Why do we do it!

[Barry]

I still try to keep up with developments in music of all genres. This is done through listening to 'Later' with Jools Holland, or 'Late Junction' on Radio 3. But the number of new artist(e)s that impress me and make me want to hear more are sadly few and far between. I'm much more likely to 'fill in the gaps' in my collection of works by artist(e)s I enjoyed in my youth, be it folk, jazz, pop or rock 'n' roll.

[Marco]

A very interesting thread and great to read the answers to those 10 questions Marco, very well considered I might add.

Very easy for me to answer too, it's a firm NO to all ten, especially the ratio of music cost to equipment and listening to music rather than tinkering.
I reckon Macca can answer the "does my room look a hi-fi shop/museum/workshop" question

Good thread.

Yo Timbo, good to see popping in again. Hope you're well

Yup, it's a good thread. Rob has a knack sometimes of starting thought-provoking ones! Glad you liked the questions I posed. They were indeed carefully considered.

I know all too well, and thus can identify, the telltale traits of 'hi-fi victim', partly because some of them used to apply to me, and also because of observing the behaviour on forums (over many years) of folks who almost certainly qualify as such, but won't admit it in public, perhaps because they haven't yet admitted it to *themselves*...

Like you, I'm also a firm 'No' to all of the questions, and in a much happier place now for it.

I posed the questions hopefully to make some folks who unfortunately suffer from this affliction to stop and think, examine their situation (and lives), and be honest with themselves - and if they're NOT happy about it, hopefully do something to 'stop the rot', before it gets any worse!

Marco.

[Marco]

For me Barry it's that I've never stopped buying or discovering music since I started over 40 years ago and they mount up. The older I get the wider my love for differing music gets too. However, with a really good music server and Spotify, the rate I buy at has slowed somewhat in the last few years.

Yup, that also applies to me, especially the bit in bold, although I don't really do Spotify. Somehow I just don't 'connect' with the whole experience.

I discover new music/artists in various ways, sometimes by reading magazines (Mojo, Melody Maker, etc), listening to the radio, reading the music sections of forums such as this, and also going along to local music venues, such as William Aston Hall and Central Station, in Wrexham, where both established artists and local bands play (as well as symphony orchestras, in the case of the former) - and some of the up and coming talent around can be fantastic.

But you won't discover this stuff unless you get off your butt and check out the local scene near you, and attend some gigs... TV or radio is unlikely to bring it to you. Ultimately, the limits of your musical horizons are governed by the extent of your laziness, thinking or otherwise!

I also regularly visit independent record shops (some local), but mainly in nearby towns and cities, chat to the guys there and ask them to play stuff on the shop system (mainly on vinyl) that they recommend, which I've never heard of and mostly wouldn't have considered otherwise, thus pushing myself out of my comfort zone and broadening my musical horizons - and I've picked up loads of great (and obscure) stuff that way, of all sorts of genres.

However, one of the main ways I discover new music now is through streaming. I'm lucky to have friends who are into music as much as me, and are members of (paid for) download sites, so they share new titles with me, which are stored onto my (ever-increasing) number of hard-drives. Consequently, I now have access to over 10TB of music files!

No idea how many albums that represents, maybe 25,000? You might have a better idea than me, and it's being added to all the time, which is why I'm often up until 3am listening to it all! In that respect, it certainly helps with not having to get up early in the morning for work!

I also have very diverse tastes in music, and so apart from still loving all the 70s and 80s music I grew up with, and all the 'usual candidates' (rock, blues, etc), which is played regularly, I listen to indie and electronic/ambient music, some of which is pretty obscure, and in my older age have also got into classical and jazz music - stuff I'd never have entertained in my youth, and I'm loving it!

I don't understand people who have lots of equipment either - you can only listen to one system at a time right?

Me neither, *unless* it's used regularly in some way. I certainly get the idea of having different kit, to build different systems, say vintage and modern, and perhaps for optimising specific genres of music, but for that to work for me, it'd have to be permanently set up as part of a working system, maybe for use in different rooms.

Otherwise, I simply don't see the point of having hordes of unused gear lying around (and often significant sums of money tied up in it), as for one thing I couldn't abide the clutter!! Like you, I can be a bit of a 'Captain Tidy', but each to his or her own

Marco.

