Sick and tired of Hi-Fi

[Haselsh1]

Do you ever get to the point where you think that you are sick and tired of chasing a dream that you're never going to reach the end of...? It's a bit like the old anxiety dream where you reach for something and continually run but you never actually reach the thing you want the most. I've just had a CD recomendation by Andre and I am now going to spend over twenty quid on a bloody CD cozz I now know that the only thing that really matters is the music.

In fact, for a very long time, I am going to have to be satisfied with my equipment as I am only going to spend money on new music. There is so much music out there it seems a shame to turn my back on it just because I want a five hundred quid cartridge. Just think how many vinyl LP's five hundred quid would buy...? What the hell is this all about...???

[hifi_dave]

I can't imagine a time when I'm sick of Hi-Fi. It's been my life since 1963 when I discovered life beyond the record player. I was briefly separated from all things Hi-Fi in 2006 and I hated it...:D

Hi-Fi needn't be expensive to give me a buzz, in fact, I get more enjoyment out of finding giant killing bargains than I do using megabuck gear.

[REM]

............ There is so much music out there it seems a shame to turn my back on it just because I want a five hundred quid cartridge. Just think how many vinyl LP's five hundred quid would buy...? What the hell is this all about...???

...about 20, maybe 25 at todays prices....

[Jonboy]

Perhaps not tired, you just need to be content with what you have got with your given budget or you will be chasing the end of the rainbow and get very frustrated

[Jonboy]

Hi-Fi needn't be expensive to give me a buzz, in fact, I get more enjoyment out of finding giant killing bargains than I do using megabuck gear.

That works well for me as well

[Spectral Morn]

I can't imagine a time when I'm sick of Hi-Fi. It's been my life since 1963 when I discovered life beyond the record player. I was briefly separated from all things Hi-Fi in 2006 and I hated it...:D

Hi-Fi needn't be expensive to give me a buzz, in fact, I get more enjoyment out of finding giant killing bargains than I do using megabuck gear.

Pretty much sums me up as well.

I get a buzz from the music first and the equipment second but I would be less than honest if I did not say that I am interested in the technology too.

Regards D S D L

[Techno Commander]

I dont chase ever decreasing audio upgrades anymore.

I am (relatively) happy with what I have, but I know where i am heading, how to get there and what its likely to cost.

If it plays loud and makes you smile, what more do you want? :)

[Rare Bird]

Do you ever get to the point where you think that you are sick and tired of chasing a dream that you're never going to reach the end of...? It's a bit like the old anxiety dream where you reach for something and continually run but you never actually reach the thing you want the most. I've just had a CD recomendation by Andre and I am now going to spend over twenty quid on a bloody CD cozz I now know that the only thing that really matters is the music.

In fact, for a very long time, I am going to have to be satisfied with my equipment as I am only going to spend money on new music. There is so much music out there it seems a shame to turn my back on it just because I want a five hundred quid cartridge. Just think how many vinyl LP's five hundred quid would buy...? What the hell is this all about...???

Yep i've had my stomach full of hi-fi aswell, i'm done with it.I don't even post on AOS hardly now.Intrest in everything is just down the bog with me..

[Haselsh1]

I think I've got to the point were I just want to concentrate on the music. Apart from my Croft pre/power, I am not happy or contented with any part of my Hi-Fi and as I can't afford anything else for a year or two, I am as one person stated, very frustrated by what is going on in my life. The work I do for my own business pays around three pounds and twelve pence an hour and I am supposed to be grateful for that I guess as at least I don't have to answer to some spotty little jerk but it makes life very difficult as a member of society who has large ambitions on things.

I feel I am at a definite crossroads and at the moment I feel that I do not have a hold on where my life is going. I can simply plod on and pretend or I can opt out and make things happen. As always, being the sort of person I am, I'll take the second option. Time to think...?

[DSJR]

I've walked away from home-audio for months at a time (a year or two when we moved here as the room with the stereo in sounded horrid), but I NEED music of some sort to keep me going and the upstairs computer Labtec speakers did me well for a while.

