Am I a burning out audiophile????


...or am i simply a music lover to begin with???

Disregarding the debate that could potentially be born from the statement above, I sit here in my 18x18x8 room listening to Diana Krall's 'When I look in your eyes' through a pair of Totem Winds powered by a Krell kav-400xi and Jolida JD100a source. It sounds great, it truly does! It does so many things right and so little wrong! Why then, do I have the question in the back of my mind - 'is this system as musically engaging as my past system was?'

Tonally, it's better. It goes deeper. It's more accurate, smooth, well balanced, etc. etc. etc.

The prior system the back of my mind questions is that of the Totem Arros powered by a PrimaLuna Prologue Two with Cairn Fog source in a 9x11x8 room. If memory serves me correct - pure magic! What I thought at the time (and am wondering now) was the epidomy of emotional involvement!

Q.1 - am I only remembering the 'good times' with the prior system? (like how we photograph only the good times of our life and wax nostalgic about how great things used to be)

The move to the upgraded system was initiated by my desire to listen to more music with my wife. Today, (and last night, and the night before...) I still find myself listening by myself. Regardless of the extra chairs in larger space!

I also wanted to simplify and combine my seperate systems (5.1HT and 2-channel) into one higher-end 2-channel dual purpose system. The result is great sound, but perhaps not the most musically enagaging two-channel nor the most enveloping, impactful HT either? As a dual purpose system it performs great, but it isn't send ingtingles down my spine or have me toe-tapping like the smaller Arro system did.

Q.2 - have I gone too far??? Have I treaded into water where I have to think about the music too much to enjoy it??? Am I asking too much of a single system???

The road from system #1 to system #2 has had a lot of in-between systems that have just led to frustration and/or musical dissatifaction, but too much too get into detail here...

Q.3 - which brings us back to where I started; am I a burning out audiophile??? Am I simply thinking about this too much???

I don't know what I expect in response to this babble? I don't know if these questions are even 'real' or simply part of a rhetorical rant? Anyway, thanks for listening and feel free to post and thoughts or comments....
jh2os
well, have you ever been to an audio show, or visited a local store, where a system that exceeds all logic and common sense
(i.e.- an enormous pair of speakers driven by enormous monoblocks, ditto for the preamp, cdp, wire, whatever) is demonstrated for your pleasure and envy? and then you think about "what if" you actually owned such a system, would all those watts and spl's be truly satisfying in the long term,
or would it just be "too loud"; as to fidelity, it might be great at times, or, like owning a large telescope in a city with too much ambient light and dirty air, you can't see much anyway through all the grime and grit (as in mediocre recordings). of course, hi-rez cd's could solve some of the problems you're likely to encounter (if the industry would get up off of its dumb ass and make thousands of titles available- and after a relatively short period of time people would start buying them). plus all those watts could be put to good use if you want the full effect of symphonic music in your home.
OTOH, i sure was having fun with a pair of ADS L-810 speakers and SAE components years ago (playing tons of vinyl on a thorens 160). absolutely no complaints, and no desire to get anything else (no cd's as of yet thank God) unless something actually broke. SO, how can you replace "SATISFIED" with "this new power cord is so much better than the last one i had, even if it cost $2000, it's worth every penny..."?
Timrhu, the current system is not a nearfield listening scenario - this may be part of the problem as you state.

French_fries, hearing those cost-no-object systems can sometimes be pleasing but i never intend to invest that type of money into hifi (at least for now). I think moving even several notches up the audio ladder is making me (and my wallet) realize the law of diminishing returns and I am seriously questioning if it is worth the $$$ to me?
Could be the post honeymoon blues? Those new anticipated expensive Totems or something else in your life, much deeper...
The move to the upgraded system was initiated by my desire to listen to more music with my wife. Today, (and last night, and the night before...) I still find myself listening by myself.

IMHO. My mood has as much to do with how how I feel about music - it is not just down to the technology. Perhaps something is irking you. Perhaps it has nothing to do with audio technology?

Suggestions:
Do not set unrealistic demands that your wife should be expected to enjoy what you do (especially since you made all this effort/money, which sounds like a dangerous chip on the shoulder is building to me!).

Instead of withdrawing by yourself to listem in your room....stop being a hermit... try to find out what SHE enjoys and try to do that together and make sure she knows you are having fun...you might be surprised that it works wonders....you may find yourself enjoying music again much more than any technology money can buy!
knowing when to quit, is the most important thing you learn in this hobby. any system stinks, if you think it stinks. consumer satisfaction in hi end audio is (for most) short lived or non existant. many hi end components are not designed to be used long term. they are designed for a great first impression,and as the classifieds will confirm...most in this hobby believe that 'the equipment' will replace the real reasons we loved music in the first place....and that has NOTHING to do with expensive gear.
Have you tried high-efficiency gear? For me, it has been the answer to enjoying music more. Perhaps it's personal taste, having started with 15 watts and Jensen reflex speakers 40 years ago. I went through speakers from the Cambridge, Mass era, Martin Logans, Aerials and have ended up with horns and reflex speakers again. My least efficient speakers are 91 db and my most are 98 db, and cost less than $5000. I still have the Jensens (in Heathkit cabinets) in a secondary system.