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The Psychology of Constant (Equipment) Change

Anybody have an answer?

I have a decent selection of preamps, amps, integrateds and speakers to choose from and I find myself swapping out gear constantly.  And it's not because anything sounds bad.  Quite contrary, really.

After most swapping sessions, I'm generally really satisfied and quite enjoy the sound quality.  But within a few weeks I'm swapping stuff out again.

What would be the diagnosis for my condition?

 

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mahgister's avatar
mahgister
12,667 posts
 

Most of the times if we are bored by the music/sound of our system room it is because we had not reach the optimal way to install or as i say embed the system rightfully in his three working dimensions.

The only exception is bad design of some gear pieces or bad synergy...

No system with synergy well embedded acoustically at any price can be boring ...Music well done acoustically dont bore and we forgot the system it become immersive . A bad system for many reasons can bore.

My thrill come from music with immersive sound. My thrill is not changing the gear. 😊 The only source of boredom cannot be music it is a lack in one or all system working dimensions or a lack of gear synergy.

This lacks can manifest in 2 ways : frustration when the lack is evident as a defect  or boredom when the lack is not located or identified as such by the owner  nor evident ...

I think you reach a point where, you become so used to a particular sound that the thrill is diminished. That’s when you begin thinking about changing it up again.

 
 

 

 

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daveyboy
7 posts
 

 

drmuso's avatar
drmuso
75 posts
 

 

I liked waytoomuchstuff's classification.  I consider myself to include all three, with less of the hobbyist component than the other two.  I suppose if either of the first two factors outweigh the third in a listener, that would lead to continual changing of gear.
 
I suppose if I had extra gear as good as what's in my main system, I might be inclined to swap things occasionally.  But I don't, and it would be a big undertaking. I'd rather just enjoy my system, which is quite satisfactory as it is.  I could certainly see an audiophile having a pair of speakers that is best for chamber music and another that is best for rock, and swapping those, which would perhaps call for changing the amps as well to best match the speakers.
 
I suspect that sort of gear-swapping is different from buying new gear, which involves the dopamine excitement that bigtwin correctly mentioned.  I get that effect myself from buying music-making gear;  I suppose if I wasn't a musician, maybe I would spend the money on new audio-reproduction gear instead.
 
For me, after assembling a musically-satisfying system, I don't get bored with its sound, but I seek to listen to different music.  I would get bored if I couldn't find new music to sample.  Streaming and a few radio programs are very helpful for that.
milpai's avatar
milpai
2,322 posts
 
That’s like saying "just drive the car" and don’t worry about the lack of comfort or performance or "just go to sleep" and don't worry about the discomfort of the bed or the broken air conditioner making the room 90 degrees!

@ellajeanelle 

Do you have difficulty comprehending English?

Here is part of OP's original post:

I find myself swapping out gear constantly.  And it's not because anything sounds bad.  Quite contrary, really.

After most swapping sessions, I'm generally really satisfied and quite enjoy the sound quality.  But within a few weeks I'm swapping stuff out again.

He stated that he is happy with the purchase and even likes it. So your car, bed or air-conditioner analogy are completely useless.

OP is asking:

What would be the diagnosis for my condition?

OP knows that he has a problem. It is just his nature that he needs constant change. If you can provide some valuable suggestions, those would be helpful to the OP. Look before you leap.

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