Since inheriting the bridged-Crowns and Spendors, being allowed to put the stuff in the sitting room's far better acoustics and replacing the long lost Croft and AVI preamps (the latter more as a sensible reference these days), I play music through the set every day, often with the third Crown D-60 and headphones.

I can't afford big upgrades - and get mad at many of these £500 mods made with £30 - £50 worth of bits... but speakers apart, I'm delighted with what I have. The speakers should have been Spendor SP1's tbh, but I have fond memories of my BC2's in their first life and they still surprise me with their subtlety, especially when my ears are working well (they're bunged up again today).

So, I suppose I can say I'm happy with my lot for now with no desperate urge to want to change everything.

[Lodgesound]

I was very into the high end equipment when I was young, could never really afford it but still loved music. That's when I discovered professional equipment and an ability to aquire it for not that much money.

I bought my first pair of BBC / Rogers LS 5/8 active loudspeakers with the Quad 405-2 amps when I was 23 for £200 - a steal then and almost theft at today's prices! I partnered them with a Technics SL1200 that I had bought with lawn cutting money at 16 and later an old Technics Broadcast CD player and Studer / Nagra tape recorders.

I have owned this system largely unchanged for nearly 17 years and have never wanted to change it - it cost me a total of around £1000 and I have only had to make sundry repairs to it over this period.

I have always been intrigued with high end systems but never that impressed with the sound quality I heard from them to be honest so I suppose I have reached my own personal musical nirvana - I earn so little spare money now that any equipment I buy I aquire in a broken state for next to no money and just repair it. My system has been ridiculed many many times by very passionate HiFi afficionados but have always been surprised when they heard it play - I remember in 1985 when I bought my SL1200 being actually laughed at and dismissed as an arrogant child for suggesting that such a thing be capable of any kind of performance that could be termed HiFi - interesting how things have changed.

[Steve Toy]

I think a few folks would do well to focus not on the boxes themselves but on the way the system was set up - supports, cables, mains etc.

If you've been going around in circles wasting lots of money in the process for a number of years why not consider a fresh approach rather than give up?

A well set-up modest system will always outperform a high-end rig just cobbled together/compromised in some way to keep SWMBO happy.

[webby]

Good music is what matters. Music that moves you. Shite music is still shite no matter how good the system. Ergo, you can enjoy good music on anything. Well, I can.

If I'm away, the iPod is fine. I don't miss the hifi at home.

[Hypnotoad]

I think I've got to the point were I just want to concentrate on the music. Apart from my Croft pre/power, I am not happy or contented with any part of my Hi-Fi and as I can't afford anything else for a year or two, I am as one person stated, very frustrated by what is going on in my life. The work I do for my own business pays around three pounds and twelve pence an hour and I am supposed to be grateful for that I guess as at least I don't have to answer to some spotty little jerk but it makes life very difficult as a member of society who has large ambitions on things.

I feel I am at a definite crossroads and at the moment I feel that I do not have a hold on where my life is going. I can simply plod on and pretend or I can opt out and make things happen. As always, being the sort of person I am, I'll take the second option. Time to think...?

I think concentrating on the music is the point of this, we all chase that component that will make our system better, but it's a never ending story.

I go through my albums now and try and listen to as many different ones as possible, it's amazing to me how you can still be immersed in the music even though it may not be the best sounding album in my collection.

Not every record made is perfect, very few are in fact and I think people tend to forget that it's about the music and the system it's played on is only the means to an end.

I read that someone got this part and it was better than that part which is not as good as this other part but it costs three times as much. I sounds to me like it's a race to keep up with the Jones. A dog chasing it's tale so to speak and the system is what matters not what's played on it.

Sure we all want the best but what is the best? A system worth a million, as long as we have something that's satisfying to us that's all that matters.

[DSJR]

I was very into the high end equipment when I was young, could never really afford it but still loved music. That's when I discovered professional equipment and an ability to aquire it for not that much money.

