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Merry go round

it.
rvpiano's avatar
rvpiano

2,674 posts

 

I was on the audiophile merry go round of never being satisfied with my system, compulsively tweaking and changing equipment, searching for perfection  for quite a number of years. But despite all the conflict I have come out of the ordeal with a system that, I  can honestly say, portrays the music accurately.  So in many ways,  it wasn’t a waste of time and money.
 The trick is,  once you have found a system that satisfies you, stop agonizing over the sound. You’ve reached Nirvana, where all you have to do is sit back and enjoy your music in glorious sound. If there are sound defects, SO WHAT!  The fault is NOT in your system. You’ve reached your system’s benchmark sound and anything that strays from that is the fault of the medium. Even ENJOY the faulty track for the great music that lies within.  I’m sure you’ll even find some  niceties of sound that exist.   
I'm not saying that I’ll never buy another “upgrade.”  But, as of now, I don’t see the need.
For those who listen only for SQ, enjoy the quest.
128x128rvpiano
johnnotkathi
68 posts
 

Some of the best times I have ever had listening to music was in a car… Driving on a freeway… enjoying the scenery, music cranked and highly distorted… It was awesome!

sns
3,388 posts
 

I didn't assemble or voice my system with only audiophile recordings since the vast, vast majority of recordings and what I listen to are mediocre. My system is easily resolving enough to expose the warts in recording while still providing an immersive listening experience.

 

My intended destination has always been to enjoy the vast majority of recordings from all eras and genres, the music lover in me, and to admire the sound quality of that music played through a high end system, the audiophile in me. The music lover and audiophile can coexist within all of us, have to find that sweet spot.

kodak805
76 posts
 

Some of us have higher quality equipment than was used in the recording session.

rvpiano's avatar
rvpiano OP
2,688 posts
 

@sns 

+1

dogearedaudio's avatar
dogearedaudio
162 posts
 

@sns 

+2 ;-)

I'm continually amazed at the number of "audiophiles" who spend enormous amounts of money on equipment without having any idea of what they really want their systems to sound like.  Forty years ago I heard a pair of ProAc Response 2's and a little Cary 300B amp, and I thought, that's what I want.  A while later a friend sold me his ProAcs for a song, and I started experimenting with building my own tube amplifiers, and that's where I've pretty much been ever since.  The system has improved as my building and tuning skills have improved, but even if I couldn't "do-it-myself," I'd be very happy with any number of vintage tube outfits.  I've even heard some solid-state equipment I could live with. ;-)

Another sound I'll never forget was performing as a spoken-word artist in the midst of a symphony orchestra.  The warmth, ease and relaxed power of that sound is something I always think back to when judging an audio system.  It would be practically impossible to actually recreate in a home environment, but as a guide to what music really sounds like, it's been a touchstone for me.

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