Individual items or the Sum of All Parts?

[Boyse6748]

Having just read all the posts in what spare kit all you guys have, it dawned on me, Is it the the favourite individual bit of kit, or the the Sum of all the bits.

This is a 50 year journey, about loads of Money spent on what I thought would suit..... but never did ! (And ended up in the cupboard/ wardrobe or elsewhere!)

I won't go in to my final system with any detail because we all have our own favourites. Mine is the best to me!!! And maybe not to others.

However, I have stuck with Kef Speakers until my final change. Amps / preamps / TT's / Cartridges / Tuners / DAC's have all been swooped, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.

What I'm trying to say... not very eloquently. Is it not the the Sum of the Parts and not any one piece of kit?

What I've got now.... does it for me in spades, both in musicality and total enjoyment.

Any thoughts ?????


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[Macca]

Agree it is the sum of the parts. It's getting the sum to add up to the right answer though. And I was never great at maths.

For me it is a combination of kit I wanted to try for years and tracked down and kit that came up by chance and took my fancy. There's always a buyer for everything out there somewhere but the rate of kit coming in exceeded the rate of it going out for several years and it doesn't take long with that happening before you have a house full of the bloody stuff.

[Barry]

Agree it is the sum of the parts. It's getting the sum to add up to the right answer though. And I was never great at maths.

For me it is a combination of kit I wanted to try for years and tracked down and kit that came up by chance and took my fancy. There's always a buyer for everything out there somewhere but the rate of kit coming in exceeded the rate of it going out for several years and it doesn't take long with that happening before you have a house full of the bloody stuff.

Good post Martin.

Agree with everything you say - it's all only a means to an end: that of replaying music.

Like you, my collection is a mixture of the aspirational; stuff I've always wanted to try, but couldn't afford at the time, and of stuff which as you say "caught my eye". Very little of it has been a disappointment, and those items that havn't come up to scratch have been sold on. My system(s) is(are) very important to me - in fact they are essential, so I always have spare bits of kit should something fail.

However having said that, I am a bit of a fan of certain makes of gear, so do have an uneccessarily large collection of certain manufacturers: Mark Levinson, Quad, SME and Thorens. Furthermore I find the electromechanics of vinyl replay fascinating, so again have an uneccessarily large collection of (mostly vintage) cartridges and arms.

My girlfriend can't understand why I have so much stuff, but just accepts the fact that I do have a lot of kit. Fortunately she doesn't know how much has been spent on it all!

[Boyse6748]

Macca, I totally agree.

What you thought were the greatest components.... just didn't do it !!

What done it for me.. was a very old McIntosh MA 2275 Amp (retubed with Psvane tubes) / Townsend Rock 7 / Decca Super Gold and the stupendous Revolver Cygnis speakers. The other stuff just matched perfectly.

The McIntosh CD550 is also the dogs.

Sorry..... but very old fashioned

It's what does it for you [emoji41][emoji7] in a relatively small room. 7m x 5m


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[MikeMusic]

Sum of all the parts together for sure.
I have great bits of kit, so much better all together

[Boyse6748]

Mike, if it does it for you......... it's right[emoji41][emoji41]

Names don't really matter (High End .... or Higher End).

Unfortunately there is some serious bollocks out there. But also so seriously good stuff.

It's a hard world..... many dealers out there just want you to spend loads.. for no reason or improvement.

Peter


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[struth]

same here. majority of my gear no-one would take without threats

[Boyse6748]

Grant,

Reading you previous posts, I doubt you have anything other than superb kit. [emoji41]

Peter


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[struth]

Grant,

Reading you previous posts, I doubt you have anything other than superb kit. [emoji41]

Peter


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trick is blending things to suit me Peter. i got shot of the more expensive bigger name stuff because i blended the stuff ive got so well to suit me. others might think different. im probably doing everything others think wrong, but ive been around long enough to not care. i think it is now sounding super. but its only been like this for a couple of months. before it wasup and down as often as a hoors drawers;)
I might add no-one has actually heard it since I got it right lol

[Boyse6748]

How True,

50 years of trying and less that a month of absolute happiness.

I'm in you're corner, that's for sure.

Peter


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[Macca]

How True,

50 years of trying and less that a month of absolute happiness.

I'm in you're corner, that's for sure.

Peter


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My trying/happiness ratio is also not great. Although there was one time when I thought I'd cracked it and was quite disappointed it was all over. Fortunately it turned out I hadn't cracked it after all. But I was worried for a while ;)

[Boyse6748]

Macca / Struth,

I thought I had heard the best speakers ever possible at paul's house (refec)... Tannoy Canterbury's .... just Stunning.

But it's about room acoustics and of course many other things.

I Thought the Kef's 105/3 's were everything that could be..........but the sound Paul's Tannoy's made was nothing more than exceptional.

However, it is about room acoustics as well..... what suits!!!!

It's been a hard road.... that's for sure, to come to the right decision.

Hi-Fi. ........ me thinks....,, is not so easy!!!!!



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[Colinijohnson]

At some point you just have to be happy with what you've got - says my wife who's never complained


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[Arkless Electronics]

Individual items rather than the sum adding up to more than the individual performances in a synergistic way to me. I look at it as each item being potentially the weak link in the chain and try to avoid this where possible.

[Infinitely Baffled]

My trying/happiness ratio is also not great.

I would say my happiness was at its greatest when I didn't even try. I just played what I had, and it sounded great.
Then I discovered forums ...

IB

[walpurgis]

If I had to start from nothing. I'd buy what I have now!

[Barry]

If I had to start from nothing. I'd buy what I have now!

So would I (buy what I have now) - but that's with the benefit of hindsight and experience.

[walpurgis]

I rather like the exclusivity of much of the gear I own. I'd have a hell of a job trying to replace it.