I bought my first pair of BBC / Rogers LS 5/8 active loudspeakers with the Quad 405-2 amps when I was 23 for £200 - a steal then and almost theft at today's prices! I partnered them with a Technics SL1200 that I had bought with lawn cutting money at 16 and later an old Technics Broadcast CD player and Studer / Nagra tape recorders.

I have owned this system largely unchanged for nearly 17 years and have never wanted to change it - it cost me a total of around £1000 and I have only had to make sundry repairs to it over this period.

I have always been intrigued with high end systems but never that impressed with the sound quality I heard from them to be honest so I suppose I have reached my own personal musical nirvana - I earn so little spare money now that any equipment I buy I aquire in a broken state for next to no money and just repair it. My system has been ridiculed many many times by very passionate HiFi afficionados but have always been surprised when they heard it play - I remember in 1985 when I bought my SL1200 being actually laughed at and dismissed as an arrogant child for suggesting that such a thing be capable of any kind of performance that could be termed HiFi - interesting how things have changed.

Take care of those 5/8's, as the drivers will be ageing a bit and may come unstuck....

I partly agree with Mr Toy, but the most careful setup won't save less than good gear. Somehow, decent stuff with balanced design parmeters (oh alright, compromises) often just fall together plonked down anywhere and need very little messing about with.

[Hypnotoad]

I was very into the high end equipment when I was young, could never really afford it but still loved music. That's when I discovered professional equipment and an ability to aquire it for not that much money.

I bought my first pair of BBC / Rogers LS 5/8 active loudspeakers with the Quad 405-2 amps when I was 23 for £200 - a steal then and almost theft at today's prices! I partnered them with a Technics SL1200 that I had bought with lawn cutting money at 16 and later an old Technics Broadcast CD player and Studer / Nagra tape recorders.

I have owned this system largely unchanged for nearly 17 years and have never wanted to change it - it cost me a total of around £1000 and I have only had to make sundry repairs to it over this period.

I have always been intrigued with high end systems but never that impressed with the sound quality I heard from them to be honest so I suppose I have reached my own personal musical nirvana - I earn so little spare money now that any equipment I buy I aquire in a broken state for next to no money and just repair it. My system has been ridiculed many many times by very passionate HiFi afficionados but have always been surprised when they heard it play - I remember in 1985 when I bought my SL1200 being actually laughed at and dismissed as an arrogant child for suggesting that such a thing be capable of any kind of performance that could be termed HiFi - interesting how things have changed.

My bedroom system now consists of all used components picked up cheaply, took me a bit of time and I had to do some repairs myself, but I saved a fortune.

Technics SL-7 turntable with a Grado Blue cart, the Grado really sings in this table, much better than in the SL1200 Mk2. I picked up a nice Jolida 801A tube amp and swapped out the Mullard 12AX7 for a Philips/Amperex. A Cambridge Audio 540P phono preamp and some very nice Polk SDA 2A speakers. I got some 75ohm video cables for my interconnects and these sound as good as any I have used. I also use standard 15g speaker cable.

The whole lot cost me 500 pounds ($750 US) and if bought new would have cost 2,500 pounds ($3,700 US).

This is my most loved system even though it can't outshine my main rig, I get the most enjoyment out of it, it just sounds right.

[swampy]

Good music is what matters. Music that moves you. Shite music is still shite no matter how good the system.

I'd dis-agree with that in that I have heard systems that just seem to play music and are so involving, not typically hifi sounding. Now on these systems I can listen to all styles of music and those I don't particularly like, but still can't help to tap my foot. If the system is right it makes everything sound good IMHO.

I have been downsizing my main system now for sometime now as I use my 2nd pc based system more. I think you can get a more enjoyable sound out of lower end gear. Some systems are too polished and hifi for my tastes. Infact a good pair of headphones on a semi decent amp is hard to beat ;)

[swampy]

Do you ever get to the point where you think that you are sick and tired of chasing a dream that you're never going to reach the end of...?


