If music is important to you - Upgrade your kit as far as you can

[MikeMusic]

Listening to Was (not Was) - Are you Okay ? LP the other morning and realising it was a different album to the one I knew.
So much going on, just wonderful.

from a different place
Underworld - Oblivion with bells, LP again, different album again to the one I know/knew

Hatfield and the North this morning, CD
So much detail there, all hidden before

There are many others that deliver so much more detail and bring such enjoyment - since the system took the big steps up.

I just sit there stunned sometimes and occasionally laugh out loud

I've no exact idea what music brings to me except it's a lot, pleasure, sense of well being, setting me up for the day and something inside that feels better for the music

I've always enjoyed music a lot, nearly expelled for needing to hear the guitar break in Stone Free just one more time and years ago it was volume that helped. Alex Harvey, The faith healer throbbing through my Akai tape deck, Rotel amp and massive Leak 2075s

Now it's the detail, dynamic range and just a bit of volume, ok maybe a lot

I've found the best way of upgrading is to hear better systems
Also help there's a lot of AoS punters looking for the holy grail in sound quality
Thanks all

[Reffc]

Never ending journey though Mike. I prefer to accept the limitations and constraints of the hifi I have and just enjoy it.

[MikeMusic]

Never ending journey though Mike. I prefer to accept the limitations and constraints of the hifi I have and just enjoy it.
Agreed.
I did not and could not accept the limitations I had.
The enjoyment I get now is far greater than before. Only regret is that I didn't get going a lot sooner

With the massive step up I have in sound quality I have lost the urgent need to upgrade, I will carry on, and RFC will is one port of call with those Iso crossovers in the not too distant future.
Work just about took over my life for the last 3 months with a factory move and dilapidations to sort out.
Now I'm able to cut back to 6 days a week.
Just as well I have music at work !

[Mr. C]

Remember an infamous marketing slogan from a few years back.


Too much is not enough


We all strive to improve our own systems from many angles, however a much overlooked portion of this is room treatment and speaker placement.

This can bring great rewards for little outlay, well worth considering.

[MikeMusic]

We all strive to improve our own systems from many angles, however a much overlooked portion of this is room treatment and speaker placement.

This can bring great rewards for little outlay, well worth considering.
Agreed
For my original "kit" read total package and environment.
Improving mains made a big difference to my system
Room treatment hardly touched - yet

[Rush2112]

Over many years I have read and tried many tweaks and upgrades I terms of mains supply and room treatment. Some to great effect others to none that I could hear! Don't under estimate the value of a dedicated spur or ring main for the whole system with good earthing preferably an earth rod and separated from the consumer box. Good mains cables too mine are a mix of PS Audio Silver Sounds and Russ Andrews all with silver plated fuses and quality plugs.

[MikeMusic]

Over many years I have read and tried many tweaks and upgrades I terms of mains supply and room treatment. Some to great effect others to none that I could hear! Don't under estimate the value of a dedicated spur or ring main for the whole system with good earthing preferably an earth rod and separated from the consumer box. Good mains cables too mine are a mix of PS Audio Silver Sounds and Russ Andrews all with silver plated fuses and quality plugs.

Agreed. I started with the mains

[MartinT]

I've taken a few wrongs turns over the 40 or so years I've been running a hi-fi system, but mostly it's been a process of continuous improvement (Deming would be proud). I'm glad to say that my system has reached the point where, like Mike, I'm just marvelling at music and buying it at a rate of knots.

Music is an essential part of my life, better than any drug at keeping me calm and happy. I could not imagine being without it.

[John]

Music is an essential part of my life, better than any drug at keeping me calm and happy. I could not imagine being without it.


Sums it up pretty much for me too

But sometimes I think I am addicted to music lol

[MikeMusic]

Sums it up pretty much for me too

But sometimes I think I am addicted to music lol

I can give up at any time. I just don't want to
:)

[Matt78]

Nice thread. I'm the same. I just couldn't cope without music. I listen to all sorts and it brings so much to my life. Happily it is something I share with my wife so it is a huge part of both our lives.

My aim with the hi-fi system has always been to get as much out of the music as possible, although it has always been on a relatively tight budget. I've made many many wrong turns in the last few years and been through a mountain of kit (thank goodness for online auction sites which have enabled me to sell most stuff without the financial pain being too much). At last I'm finally at a stage where my system really pulls me into the music and (having only had my amp and speakers for about 8 weeks) I'm manically rediscovering big swathes of our music collection. At this very moment we're playing Jackson Browne's 'Late For The Sky' and it sounds so natural, open and real.

Is this the end? Of course not. As budget allows I'm sure I'll continue to find ways to improve the system. Future changes will be carefully considered though and I certainly won't be changing the amp or speakers without being totally sure as the Exposure/Dynaudio combination works so beautifully together. In fact I can see future systems possible incorporating higher models from both brands. The next changes will be additions rather than replacements - a decent headphone amp and a decent DAC for enabling me to connect the computer up.

What keeps me interested in the hi-fi, mostly, is the fact that I'm already experiencing how much it can do for the music.

[Rush2112]

As for upgrading well for the majority of us at some point finances restrain us. I would agree that hearing other systems is no bad thing and a really good dealer can be invaluable ( Nigel Brown at Chantry Audio had a profound influence on my system ) I've heard lots of high end kit and if I had the money and therefore the room too I would be a Martin Logan CLX owner as for amps well I have and love Krell but Mark u might be the order of the day and a SME 30/12 with Koetsu too as for CD well that's tricky DCS perhaps but there is something about the Aufio Research CD 9 that's hard to describe other than it just sounds right! Although I have a great system now i have had cheaper systems which were thoroughly enjoyable. One particular system included Pink Triangle Cardinal transport. DaCapo 24 bit DAC with DC power supply Audio Research LS 7 Lumley Reference 120 monoblocks, Sonus Faber Electa Amator 1 and Gravis Subwoofer.