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How does one get off the merry-go-round?

I'm interested in hearing from or about music lovers who have dropped out of the audio "hobby." I don't mean you were content with your system for 6 weeks. I mean, you stood pat for a long time, or--even better--you downsized...maybe got rid of your separates and got an integrated.

(I suppose if you did this, you probably aren't reading these forums any more.)

If this sounds like a cry for help, well, I dunno. Not really. I'm just curious. My thoughts have been running to things like integrated amps and small equipment racks and whatnot even as I continue to experiment and upgrade with vigor (I'm taking the room correction plunge, for example.) Just want to hear what people have to say on the subject.

---dan
drubin
phd
1,332 posts
 
Pubul57, you just made the definitive statement, just listen to the music if you can. If you check my feedback, I have not had a transaction here on Audiogon since November of last year and that has been a milestone for myself but there are no absolute guarantees. I have a modest but enjoyable system and have reconnected to my music. I'm now down to just experimenting with different interconnects for the best possible sound and there are two large bags of interconnects to choose from, left over from a peak period of time that has passed but a tell-tale sign that there has been a great deal of passion towards this hobby.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Pubul57 and Phd, this discussion sounds like what Consumer Reports used to say about automobiles. Cheapest, reliable transportation is all one needs. They did not get many to subscribe to this philosophy. Most went about their lives, buying cars they wanted.

I'm sure no one would tell you that you cannot get off the merry-go-round if you want to. Nor should you tell others they are wrong to buy better equipment. Nobody appointed you to this duty.
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Of course you should get better equipment, but at some point it isn't really better (certainly not "much" better), just different and it is important to know the difference IMHO. And you certainly don't have to get off the merry-go-round, you just have to know when you are on one, and have fun with it if you enjoy it, many of us do.

My comments are for those who want to get off (OP was pleading:)), and suggesting a method for doing so - stop reading every review compulsively, and stop being parnoid (audionervosa) about your system - just focus on the music,and stop thinking so much about the equipment (IF, you want to get of the m-g-r); I actually don't.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,980 posts
 
Manage expectations.

Be realistic.

Think about how you and your system will integrate with the room and acoustics. Get all that tuned in and optimized first before doing anything else.

For example if your room is more like a club than a symphony hall (as is the case for most of us) don't expect a recording of Mahler's 4th to sound like it did when you heard it live.

IF its a studio recording, realize the best you can do is reproduce what the producers intended. It doesn't matter what you think it should sound like. It is what it is, so accept that.
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Very true. Another way to get off the merry-go-round is to avoid live acoustic venues, jazz in my case; otherwise you might think it is possible to recreate that live sound in your living room playing recordings of a live event if you only had the right speakers and dialectric on your cables - it does not happen. Audio can be a very pleasant and satisfying illusion, but live it is not (besides the electronic chain of the recording process,it would be very odd for a 6" midrange and 8" woofer to sound like a grand piano or a drummers kit.) When I lowered my expecations, I learned to live much more happily with my equipment.
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