Audiophilia: Is it the pursuit of audio excellence or just a desire to tinker.

Changing a cartridge for a way costlier one is not "tinkering" nor it is  an embedding control device it is an upgrade of component  ...😁

Tinkering is  often like walking with your hand without seeing ...

We must learn how to control the main  three working dimensions of a system...

And a search for excellence in sound which never end is not a search for excellence in sound but in most case a mental disease or an obsession  ...Any study and set of experiments in acoustic end somewhere ...Any speakers building end somewhere etc ...

I listen music now without being frustrated ...I guess i am no more an "audiophile" or perhaps i am an informed one ...😉

Both. In your search for "audio excellence", "tinkering" is one of the procedures. Like changing the cartridge on your turntable. May seem to be "tinkering" to most. At $5,000, I would not call it, Tinkering. Probably closer to Surgery.

Personally I feed this need by building.  Whether it is speakers or cables, I find it more satisfying to make something than buying something.

I encourage all audiophiles to at least once in their hobby lifetime to build at least 1 speaker kit.  They are affordable and rewarding in ways far better than being armchair critics.

Can't you give it a rest? Your response is not even germane to the OP. 

Can’t you give it a rest? Your response is not even germane to the OP.

@fsonicsmith

That’s funny because the OP actually weighed in:

I may get a kit from that fellow on youtube GR Research.

As to being germane, I think building and tinkering are very closely related.

But as for "giving it a rest" ... no. I find that we, stereophiles, are made better by having more builders and tinkerers. The entire concept of being an audiphile and stereophile was built by tinkerers and builders before there were buyers and sellers. I’m not here to sell a brand or tool but to encourage the visitors here to think about getting dirty with sawdust, solder and tools now and then. Our community is made better for it.

That can’t be bad, can it? 😀

@erik_squires I welcome your comments and opinions, and agree wholeheartedly that getting ones hands dirty is good, good for the audio soul.