Re-visited opinions

[gary]

Have you ever listened to a piece of hifi and thought that it was ok at best only to hear it later connected to different components and be blown away by how good it could be. I have had this experience with a few different components one of which was the tannoy D700 speakers that I always found a bit bright with the treble and a bit woolly with the bass however listened to with decent (in this case £20k + ) of amplification and source transforms them into a more than capable speaker.

So the question is are we clouding our judgement of components we try based on how they perform connected to our present systems. and is there any components that you have revisited only to change your mind about them.

[Steve Toy]

Synergy and hierarchy are always going to determine whether or not a particular component is going to work and no component can be judged in isolation or in only one particular context.

Speakers will only reveal the quality of the amps driving them that in turn will reveal only the quality of the source. Then you've got all the ancilliaries to consider...

Revealing components sound nasty when partnered inappropriately or truly excellent when partnered and set up correctly. I think this is a case of not shooting the messengewr as you've discovered.

[Rare Bird]

Have you ever listened to a piece of hifi and thought that it was ok at best only to hear it later connected to different components and be blown away by how good it could be. I have had this experience with a few different components one of which was the tannoy D700 speakers that I always found a bit bright with the treble and a bit woolly with the bass however listened to with decent (in this case £20k + ) of amplification and source transforms them into a more than capable speaker.

So the question is are we clouding our judgement of components we try based on how they perform connected to our present systems. and is there any components that you have revisited only to change your mind about them.

Kinda. Ive gone through that much hifi crap over the years thinking i'm progressing in the sound department only to go back to old amps & stuff for old times sake i owned over 25 years ago to find iv'e not really got anywhere but gone backwards.

[The Grand Wazoo]

My philosophy tends to be that there are very few really bad components but far more common is the phenomena of the truly dire combination.

[Rare Bird]

My philosophy tends to be that there are very few really bad components but far more common is the phenomena of the truly dire combination.

My philosophy is there more cack than good

[James G]

+1 Like - for this thread!

[MartinT]

Equipment is designed in the eye of the beholder and you need to agree with their sound-picture if the equipment is going to do it for you. I find that certain designers (e.g. Charlie Hansen of Ayre, Nelson Pass of Pass Labs) can do no wrong by my ears while others (Naim) leave me cold.

Once you understand that, it's rather easier to navigate the hi-fi badlands and find equipment that you're going to like. Variety is the spice of life and we all like something slightly different, so accepting that makes for good conversation and little need for partisanship.

[Effem]

Custard tastes delicious.

Ravioli tastes delicious.

Apple Pie tastes delicious.

Tuna tastes delicious.

Chilli Con Carne tastes delicious.

When it's all in the same dish it isn't!

[theophile]

Steve Toy,Wazoo and Effem: That's it.

Synergy,interaction,combination call it what one will,is everything in hi-fi.The partnership between amplifier output stages and loudspeakers especially must be counted as one (as opposed to two)component.

I'm sure that any experienced dabbler in this hobby gives credence to the concept of succession of signal(ie)that the proceeding component in the signal chain can only convey the quality of the component which precedes it.Information lost at a particular point in the chain can not be restored by any component which follows in that chain.

Given those concepts,it also follows that anyone else's experience with any particular component may be totally irrelevant to one's own experience of the same component.Thus rendering the 'review' process in magazines,forums,blogs meaningless on an 'absolute' level.For that reason I try to qualify any assessment I post about my components with the words "in my system".

Throw on top of all of that the variables of room interaction with speakers,and the different effects which arise with interconnects,cables,the quality of the mains power etc and it really is a situation where one has to navigate the waters deciding for oneself what is beneficial and what is detrimental.

There are broad guidelines which can be relied on to sort the wheat from the chaff,but all in all,it's really a case of 'suck it and see'.

A little bit of knowledge(especially if it is second-hand) can be dangerous in hi-fi.A lot of knowledge(again first-hand being the gold standard)can yield much better outcomes.

Essentially,assembling a deeply satisfying system is a trial and error process,there being no guaranteed path to happiness.One has to 'stumble and scrape one's knees' so to speak before breaking into stride.

[Steve Toy]

Remember that hierarchy determines most of what is synergy....