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Hi Fi burnout.

Are you a victim of Hi-Fi burnout? A friend of mine who is "Into hi fi" recently called me to tell me he was selling all of his high end audio equipment! He was simply tired of keeping up with all the latest and greatest equipment trends. In his quest for the "Ultimate sound" he had upgraded several times at great expense. Sales people were only to happy to sell him what he "Needed" to "Really" improve his system. I think all told he accumulated some 150k in equipment!! What he forgot and lost sight of in his quest for the ultimate stereo, was to listen to the music!! Instead he would take pride in how great his speakers tweeter's sounded, and the the pages clipped out of various audio magazines that showed charts on his equipment and it's performance. He now owns a little Sony do it all portable stereo, and says he's happier for it because he's not so stressed about keeping up with all the new equipment. It's easy to see how this could happen. I look at my stereo equipment as a tool made for the extraction of music from vinyl or cd or tape. The music IS what matters and shall remain with us forever. In this day of hi tech accomplishments and super materials, you have to be very careful not to get sucked into the equipment junkie bottomless pit. Otherwise you could be spending some time at the Betty Ford Centre for recovering Audiophiles. What say you?
nocaster
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,306 posts
 
Marco,

I am far from cured myself. I listen to my main stereo most of the time but when I do fire up my Tivoli radio I often think 'why do I waste my money?'

My point was that I do not think a lot of people get the synergy part right. You can have all the expensive equipment in the world with extension, definition etc but still miss the woody sound of a chello or the body of a guitar that somehow the Tivoli seems to capture and makes it involving.

I was just trying to get a little attention with the comment on it...

BTW where does the name Jax2 come from?

all the best

Phil

nocaster OP
52 posts
 
Hi Sean
You're right on the money. All of my burnout friends equipment was class A and highly regarded in the industry. It's like his stereo was a project in the works, and when it was completed there was nothing left to do but sell it. Plus as he has told me, he got tired of the endless purchasing of the "Best" equipment. I still maintain that hi fi equipment is only a tool, let the music move you and be you're focus.
jax2
3,031 posts
 
Pour another one for my friend Phil! Jax is my dearly departed dog Phil. She passed away a little over a year ago. Some putz already took 'Jax', hence the suffix.

Marco
jax2
3,031 posts
 
I still maintain that hi fi equipment is only a tool, let the music move you and (should?) be you're focus.

I'd agree that the system is merely a tool. What separates it from the typical 'tool' is in the other half of your statement. Absolutely, we are all doing this to bring us closer to the music that moves us. It seems like the highest accomplishment of this though is when the 'tool' disappears altogether and you become aware only of the music as a 'presence'. Seems like with more conventional 'tools' we are more conscious of the task at hand and how well or poorly the tool aids one in accomplishing the task. Not sure what I'm saying here...just a rambling thought I suppose.

Marco
boa2's avatar
boa2
1,551 posts
 
Sean,

You said it, and your post alludes to the experience that I've been having just this week. Staying up late, reading through posts about the latest and greatest in CD players and mods. I get excited reading about the A/B tests between various components, and the extensive and detailed reviews offered by enthusiastic listeners. Then, I see that several of these heralded 'best' players are up for sale within a day or two of the comments posted. And my head starts spinning, as I realize that I'm burning myself out with upgrade fever and accumulation of knowledge that only returns me to square one of an endless game.

I'm looking at our simple system: a 7W SET amp, a mid-level tube CD player, and a pair of 1977 horn speakers. It's a glorious setup, and so emotionally satisfying. I wonder what the hell I'm doing chasing down a better nirvana?

And that second system that needs a CD player???? Budrew, you hit the nail on the head. But hey, my wife wants to rock out downstairs, and needs the player. We're buying her one today, WITHOUT doing Audiogon research until 3am!

Yes, I'm a friend of Paul Klipsch W., taking this obsession one day at a time...
All the best,
Howard
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