Yes, already there. Time to move on and downsize, find a setup that just plays a tune which may not be typical audiophile mega-bucks setup. Or take a break from HiFi for a while and get into other hobbies.

[chrism]

That's why I think that DIY is so much fun. Cheap to try and if you want a change build something else!

Nothing more satisfying than listening to your own hand built stuff.

Regards

Chris

[Steve Toy]

Or set up your system properly so that it does play a tune?

Why the resistance to this very simple idea?

[swampy]

Well no amount of tweaks like a change of cable, shelf, mains filter can totally fix a system IMHO. These are iceing on the cake to get the best out of what is already there. If the system does not gel or play a tune to begin with....

I have heard some setup's, ie at scaffold hall a fraction the cost of some hi end gear there and they are more tuneful if less detailed and hifi. One of the best for me was a vintage Marantz amp on a T Rock turntable.

[Joe]

It's all good with me; upstairs and downstairs systems on song, even the Walkman's sounding great. Maybe I'm just easily pleased.

[Rare Bird]

I have heard some setup's, ie at scaffold hall a fraction the cost of some hi end gear there and they are more tuneful if less detailed and hifi.


Put it this way..I couldnt wait to go home to be honest...

[John]

I am very happy with my set up I would have to pay crazy money to really improve it. Perhaps a top DAC and bracing my baffles would add a few more percent
Yes at some point I want to get a TT but I know what I want A lovelly Salvation with a Decca Cart and perhaps a Croft phonostage but it have to wait till I can afford it.
I am realy happy I no longer need to constantly look for that better cable or equipment
I often joke with my audio friends its a kind of disease chasing the next step up in sound

[swampy]

Put it this way..I couldnt wait to go home to be honest...

Yep, me too, most systems there were getting on my nerves after a while. Maybe I liked the vintage turntable based system cause it just played a good tune :lol:

[HighFidelityGuy]

I guess I'm starting to get a bit tired of the constant battle of saving up money, researching equipment and trying to find the best products for the least money, then installing new things, running them in, swapping back to old things and comparing etc etc.

I think the main thing that's getting me down at the moment is that I feel like I'm getting very close to completing the massive upgrade I've been working on over the last 18 months but I'm probably going to have to wait quite a while to finish due to a downturn in my economic situation. I hate not finishing projects and it's going to drive me mad knowing that I only need to buy a few more things to complete my system.

Once I've completed it and providing I'm happy with the sound at the end, which I'm fairly confident about, then I'll be happy to sit back and enjoy the music. That's the part I'm really looking forward to. I'm enjoying the music now but I've constantly got a niggling feeling in the back of my mind that I've still not addressed power cabling and a few things like that. So I know there must be some extra performance waiting to get released. So that thought keeps taking the edge off my enjoyment.

Luckily I'm not really the sort of person that keeps constantly box swapping. I have a very good idea in my head of what sound I want to get out of my system and I seem to have a pretty good knack of finding the right equipment to produce that. I managed to be content with my old system for several years before I started this upgrade. I knew it was lacking in many areas but it was the best I could afford at the time. I'm sure I can get back to that position again and be happy for much longer this time. I'd like to get at least 5 to 10 years out of my current system before looking at any big changes.

Despite not being able to spend much money recently I have managed to make some quite significant improvements to my system by concentrating on smaller, cheaper tweaks. The biggest improvement came from applying the passive output mod to my Caiman DAC. It was amazing just how much improvement I got from adding a couple of capacitors that cost pence. So it just goes to show you don’t have to spend big money on upgrades all the time. Sometimes the cheapest tweaks can make the biggest improvement. :)

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Some of my justification for buying my new speakers was that I could give up worrying ... I'm perfectly happy with my system now. I have no intentions to buy anything new for a long time. (apart from maybe some of marks cables, but that's just through intrigue to see what they can do between pre and speaker).
I'm now just enjoying my music, and if I fancy tinkering with somthing I have my turntable to do the final tweaks on - which will only be diy stuff... And messing with the caiman to see I it can sound as good as the majik ds-I.