[Puffin]

UPDATE:

I have some of the magic back! My OB's have a total of 5 drive units per side driven by 3 amps. One of the amps drives a pair of GLL Inductive Coupling Technology units. I assumed that the L&R were working as I could hear that they were powered up (without music playing), but once you start playing music all the other units come into play. It wasn't until yesterday that my brain sprang to life and I tried them on their own.....a genius move don't you think. Turns out that the R channel interconnect had a fault and it there was no music coming out. Changed the leads and bingo. Not much fun getting old is it.......

[struth]

UPDATE:

I have some of the magic back! My OB's have a total of 5 drive units per side driven by 3 amps. One of the amps drives a pair of GLL Inductive Coupling Technology units. I assumed that the L&R were working as I could hear that they were powered up (without music playing), but once you start playing music all the other units come into play. It wasn't until yesterday that my brain sprang to life and I tried them on their own.....a genius move don't you think. Turns out that the R channel interconnect had a fault and it there was no music coming out. Changed the leads and bingo. Not much fun getting old is it.......

Funnily I had similar when Gary and Brian were here a while ago. One of my monos was showing a poor output and it turned out to be a cracked plug

[jandl100]

My turn ....

1) Do you find yourself regularly (or constantly) browsing ebay and/or the classifieds sections of forums, 'just in case something interesting pops up'?

Yes. It's great fun.

2) Do you have a Gallery thread here, many pages long, where it's mostly you posting, telling folks about something you've just bought/done to your system?

Yes. I enjoy it and other folks seem interested in my hifi journey and thoughts on it. Some interesting discussions have ensued as well, I think.

3) Are your posts here and/or elsewhere, about music-related subjects, dwarfed in number by your hi-fi related ones?

Yes. Mostly hifi - but there are relatively few to share my classical musical enthusiasms with to the depth that I have ventured over 40+ years of obsession with the genre.

4) Have you started more threads on forums, outlining some problem or other with your system, as opposed to ones outlining how it's delighting you?

No.

5) Overall so far, have you spent *significantly* more on hi-fi equipment and ancillaries than on music, whether in a downloaded, streamed or physical format?

Yes.
But I think that is just fine.
To take it to its extreme, I think it is perfectly justifiable to drop substantial £amounts on hifi gear in order to play your one and only recording to your satisfaction.
It's not about quantity it's about quality.

6) Is your ratio of 'tinkering to listening' *significantly* biased towards tinkering?

No.

7) Do you own more equipment that's currently sitting redundant, as opposed to being used regularly for its designed purpose?

No.
Sort of.
I have developed the tendency to retain 'older' gear that I particularly enjoyed so I can go back to it after a while. For example, I currently have 4 amps that I regard as being an active part of my system, and will likely be brought back into use.

8) Does your listening space resemble a hi-fi shop/museum/'workshop' more than simply a comfortable space to relax and enjoy music?

No.
Well, I don't think so - there is a lot of gear around, including some lovely vintage gems bought just for decoration.
Yes, OK, maybe it does. But oi loikes it that way. I have my own listening room, so nutz to anyone who doesn't approve!

9) Do you buy hi-fi equipment under the premise of it being 'easy to move on', if necessary, as opposed enjoying it for as long as possible, regardless?

Yes, on the whole.

10) Does the cost of the hi-fi equipment/ancillaries you currently own *considerably* outweigh the cost [what you've paid, not current value] of your physical music collection?

No.
It used to be about equal, but with the advent of streaming I have downsized my physical music collection which I regard largely as a backup.

[Marco]

To take it to its extreme, I think it is perfectly justifiable to drop substantial £amounts on hifi gear in order to play your one and only recording to your satisfaction.
It's not about quantity it's about quality.

Indeed, but if you only own one recording, then you can hardly call yourself a music lover. You're merely a lover of one recording.

Marco.

[Macca]

Not true. You can be a music lover and own no recordings whatsoever.

Otherwise, prior to the 20th century, it would be impossible to love music.

[struth]

Louis Armstrong was one of the first Audiophiles... not a lot of folk know that

[Marco]

Not true. You can be a music lover and own no recordings whatsoever.

Otherwise, prior to the 20th century, it would be impossible to love music.

Yes, but I'm talking about listening to music being reproduced on some sort of mechanical or electrical device.

Marco.