Synergy

[The Barbarian]

Hi-Fi crack pots seem to spend all their obsessive lives working around that annoying word 'Synergy' It may as well be an Excuse cos they are never happy with what they got anyway.. However when they do kid themselves after spending endless amounts on Cables & Equipment, what happens when they super dooper ultra CD player breaks down & they are a state of limbo cos they can neither get it fixed or if they do the repair shop will take da piss.

All the time, money spent getting the 'Synergy' :rolleyes: within the system is lost, back to square one. cos the next one wont sound like the last :lol: However the system was never right in the first place but they will never admit this but just incase it was ;)

Another funny one is getting a CDee player to sound right in a system that has a Turntable! No sorry i find it near on impossible to get both sources to sound perfect within the same system..

[Macca]

As an obsessive crack pot myself I can agree, sort of. I think there is no doubt some bits of kit work better together than others but it is trial and error finding out and you can go through a fair bit of cash. Then something goes u/s and as you say back to square one.

I reckon the quickest, easiest, even the cheapest route (over time) is to hear a system you like and then copy it as much as possible.

I guess most of the other obsessive crack-pots are at Scalford so will be a bit quiet today.

[The Barbarian]

I cannot think of anything more boring than spending a day there.

Reliability Longevity with todays gear is also something to be desired imho..Another recipe to throw the hammer in the works..

However i will never ever encounter spending any more on anything, no Surprise outlay & certainly will have the exact same system now forever & ever amen

Turntable {I have a spare NOS Motor, half a dozen belts} Guaranteed to see me out
Tone-arm {Rewired, serviced} Guaranteed to see me out
Cartridge {Have two the same + a supply of eight replacement styli up to date..I keep buying them in}
Intergrated amplifier {Now have two of the same, both fully re-built} Guaranteed to always have a working one
Loudspeakers {Two pair of the same, both X -Overs rebuilt/Rewired + a spare NOS Tweeter & Bass unit}
Headphones {three pair of the same phones}

Id say im sorted till i pop mi clogs..

[Macca]

The only things I have that I couldn't buy new right now are my Technics TT and my speakers. And I've got a spare Technics in case one packs in. The speakers I will just have to be careful with. But if anything broke down I've always got a spare component or three I can chuck in at a pinch. I've enough working gear to build three or four complete systems.

[struth]

lol..thats belt n braces Andre. My synergy is fine. cds spund great. vinyl sounds gggreatt-er. even flac is pretty decent. got spare cd player and spare pc. spare dac. spare speaks. a spare pre and spare power. hopefully itll see me out....6 months is a long time though

[southall-1998]

:popcorn:

S.

[The Barbarian]

The only things I have that I couldn't buy new right now are my Technics TT and my speakers. And I've got a spare Technics in case one packs in. The speakers I will just have to be careful with. But if anything broke down I've always got a spare component or three I can chuck in at a pinch. I've enough working gear to build three or four complete systems.



Your missing my point. The system that works is not a variation of building up fours systems all different if need be is it? What im getting at is my system cannot fail to last forever in exactly the same combo. I do not have to worry about the same system components failing me in anyway.

As grant say that im 101% Belt & Braces..

[Macca]

No I get you I was just pointing out it is handy to have a spare even if it is not exactly the same component. You see these people they have 1 set of speakers 1 amp 1 TT and if anything goes down the whole system is dead till they buy something or get it fixed.

[dantheman91]

Interesting thread dude............

The interesting part is do i really need so much gear here at present is

15 Amplifiers including the one i bought yesterday , Including Vintage up to early 2000's which is off course not vintage all freshly serviced
7 Pairs of Speakers
2 Tuners
2 Turntables
3 CD Players

Plus other kit thats for sale..........Trouble is whats the point of having all this great gear when you can only use certain bits at one time. Nice to have a few bits but i think i need to start thinking which bits will last a good few years and then go from their. I know i need a new stylus for my Orto Super 10 but their easy enough also may need to stock up on belts. This thread has interested me to do this for reassurance. IE pick a couple pairs of speakers i like and KEEP them and sell the rest. Choose 5 Amplifiers and sell the rest. So on so on........:lol:

[The Barbarian]

You don't need them Dan. Ive just about sold everything ive been hoarding over the years.. The really odd thing is the system i use now is the first proper System i bought back 35 years ago..

I never realised how much stuff i been hoarding over da years. A total of seven Quad Pre/Power amp.. Flaming well found another '33'/'303 :scratch: Not sure if this one works tho..

[southall-1998]

No harm in having a spare amp at least!

S.

[RichB]

Synergy as elusive as your own shadow I find.

Sometimes the unexpected works and the supposed dead certs don't.

I can't help but think your view is a little jaded though Andre, do you feel all your efforts systemwise have been in vain or time wasted or did you discover anything about your own preferences along the way?

[dantheman91]

No harm in having a spare amp at least!

S.

Or 15...........:lol:

Hows Tricks Dude........?

[southall-1998]

Or 15...........:lol:

Hows Tricks Dude........?

Yeah, not too bad mate. But no motivation to play with my hifi atm :eyebrows:

S.

[The Barbarian]

I can't help but think your view is a little jaded though Andre, do you feel all your efforts systemwise have been in vain or time wasted or did you discover anything about your own preferences along the way?

Nop not jaded. But im ready for the many defensive replies :lol:

[Marco]

Hi-Fi crack pots seem to spend all their obsessive lives working around that annoying word 'Synergy' It may as well be an Excuse cos they are never happy with what they got anyway.. However when they do kid themselves after spending endless amounts on Cables & Equipment, what happens when they super dooper ultra CD player breaks down & they are a state of limbo cos they can neither get it fixed or if they do the repair shop will take da piss.

All the time, money spent getting the 'Synergy' :rolleyes: within the system is lost, back to square one. cos the next one wont sound like the last :lol: However the system was never right in the first place but they will never admit this but just incase it was ;)

Another funny one is getting a CDee player to sound right in a system that has a Turntable! No sorry i find it near on impossible to get both sources to sound perfect within the same system..

All fair points, but none of the above applies in my circumstances, or reflects my own experience. The last bit especially, as most visitors here would testify to. My CDP (and now FBA source) sound just as good as my turntable, and vice versa, although there are subtle sonic differences, where some kit does certain things better than others.

As far as 'synergy' goes, experience tells me that it is a very real and valid phenomenon in audio, but for some it can be quite elusive. I've certainly achieved it in my system - and I don't 'box swap' either, having used the same core equipment for YEARS. I've been using my Croft preamp, for example, for more than 8 years (and my CDP and DAC have been in the same system for nearly as long)!

I'm in a very happy state of total system satisfaction, where all I do now (aside from the odd tweak here and there) is listen to music :cool:

Marco.

[walpurgis]

My CD and vinyl certainly sound different. Both damn good though.

[Marco]

Yes, different (to an extent), but here BOTH are equally musically enjoyable. Unlike Andre, I certainly don't buy the notion that you can't get a system to sound "right" that has both a T/T and digital sources in it.

I appreciate that's been his experience (for whatever valid reasons), but it certainly hasn't been mine.

Marco.