I always wonder if the people who get fed up with hifi should find them selves a cosy music forum to take their mind off it?

[Haselsh1]

Maybe I should give up on the Hi-Fi for the foreseeable future and go back to playing guitar...? If Hi-Fi pisses me off so much I guess the best thing to do would be to leave it alone. It's kind of funny really because I am also sick and tired of photography as well. I could spend the next two years turning my guitar into a project, Grovers and Seymour Duncans spring to mind.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

That's a shame matey, I use my photography to get away from the hifi hobby and visa versa... Since getting my hifi happy, I have started playing with all my old film cameras again.
Just playing with a (not so old) Olympus mju ii and much more older photomic nikon f. In the same way as I enjoy hifi and music I enjoy photography and the cameras them selves (I have said that load of times on here) it's like 4 hobbies in 2. The other day I took a camera out just to use it, the photos were almost a side product o getting the satisfaction of using a really once modern rangefinder with a 1936 leica 3.5cm elmar.... The photos were all as they should be, focused on what I had intended and well exposed... The content was a bit boring, but I came away from the whole experience feeling happy as I'd had fun tinkering with the kit...
There is a lot of aspects to both hobbies.. Even when one is a job I can still manage to make it enjoyable be doing the things I don't do for work....

[Lodgesound]

Now this may have been asked many times but I am just curious and certainly not intending to start up an argument of any kind.

How many folk here have been to a recording studio or facility and seen the sort of machinery that is used to make and record the music that we buy?

I worked in broadcast and film for quite some years. The standards set were extremely high at all times and always achievable. Machines were calibrated for each record and replay session be it audio or video or both and there were very few errors in overall quality.

The machines were quite expensive but overall size for size as compared with elite HiFi reproduction equipment they were a fraction of the cost in terms of what they were and did. If you dismantle a high end analogue tape machine from the likes of Nagra or Studer they are extremely well built but the internal wiring for instance in terms of the cabling used is nothing out of the ordinary. This does'nt seem to affect their performance measurements in the slightest.

The other thing to point out is that before any signal in a BBC sound or television studio hit a piece of magnetic tape or recording equipment it travelled on average through nearly 2 miles of cabling around Television
Centre. Again these lines were checked and measured regularly and you could not detect any measurable distortion on the most accurate and expensive analytical equipment. These measurements were regularly made by engineers to check for any problems which were rectified whenever required.

I suppose my point is that there was and still is an absolute limit to the quality of the original recording wherever it was done and on what machinery and by whom - I think some folk here might be a little dissappointed with the quality of some of the "high end" equipment used to make these recordings.

[Steve Toy]

Dave (High Fidelity) Your situation seems to be similar to mine.

[Rare Bird]

I always wonder if the people who get fed up with hifi should find them selves a cosy music forum to take their mind off it?

Hamish: Forums make things worse

[Tasuke]

Do you ever get to the point where you think that you are sick and tired of chasing a dream that you're never going to reach the end of...?


nope, cause i've basically for the most part attained mine;


http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/PIONEER%20PD-91%20AUDIOGON%207-27-10/DSC_2570.jpg

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll310/shaorin-chan/MacGyver%20System%202010/JohnsRoom7-29-101.jpg

[Mr. C]

I suppose my point is that there was and still is an absolute limit to the quality of the original recording wherever it was done and on what machinery and by whom - I think some folk here might be a little dissappointed with the quality of some of the "high end" equipment used to make these recordings.

Hi Stewart,

Having seen and worked on some of this equipment both the TV and radio industry I am not surprised :lol:

Hamish,
Do you work from home?, as escaping from hifi can be difficult.
Distancing yourself from hobby and work becomes very tricky at this point :rolleyes:
If like us you do, then actally getting a way from hifi is a little tricky and being on top of it actually does you no favours.