The Ming Da MC-9 TVC pre-amp is almost unique in this country. My friend imported two after hearing mine and I rather suspect these three are the only examples in the UK. My Classic Tubes CT15 EL34 valve monos are incredibly rare and the VTL Deluxe valve pre-amp is never seen. Who else has a Pioneer PL-61 turntable? The Monarchy Audio power amps and DACs are seemingly unavailable nowadays. And when did anybody last see a Sugden Optima phono stage? Mk.II Tannoy Cheviots are mega scarce as well.

My Toshiba SR-370 turntable plus Mission 774 combo was rare, but seems to have gained popularity since I highlighted how good this pairing is.

[Barry]

Exclusivity doesn't interest me per se, though I do have a few 'less than common' items in my collection: EMT930st TT, arm and RIAA equalising amplifier; Revox C221 CD player, Breuer tone arm; Brinkmann 10.5 tonearm, and a Nagra IV reel-to-reel tape machine.

Oh, and my Tubehunter 'monoblocked' and upgraded 405 power amps are one pair of only two pairs made.

[walpurgis]

Exclusivity doesn't interest me per se

None of my gear was bought because it was scarce. It just worked out that way. I think my Osawa OS-100T SUT is probably the rarest item I have. Should have kept my Technics EPC-305MC cartridge to complete the ensemble, they are like gold dust. :)

[struth]

Rarity doesn't necessarily mean good of course. Just saying lol

[Macca]

I would say my happiness was at its greatest when I didn't even try. I just played what I had, and it sounded great.
Then I discovered forums ...

IB

And your purity was contaminated? ;)

I don't think I ever had that purity to begin with. I was always looking for better even before I discovered forums. Now I'm still dissatisfied but I at least think I know why. Although in reality I probably don't.

[Infinitely Baffled]

And your purity was contaminated? ;)

I don't think I ever had that purity to begin with. I was always looking for better even before I discovered forums. Now I'm still dissatisfied but I at least think I know why. Although in reality I probably don't.

Heh he! I'm not sure I would ever lay claim to purity, in any department.
No, it's just that reading on forums makes you aware that there is a potentially open-ended path of improvement available to you, if you want it. Strange as it may seem, before forums, I didn't really think about that. I had my Rega Planar deck, Arcam Alpha CD player, my Audiolab integrated amp and some tiny Proac loudspeakers. I knew it was decent kit, so I assumed I was getting a high quality sound - and in fact by any reasonable standard I was. And that was enough. However, that was then .... This is now.
IB

[Macca]

Heh he! I'm not sure I would ever lay claim to purity, in any department.
No, it's just that reading on forums makes you aware that there is a potentially open-ended path of improvement available to you, if you want it. Strange as it may seem, before forums, I didn't really think about that. I had my Rega Planar deck, Arcam Alpha CD player, my Audiolab integrated amp and some tiny Proac loudspeakers. I knew it was decent kit, so I assumed I was getting a high quality sound - and in fact by any reasonable standard I was. And that was enough. However, that was then .... This is now.
IB

Not so much the reading for me as actually hearing some much better systems and realising that I had only been scratching the surface before. Had much the same experience with women, curiously enough. Of course forums are important as it gives you an automatic crowd of what the yanks call 'enablers' ;)

[Infinitely Baffled]

"Scratching the surface" with women ? Not a recommended strategy, I would have thought.

IB

[walpurgis]

"Scratching the surface" with women ? Not a recommended strategy, I would have thought.

IB

Often little else is required. Many seeming quite shallow.

[Puffin]

And your purity was contaminated? ;)

I don't think I ever had that purity to begin with. I was always looking for better even before I discovered forums. Now I'm still dissatisfied but I at least think I know why. Although in reality I probably don't.

What is purity? I always thought that the holy grail were something like LS3/5A's until I heard them at a show and thought they were awful, thin, lacking in bass and no soundstage. Maybe it was just a bad dem, or amp or source or a combo of all. I suspect that anyone hearing my system would say that it is coloured (whatever that is) What exercises my mind is that we all have our own take on what sounds good and what we want to listen to. How can there ever be a definitive system that is all things to all 'philes?

[Macca]

What is purity? ?

Purity as in just enjoying the music and not thinking about how to make it sound better, or worrying that the bass is not deep enough, or tight enough, and so on.

A state of grace akin to Adam and Eve before they were bounced out of Eden, I suppose. Once you commit the original sin of trying to make it sound better, your purity is gone!

[walpurgis]

I feel sorry for those who may have some cash to spare, but don't know where to start and end up with a dealer recommended system.

That's not to say a dealer will lead you up a blind alley, but I don't think it's necessarily a great way to go.

[MikeMusic]

If I had to start from nothing. I'd buy what I have now!

Me too. Without all the faffing around !

[Barry]

What is purity? I always thought that the holy grail were something like LS3/5A's until I heard them at a show and thought they were awful, thin, lacking in bass and no soundstage. Maybe it was just a bad dem, or amp or source or a combo of all. I suspect that anyone hearing my system would say that it is coloured (whatever that is) What exercises my mind is that we all have our own take on what sounds good and what we want to listen to. How can there ever be a definitive system that is all things to all 'philes?

Not the LS3/5A "chestnut" again. They were designed for near-field monitoring of speech in the confined space of the outside broadcast vans used by the BBC. They were never intended to be used to replay full-range orchestral, pop or rock music. The fact that they can do a half decent job of the latter is a credit to the designers, and the reason why they are sought after by audio enthusiasts; and hence the absurd 'hype' and mythology that now surrounds them.

Quite agree with the last sentence however - no, there can never be a definitive system, because there is, as yet, no such thing as a perfect system (nor do I think there ever will be). All audio systems are a compromise, taylored to suit the tastes of the owner.