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State of the Art? I don t care anymore.

I appreciate the endless obsessive quest to reach the next level of audio nirvana. But I am starting to wonder if it is really making me happy. It seems that the relationship between cost and pleasure is by no means linear. Some systems I have assembled seem to have had just enough performance and resolution to reveal how terrible a recording sounded, or how badly I needed to upgrade an associated component -- but didn't sound good enough to get me to the next level of reality. While I guess that is all part of the "fun", I just want to enjoy music again. I still love audio and I love reading all of your posts, but has anyone else sometimes felt this way? Could someone suggest a romantically, musically colored component or system where, despite their audiophile credentials and enthusiasm, they have forgotten about the equipment and just listened to music? I don't care about earth shattering volume, the deepest bass, the finest resolution, extended highs, accuracy, rock solid imaging etc. Just want to enjoy music again. I know this is not necessarily a new idea, but I find it very very difficult to achieve.
cwlondon
khaki8
206 posts
 
Go hear more live music. That will always get you more involved in the music and not the system.You'll think your system sounds better.
cornfedboy
1,645 posts
 
cw: ah, i perceive a zen question. do you really need more and bigger rocks or fewer, more pleasing rocks placed in a perfectly groomed gravel garden? it is for you, not your master, to choose your personal path to enlightenment. put another way: did the software produce the hardware or the hardware the software? corollary: does the chicken even know, much less care, whether there's a road to be crossed? -kelly
ohlala
1,252 posts
 
A lot of times i get into the music more when i am not sitting in the good spot. Sometimes when i'm doing something else the music just jams. I don't think it's a particular system that puts the pieces together, it's a super cool album at the right time.
avguygeorge
2,300 posts
 
You guys are jaded as hell.You talk this way today; tomorrow you'll be out on the street,trying to score cabling or some other "stuff". It's like trying to leave the "mob". (to many Sapranos' episodes)It's ok, and good to vent;that's what we're here for.
chelillingworth
309 posts
 
I have really enjoyed my Audiomat Arpege. Good price, great sound. Along with the Bel Canto Dac I don't feel as though I am missing out on much compared with the big guys. and of course my humble Meadowlark Kestrels which have been with me a few years and have never made my eyes wander at another when I'm out and about.
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