"audiophiles listen to their equipment"
That quote is misattributed to Alan Parsons, as I understand. Anyway saying there's a problem with wanting good sound is like saying an instrument designer, aiming for beautiful sound, could not possibly be a music lover and is only interested in the sound of the instruments. I.e. the sound is inseparable from the music. For me the beauty of the sound, good microdynamics, and so on, are the "doors" to the meaning of the music.
@paqua123 The issue I have with your analogy is that the luxury sedan doesn't have anything to do with the memories. But for me, the sound qualities of the system have a musical meaning. A good example is quality of the micro and macro dynamics. I'm mainly focused on classical so my reference (and my memories from youth) is live acoustic music. |
I've never really understood the "critical listening" angle. That's basically the opposite of simply listening for pleasure. If you're listening critically, you'll hear things that sound good to you, but you'll also hear things that don't which will lead you to find different equipment. If you only hear positive things, your system is perfect for you and you'll never need to "upgrade" and we all know that's a rarity among this crowd. |
@roadcykler I'm not sure if this is what you are getting at, but I find that "critical" listening can go wrong sometimes, in the sense that the impressions it gives me are sometimes unconnected with listening for pleasure. An example is a system that impresses me while I'm listening for performance, but then leaves me cold when I try to actually enjoy it. I want to stay away from that. |
@magon sure it does, it is what transports you to the memories. The memories are there waiting, you system brings you back to them. |
@brilliantdisplays ...and I agree with you, it can be a race to the top that potentially is irrelevant when one 'hits the wall' of greater than your 'on-board' organic ears. 2 long excursions drove me to take a small D amp and my 'bookshelf' omni's along, the front end being my cell....Missed the sub that usually paired with, but beat zed. Spouse thought it nutz initially but our employees were down with it.... Have Audio Will Travel @kennymacc & @aewarren ...Precisely. @paqua123 *G* Same fate here, much the place/event memories of the time. As for those involved then, moved, dead or could be. Family mostly keeps track of each other if only for the countdown to the bottom of the list... Too many places I'd rather be on approach to.... *S* I'd opt for a Lotus Exige S v. the luxcruiser...😏 ....but a 'warmed up Subu could do well enough if taking the route rarely used beckons hard enough... ...that memory thing... ;) J |
