappointment, good power cords matter after the power conditioner. I have what I consider a hifi set up just because I have all the right names. And well, it does sound killer…. |
@jgandy +1 "I have always been audiophile atheist regarding wires, power conditioning, audiophile magazines (although I have subscribed to both since their inception), and most of the myriad other ancillary devices marketed to the audiophile." right... such things might be tiny tweaks, though I too am an educated skeptic..., but the bang for the buck is proper speaker-amp-room synthesis |
