Jay's "Ugly Truth" video

I try to balance consumption-based hobbies, like audiophilia, with creation-based hobbies, like woodworking. Usually the remedy for obsession and burn out in one is picking the other back up. The cycles usually last several months, and there's always something to do.

Our time on this planet is short and I see no harm in being obsessed with things that bring joy and a sense of personal enrichment--within reason. If you're not stealing from your kids' plates and futures, neglecting your wife, and mortgaging your house for audio equipment that costs more than it, knock yourself out. If you are, stop.

Never been able to truly enjoy overspending. It's like somethings telling me Im.oit of line. I appreciate seeing a carefully cobbled together system that punches above it's weight. Many of the virtual systems here reflect a well thought out process leading to an enjoyable experience to the user.

Have often thought how nice it would be to take a tour from system to system and appreciate the myriad results  music lovers have achieved. As far as going down the rabbit hole some care should be taken.  

Audio hobby isn't for those who wishes to be under heels all life.

I will repeat something that is not obvious for most...

The audio engineering vocabulary and concepts are not the acoustic and psycho-acoustic vocabulary and concepts and neither of those are the musical vocabulary and concepts ...We had three musketeers here who are four really because psycho-acoustics is not reducible to physical acoustics...

The word "details" here will mean three different aspect of the potential experience of perceived "details"... It will be the same for the word "musical" with three different meanings and experiences ... And it is the same trichotomy for any other concepts...

Then it is not purchasing an upgrade that will teach you how to distinguish and relate this three different conceptual perspectives , it will be the task to optimize and study the mechanical,electrical and acoustical embeddings of any gear you already own in their rightful optimal synergetical working dimensions...

Audiophile experience means learning how to make converge these three (four) conceptual perspectives in ONE meaningful experience... This had nothing to do with buying 40 amplifiers, 40 dacs, and forty pair of speakers...

Musicians and acousticians upgrade less...😁😊 Why ?

They care less about the brand names and more about their ears experience and how to improve it with no need very often for upgrade... Save the necessary one upgrade when all that is possible have been done  with what we already own... Not before...

@blackbag20 I just spent the last 1.5 hours clearing out the boxes. I kept 3, the CODA #16 amp, Magnum Dynalab MD108T tuner, and KEF KC62 sub (this was a problematic piece in the past but good so far). The MD 108T will need calibrating in about a decade, likely in Toronto. Bryston and Axiom now own them.

The Yamaha NS5000 speakers can be repaired by me (I did the Thiel CS3.7 in the past) and there is local dealer that sells the NS5000. Though I did not buy from them.

I am keeping the CODA#16 box because I am demoing the Sim Audio Moon 861 or 761 amps this month with the NS5000 dealer.

I have a lot of Schitt gear for headphones (and Yggi+ LM DAC) I can easily drive to the SchittR to get any repairs done (70 miles).

It feels great to clear out the garage and now have a different mindset to audio.

I have been a member of A'gon since about 2000 (yyz before) and until 2018 I had about 200 posts. In the last 5 years, I have about 4K posts and tons of buying and selling. That is all done now, except for the SimAduio demo and a purchase of a PlayBack Designs DAC. 

https://www.audiogon.com/systems/7605

I need to update the Virtual System for my Office. The dirty deed with the boxes is in the last 2 photos.