A tough balancing act for sure

[The Vinyl Adventure]

My office is filled with hifi and cameras

[DSJR]

Now this may have been asked many times but I am just curious and certainly not intending to start up an argument of any kind.

How many folk here have been to a recording studio or facility and seen the sort of machinery that is used to make and record the music that we buy?

I worked in broadcast and film for quite some years. The standards set were extremely high at all times and always achievable. Machines were calibrated for each record and replay session be it audio or video or both and there were very few errors in overall quality.

The machines were quite expensive but overall size for size as compared with elite HiFi reproduction equipment they were a fraction of the cost in terms of what they were and did. If you dismantle a high end analogue tape machine from the likes of Nagra or Studer they are extremely well built but the internal wiring for instance in terms of the cabling used is nothing out of the ordinary. This does'nt seem to affect their performance measurements in the slightest.

The other thing to point out is that before any signal in a BBC sound or television studio hit a piece of magnetic tape or recording equipment it travelled on average through nearly 2 miles of cabling around Television
Centre. Again these lines were checked and measured regularly and you could not detect any measurable distortion on the most accurate and expensive analytical equipment. These measurements were regularly made by engineers to check for any problems which were rectified whenever required.

I suppose my point is that there was and still is an absolute limit to the quality of the original recording wherever it was done and on what machinery and by whom - I think some folk here might be a little dissappointed with the quality of some of the "high end" equipment used to make these recordings.

Not so much on AOS, but I think most audiophools are trying to get something out of the recordings that isn't really there. So much Top End gear puts emphasis on one aspect while ignoring the rest, yet equipment which gives/gave a fairly balanced performance with good consistancy and stability was regarded as boring and bland, as there is/was no exaggeration.

[Barry]

I can understand Shaun's problem, but would agree with most of the sentiments expressed here: be content with what you've got and remember that it is all only a means to an end - that end being the enjoyment of music.

Whilst I continue to be interested in the equipment, and usually buy one HiFi mag a month, I'm often aghast at the prices charged - well out of my league these days. That doesn't stop me from mentally compiling a 'wish list', but until my six numbers come up, that's all it is and I don't loose sleep over it.

Perhaps I'm fortunate in that I am content with my system (not that it can't be improved - far from it) and I have enough software; records CDs and tapes to last me should I never buy another one.

I often hear other people's systems or, very rarely, a good dealer demonstration and will think "Gosh that sounds so much better than mine", yet on returning to my own system, I quickly forget about the other systems and just settle back and enjoy my own, with my choice of records.

Trust this doesn't across as being smug.

Regards

[Alex_UK]

Barry has pretty much hit the nail on the head for how I feel too - I'm always a music first person, and am more than content with my system, though I do enjoy tweaking and trying the odd bit of vintage in different systems for a bit of fun. I have plans as to upgrades, but I never feel dissatisfied that I'm not there yet with them.

On the other hand, I do get bored of my other hobbies sometimess and go off them for a while (currently not that interested in my Land Rover/off-roading or photography) so I know where you are coming from, but the difference with me is I don't see music as a hobby - it's an essential part of my life, even if it is just an ipod and headphones or the car radio, I really don't think I could live without it.

[Rare Bird]

Not so much on AOS, but I think most audiophools are trying to get something out of the recordings that isn't really there.



It is there but i feel its lost in vinyl..

[Joe]

Well, I've been told that I'm not really listening intently enough, and am only hearing the sound that comes out of the speakers rather than the music, and yet I'm more contented with my system than the intense listeners seem to be with theirs.

[Haselsh1]

Well, I've been told that I'm not really listening intently enough, and am only hearing the sound that comes out of the speakers rather than the music, and yet I'm more contented with my system than the intense listeners seem to be with theirs.

Whoa...!!! That is a very powerful statement. I fully understand this one and I think a lot of people suffer from this. They only hear the sound of their Hi-Fi and don't fully feel the music. For me it's largely about detail. It's about the way that very distant guitar sounds. It's about that little vocal inflection that I've never heard before and above all else, I think it's time I chilled a little when I listen to MY music.

