Guide to Improving Your System

[Joe]

Thought I'd start this to see what people's thoughts and or methods are. Is there even a method?

Here's mine:

1) The Different Strokes Rule -- simply put 'What might be right for you might not be right for some.' -there's no best component or cable or stand or whatever.

There's no league table or hierarchy. 'I had X component and I replaced it with Y component and I much prefer the sound so Y component will be better than X component in any system and for anyone.'

No it won't.

Brings us to

2) Have an idea of the sort of sound you want to get. Play Thin Lizzy's 'Live and Dangerous' on cd through some ATC active speakers now play the same album on vinyl through Avantgarde horns with single ended Kondo valve amps - pretty much chalk and cheese. Some will prefer one, some the other. Some might hate both presentations.

Personally I think my idea of how a hi-fi system should present music was formed by the infamous 'mate's dad's systems' when I was in my teens so I've been after that ever since. I only realised that a couple of years ago. But even now hearing lots of other systems can give you an idea of what you are after. Or refine it. Without any idea what to go after you're pissing in the wind.


3) Don't try to solve fundamental problems like hardness, harshness, distortion, with ancillaries like stands, cables, room treatment, conditioners, magic beans or any of that stuff. It won't work. Get the basics right first then you can muck about with all that stuff if you still feel the need. Which you might not.


4) If it isn't sounding like you want don't jump to conclusions about what the problem is. Harsh treble is probably not the speakers. Lack of bass is probably not the amplifier. Things are often not what they seem to be in hi-fi land, very easy to change or 'upgrade' the wrong thing and make a bigger and more expensive mess. Most of us must have done this at least once. I've done it loads.


5) The fancier it gets the harder it is to get it just right. Sort of the 'Peter Principle' of hi-fi. 'Given infinite upgrading every system will one day reach the point were it is unlistenable.'

There's no real solution to that one except to stop when you're happy.


6) Have fun. It's supposed to be a hobby. Or a pastime.

Whatever, it beats being at work.

7) When you've got a system you're happy with, stop reading the mags, posting on forums, going to hifi shows. Or lose all your money betting on horses, so you won't be able to 'upgrade'.

[Macca]

Or lose all your money betting on horses, so you won't be able to 'upgrade'.

I can vouch from experience that does work. And quite quickly, too.

[Pigmy Pony]

Really interesting you mention Thin Lizzy and active in the same sentence. Back around 1982 I heard a Crimson Electric active system into Mission speakers with the music of the day and at that point it was the most dynamic thing I had ever heard. Later I heard a Linn active system and it was breath taking. Later still I heard a Naim active system and it was truly bloody awful.

How I ever ended up with valve amps and mini monitors I'll never understand.

I still toy with the idea of active studio monitors.

Meat and poison it is then lol

Didn't you end up with mini monitors because you moved to somewhere little?

Have you heard the Dutch+Dutch 8C speakers Shaun? Compact active speakers with DSP, inbuilt DAC's and subs, and have some proper clout. Really impressed me at Cranage last year, and I reckon you'd like 'em too. Pricey though.

[Mikeandvan]

I'm glad I got off the Naim bus, it amuses the hell out of me reading the Naim forum, no matter what your issue is, the answer is always to buy something else or get something serviced....My relatively humble system is the best its ever sounded, thanks mostly to a chance find of a pair of speakers I'd never even heard of sold by Jerry of this forum, the Chario Syntars, just goes to show how much stuff there is out there that people are unaware of. Before that I'd tried the usual suspects - Naim credo, Epos es11, and the weirdest speakers I'd ever heard Spendor mini monitors, I also tried Spendor floorstanders, and they were just slightly less bad than the monitors!! Like listening to a tinny little radio!! Though some people love them, so I guess its all system/room dependent. It can be difficult but ignore the hype, I can't believe how good my system now sounds with a £25 passive pre and a little Quad power amp!! My tastes in music have changed a bit, I used to listen to a lot of rock, where the finer details are less important, but now I get a real kick out of hearing a bass drum on a jazz record, or soul music sounding really sweet. I think its only when you start to get your system right, that you realise how much we actually love music, as I was starting to lose interest in it. Bought some new records today for the first time in a while, more 70s jazz, there's not much better than jazz to show what a decent hifi can do.

I haven't played much rock music at all since moving to the Charios, and I think my system has lost a bit of edge in that respect, but there we go, I've love to have 2 systems, but I live in a one bed flat, so that's never gonna happen!! Strangely after trying streaming I really can't be bothered with it, I find putting on a cd much easier.

Turntable wise I tried a few, I loved the Technics 1210 for its looks and ease of use, but my humble NAS Interspace was the first TT that actually showed me something proper, real dynamics, which it has to be said, can be slightly overwhelming on some of my livelier techno records. But again my tastes have mellowed. And I've found a cart that I'm happy with - the Nagaoka MP200, after much forum searching lead me to the Nags, so here at least the hype was deserved. I'm not one for super expensive carts as I had one once - a £400 AT (expensive by my standards), and I broke it within a few days, horrible. The Nags replacement carts are a massive bargain at £100 direct from Japan, so breaking them isn't that much of a downer!! I like my hifi simple and cannot be arsed with things like record weights and the like!!

[Firebottle]

Good post Mike

[Hoffer]

I don't disagree with any of the comments, but I'll add a few more:

1. To the extent possible, get your room right first. I'm not suggesting you spend a ton a $$$ - but sometimes even small tweaks can make a difference. Move those speakers out a little, focus on your listening position, put some shades on those windows, etc., etc. It's not always the answer, but it can never hurt.

2. Give your ears time to adjust. To me, it's not much different to listening to a new album. I need a number of listening sessions before I can firmly judge anything.

3. Keep a core rotation of music that you like to sample. I always bring with me the same albums/discs whenever I want to audition something. Although it's not a perfect test (nothing is, of course), it at least gives me a baseline of music that I'm so familiar with I can rely more on what my ears are telling me.