Is 'Equipmentitis' getting in the way of the music?

[walpurgis]

I think I may be the worlds worst offender here. I do seem to spend an inordinately large amount of my spare time tinkering and toying with my multiple set-ups of Hi-Fi gear and I'm sure I should be listening more to the music itself and not worrying so much about how everything is sounding. Anybody else in the same boat?

[The Vinyl Adventure]

It's a funny old mindset ...
Very difficult to break out of too
Took me buying my active speakers and realising that it wasn't gonna get any better without spending vast money...
Also realising that the missis was happy with the way the current set up looked and the corresponding happiness that came with that helped
Oddly I think discovering spotify and realising that I could spend hours listening to music that didn't sound quite as good but still enjoying it immensely might have played a part too
Ultimately it's a journey ... Some never find a way to get beyond the kit I don't think ... But that for some is as big a part of the enjoyment as the music it's self ... No harm, as long as it doesn't lead to bankrupsy

[walpurgis]

Nice reply. I've been bankrupt for years though. Too much car, bike, and Hi-Fi buying and nights in the pub!

[Puffin]

I went and heard another members system on Sunday and mighty fine it was as well. I get home and despite the fact that the set up I had was IMO the best sound I have had in years, what do I do? Yup take it all down and substitute the speakers that I feel might give me a similar sound to what I had heard at this chaps house. Meant a change of amp as well.

Result - err no. Those speakers simply don't work well in my room. Remedy....put all the original stuff back. Of course now I have the enviable/unenviable? task of fettling the bloody lot again, you know....half an inch here....half an inch there. I need to be locked up!

[realysm42]

I went and heard another members system on Sunday and mighty fine it was as well. I get home and despite the fact that the set up I had was IMO the best sound I have had in years, what do I do? Yup take it all down and substitute the speakers that I feel might give me a similar sound to what I had heard at this chaps house. Meant a change of amp as well.

Result - err no. Those speakers simply don't work well in my room. Remedy....put all the original stuff back. Of course now I have the enviable/unenviable? task of fettling the bloody lot again, you know....half an inch here....half an inch there. I need to be locked up!

Ah but if you hadn't you'd never have known

[The Grand Wazoo]

Next time you move your speakers, just stick some tape on the floor to mark where they stand.

[MartinT]

It's two things for me, Geoff; my engineering background loves the thought experiments and practical trials around getting the best sound from my system. Working out the why and settling on what works best is fascinating. There are certainly not scientific answers (yet) to everything we hear, but experience helps us build a set of rules that works for us.

The second, and primary, goal for me is to listen to and enjoy the music. I love the emotional connection and no, the equipment does not get in my way. It has, over the years, enabled me to hear and appreciate more than ever before. The combination of playing music at home and attending a goodly number of gigs and classical concerts help keep it real for me.

[hifi_dave]

It's a hobby. What's wrong with enjoying the music and the equipment ?

I first got into Hi-Fi (many, many years ago) to hear my music better and that's what it did. Since then I've thoroughly enjoyed playing with equipment, new and vintage. However, it shouldn't make you paranoid or broke, always looking for that little improvement.

[Beobloke]

It's a hobby. What's wrong with enjoying the music and the equipment ?

I first got into Hi-Fi (many, many years ago) to hear my music better and that's what it did. Since then I've thoroughly enjoyed playing with equipment, new and vintage. However, it shouldn't make you paranoid or broke, always looking for that little improvement.

Well said.

As many know, I buy loads of equipment and love playing with it all, but someone made a comment to me a year or two back to the effect that my system must be constantly changing. That's the point, though - my reference setup rarely changes - it's the stuff alongside it that is in and out like a yo-yo!

As an aside, I found myself in on my own last Friday and, with nothing on TV, I settled down in front of the system with a beer or two and just listened to some favourite tracks. I'm ashamed to say that this is the first time I've done this for quite a while and the first time in the new house that has no neighbours and thus no volume limit, other than the level imposed by my own ears and rattling window frames! Result - absolute bliss. I'll be asking Mrs. B to work late more often....

[walpurgis]

The two foregoing posts equate to my overall view.

I do tend to have one basic 'flavour' of system that I tend to stick to and muck about with the rest.

I must start hearing and buying some more music though. This might seem daft for an old git like me, but I've really got into listening dub/psy and psy/trance, as the best is incredibly well recorded and very cleverly conceived. Shpongle, Flock of Bleeps, Younger Brother and UnionJack spring to mind, it all sounds amazing through my system. I think it was Ozric Tentacles got me headed in this direction when members of the band formed Eat Static. I listen to loads of other types of music though, anything from June Tabor to Kate Bush and Leonard Cohen, with plenty of rock and a bit of classical and jazz along the way.

My new moving coil SUT arrived this minute in the post, I had to stop typing in this post to open the door to the postman. So that's another day or two of tinkering with decks and cartridges coming up!