[Reid Malenfant]

Well i'm extremely happy with my system :) Music rocks my world every time i switch things on & spin a disc.

I'm not sick of upgrading simply because it's all very gradual & i'm nearly exactly where i want to be system wise to get the best out of whatever is playing (room allowing of course). If i can build something myself rather than resorting to some compromised (or otherwise) bit of kit then i'll give it a go. The satisfaction of knowing i designed & built my own speakers & that they'll give something costing 20 times as much a good run for there money is priceless :lol:

When i say sensible upgrades i was thinking about the swap i'll be doing shortly of my pre amp. At the present things are disjointed AV wise, when listening to stereo i use a Classe DR5 & until recently i was using a Harman Kardon AV amp for 5.1 surround. I had to switch the outputs to the front amps & speakers over so the pre outs of the HK drove the front. All that will be out the window as my sensible upgrade is an Audio Research MP1 AV preamp.

I know we all get some satisfaction from improving in some way what we are listening to, but like i say, if you can DIY it & it improves things the satisfacton factor is orders of magnitude greater. The beauty is that this doesn't appear to diminish like it does with bought equipment ;)

[trane]

i believe the problem lies somewhere else. namely, we have too much free time. our acestors did what they had to: fought for survival. in the meantime, however, they stayed human. now, we only seem to be as that - but, rather, we simply want to escape from our natural God-given duties and make life as no earthly as possible. pursuing hi-fi is just a means, though, paradoxically, being the most spritual from among perhaps all the distracting temptations in that it is not connected to (strictly speaking) the material world, and that it can awake moods... hope it made sense ;)

[Rare Bird]

Dave R right, people are trying to get blood out of a stone.

[Clive]

i believe the problem lies somewhere else. namely, we have too much free time. our acestors did what they had to: fought for survival. in the meantime, however, they stayed human. now, we only seem to be as that - but, rather, we simply want to escape from our natural God-given duties and make life as no earthly as possible. pursuing hi-fi is just a means, though, paradoxically, being the most spritual from among perhaps all the distracting temptations in that it is not connected to (strictly speaking) the material world, and that it can awake moods... hope it made sense ;)
We have too much free time?!!! Not me, maybe it's a UK work thing....ether way too much work you're unemployed, no happy medium.

BTW, getting to a system that works well and your understanding of what it is you want from your system makes for contentment. Sure small tweaks can happen but major changes just serve to bring cost and discontent, often focusing on a big change and then not realising the baby has gone with the bathwater. I hope this makes sense in Hungary, though I doubt it!

[trane]

We have too much free time?!!! Not me, maybe it's a UK work thing....ether way too much work you're unemployed, no happy medium.

... I hope this makes sense in Hungary, though I doubt it!

thanks for your 'kind' words, Clive... dunno what's wrong with you and why but what you wrote truly offends me :( you see, e.g. last week i guided some British specialists for some days, and at the end of their stay here they honestly concluded a much better-founded opinion...

anyway, what i meant by "too much free time" is that say 100 years ago people had free time only on sunday afternoons/evenings since they had to work for their own living all day long, from morning to dusk, and it was merely the late evenings and nights that they had 'for pleasure' - at least that's how it worked here in my country. we used to be an agriculture-based country, thus, everyone had their own lands and animals to care about, all that needing a whole day. people went out to the field 4 in the morning and came home 6-8 in the evening, working all day. the citizens and the so-called 'intelligentsia' were the only exception, though many of them had their little lands to cultivate near the towns as well and spent their evenings and weekends doing so...

nowadays, people here and - as I read from the net, learnt when studying there in Cambridge, and my British friends informed me - in the U.K., just as all over the world, people tend to work as less as possible (though seemingly being soooo busy) and enjoy themselves as much as possible, hence creating that 'much' free time that should be filled with somewhat to compensate for the urging of the genetically coded activity-factor. one form is hi-fi, but as it shows it's rather the component changing part than the listening one. why? perhaps because we also learnt, mainly in the last 10 years, to be over-active and focussing on many things at the same time, thus, being unable to just sit back and relax. no, we always have to do something - seemingly and sadly...

now i hope it is perhaps clearer

[Clive]

thanks for your 'kind' words, Clive... dunno what's wrong with you and why but what you wrote truly offends me :(

Attila, apologes for offending you...this was not my intent. if it was "hope this makes sense in Hungary", this comment was referring to my use of the British saying "throwing the baby out with the bathwater". I was thinking this may not be familiar to you.

As for spare time, here in the UK...this is a big generalisation....but those in work have more pressure than ever, work long hours and have little spare time. Those out of work have loads of time, there seems little balance in between this. I think that 40, 30, 20 years ago working people had more spare time. Certainly 30 years ago (I was working then), I had much more time. People generally go to work earlier now and go home late or work from home and work almost all the time.

[Haselsh1]

The work situation is quite simple for me; I work six days a week and all day. As well as that, I have to be on standby all day in case something comes in. The problem is though, because it is my own business along with my partner Janet, I have to be happy with the equivalent of three pounds an hour. OK so that is free money with which I can do as I please as all of our domestic bills are paid by the business but how many people could actually get by with two hundred and fifty pounds for a whole month...?

I guess this is turning into a case of making the most and not wanting what you can't afford but my situation does not make for inner peace and tranquility no matter what I listen to on the Hi-Fi, the source of all of the disquiet. I feel that I am working my arse off for next to nothing and I resent that. That is probably nearer the truth. A fact though is that I am in this with a partner, I cannot just walk.

[Haselsh1]

I also have a great deal of ambition and drive. I am really not happy just sitting back watching life wander aimlessly by. I know there are so many people out there that are just the opposite and for them, life must be so wonderful, for me personally, I just can't do it.

[Joe]

I also have a great deal of ambition and drive. I am really not happy just sitting back watching life wander aimlessly by. I know there are so many people out there that are just the opposite and for them, life must be so wonderful, for me personally, I just can't do it.

It's not exactly wonderful, but it's a good deal more relaxing.

[Mr. C]

My office is filled with hifi and cameras


Seems to be a common problem lol!, only for us it's mostly camera equipment as the hifi is in three seperate rooms (thankfully) just Phase one bits, and the odd Hasselblad body, oh and the bloody tripods :lol:

It can difficult to seprate work from home life sometimes!

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Work and home life are supposed to be separate?... ;)

[Batty]

If the music can be so emotionally involving through the equipment you have that it can move you to tears, then I believe you have the setup you need, it may not be the boxes you want. My system has not been upgraded since the mid to late 90's I am happy with the 'whole' that my system is, the only recent purchase was a second hand DL-110 denon, I only bought that as it was so cheap I could not resist, and it was the original cart fitted to my TT when I bought it in 1986 (nostalgia?).

[DirectDrive_Gordon]

My bedroom system now consists of all used components picked up cheaply, took me a bit of time and I had to do some repairs myself, but I saved a fortune.

Technics SL-7 turntable with a Grado Blue cart, the Grado really sings in this table, much better than in the SL1200 Mk2. I picked up a nice Jolida 801A tube amp and swapped out the Mullard 12AX7 for a Philips/Amperex. A Cambridge Audio 540P phono preamp and some very nice Polk SDA 2A speakers. I got some 75ohm video cables for my interconnects and these sound as good as any I have used. I also use standard 15g speaker cable.

The whole lot cost me 500 pounds ($750 US) and if bought new would have cost 2,500 pounds ($3,700 US).

This is my most loved system even though it can't outshine my main rig, I get the most enjoyment out of it, it just sounds right.

The SL-7 is a great turntable and one of my favourite Technics products of all time - when it's working. Mine has been sitting unused in a cupboard for the last 5 years since it started playing up. Basically the arm keeps sticking. Have you ever had your SL-7 repaired or serviced and if so then can you recommend a techie to do it?