Confronting your own realities...

[John]

As usual I been reflecting on this topic
I plan to go a whole year without upgrading any part of my system , my reference point has always been live music and think as far as hifi goes this is impossible task Of course there are a few items that would improve my system some nice Open baffles for starters but the speakers I got are pretty good.
I think we owe a lot into those DIY tweakers; some may spend more time tweaking than listening to music but there knowledge and skills allows us to find cheaper alternatives to creating good sound and for that alone I am thankful.
About 10 years ago I could never imagine me writing on a hifi forum I would of considered it close to train spotting, so in future I will try and limit my observations more to music rather than Hifi where others have far more experience and knowledge.

[Marco]

...so in future I will try and limit my observations more to music rather than Hifi where others have far more experience and knowledge.

Don't you dare, matey! We value all your observations here, John - hi-fi, music or otherwise orientated

So keep your hi-fi comments based on 'limited knowledge', coming...

Marco.

[Tony G]

A thought provoking topic indeed. Seems to have wandered off a little here and there as such things will.
I have been mulling over various aspects of this for days and TBPH could not decide whether I wished or needed to contribute and if so why.
Being at a loose end, I went back to the beginning of this thread and reread the opening and realised that there were a few points I considered worth raising.
For myself it is definitely about the music, I only became seriously involved in this whole malarkey a few years ago when I became dissatisfied with what had sufficed until then.
In general terms I think many people will become defensive when "robustly challenged" - confrontation is not always the best route to change.
Acceptance of one's own realities, yes, that is necessary.
I think of myself as largely practical and for that reason, I suppose, I would be considered subjectivist. If I cannot hear a difference, then to all practical purposes there is not one.
I would not however, discount the possibility that under different circumstances or development and training of my listening skills that I might perceive what I do not now.
There are many things that I perceive now that I did not a few years ago, that has come about from discussion, listening and trying different things/components.
I am of an experimental and inquisitive nature and learn most things by trying and making lots of mistakes.
Occasionally I am able to learn from others mistakes.
Mostly my realities are bounded by accomodation & disposable income - not quite sure how to "confront" those except by buying lottery tickets.
Any "beliefs" I might have are, I would hope, merely the present state of my experience and open to change in the light of subsequent experience.
Yes, I do like a little DIY, less than I might have due to limited facilities rather than skills shortage, that is another of my realities.
I can and do, from time to time, have obsessive "testing sessions", cable comparisons, mat trials etc. but these are usually settled with a decision (never irrevocable) that something or other is preferred and may indicate an area of improvement to come or for further research.
But, I will do similar with different recordings of the same work to see which I prefer, so that is me not the gear.
Considering what I am presently using, I seem to have rather an eclectic collection, a prototype amp from a defunct manufacturer, a heavily modded stock amp, a modded but old CDP, an uncommon CDP, a modded preamp, severely modded T/T, DIY DAC, stock phono stages and rather uncommon speakers from another defunct manufacturer. (plus way too much other gear)
It has all been good fun, (just) affordable, and compared to where I started, sounds fabulous with most of my evergrowing collection of black round, small silver round and digital downloads.
So, what did I want to say ?
call me a w****r for getting old and still having a pony tail and I will be defensive, tell me in no uncertain terms that cables make no difference when I perceive otherwise, fine, you are entitled to your opinion.
Tell me that such and such sounds like ****, I will hear you and when or if possible test it for myself, if it is in a direction I think I might like to explore, not to prove you wrong, but to see if I hear what you do.
I often like to read the perceptions of the musically trained and compare that to how I hear (or don't) the same thing/piece of music.
Mutual learning from sharing experiences is that not what we are doing here?

[SPS]

Nice post tony...


Mutual learning from sharing experiences is that not what we are doing here?

spot on...

[lexi]

I consider myself fortunate in that I don`t obsess about it all or desire meaning from it. The music and an insight into the recording is all I ask.

Sure I have preferences for a type of presentation on a certain type of music. This will probably be biased toward my chosen colourations and the systems which have been my reference through continual useage rather than choice.

I could probably take any of the gear that guys are using here and live happily with it. I would probably adjust to it in days or weeks............see I told you I was easy pleased . I can enjoy listening to the meagre limitations of a budget system trying to extract information in it`s puny way. A bit like watching an old film and seeing the faults in the direction production and editing etc.

There is also the study of the gear itself. Some stuff is beautifully made and I like that in all things.

The storys of guys building their systems is always interesting. It`s good to see people getting a buzz from the music through the gear.......it`s a better way to spend money than car depreciation aint it?. Lastly I think Music /Hi Fi is a great interest in the cold and dark winters we get. Tuck yourself in with it all and let winter go by.

[Steve Toy]

Lastly I think Music /Hi Fi is a great interest in the cold and dark winters we get. Tuck yourself in with it all and let winter go by.

...and in the glorious summer months many of us are still at it!

[nat8808]

Hi,

I only got to page 7 before feeling I should really stop reading forums and get on with my tax return so appologies if repeat anything.

My recent realisation, admission if you will, is that I enjoy music just as much while listening to the radio in bed through headphones as I do when sitting in front of my latest hi-fi purchase. What I enjoy about hifi is separate from the music, not necessarily separate from sound but separate from the human art form of music. You often see the same amongst musicians too - they can enthuse about the music, feel the emotion etc through the cheapest of hifi set-ups, read some old Stereophile interviews with promenant musicians as examples.

From this realisation, I can relax! I know I will always enjoy the music whatever. Finding the hifi combination that produces the ear candy that I also enjoy (creating an aural virtual reality in my living room that you can almost touch) combined with build quality and aesthetics can take as long as I want, box swapping for changes' sake. It is strangly relaxing and a relief to realise that for me it is just an obsession, a hobby, that ultimately I could drop if I had to - I just choose not to.

I've just been on holiday, travelling for six weeks, and the freedom from hifi thoughts felt sooo good and I can better seperate all this hifi stuff from the enjoyment of music ... so easy to fall back into the same routine again though, ahem.

[nat8808]

I consider myself fortunate in that I don`t obsess about it all or desire meaning from it. The music and an insight into the recording is all I ask.

Sure I have preferences for a type of presentation on a certain type of music. This will probably be biased toward my chosen colourations and the systems which have been my reference through continual useage rather than choice.

I could probably take any of the gear that guys are using here and live happily with it. I would probably adjust to it in days or weeks............see I told you I was easy pleased . I can enjoy listening to the meagre limitations of a budget system trying to extract information in it`s puny way. A bit like watching an old film and seeing the faults in the direction production and editing etc.

There is also the study of the gear itself. Some stuff is beautifully made and I like that in all things.

The storys of guys building their systems is always interesting. It`s good to see people getting a buzz from the music through the gear.......it`s a better way to spend money than car depreciation aint it?. Lastly I think Music /Hi Fi is a great interest in the cold and dark winters we get. Tuck yourself in with it all and let winter go by.

Seems like wot I just wrote had been said already! Except that I do find myself obsessing about the beautifully made stuff...

[lexi]

Well Nat I think I must correct the first line of my post. I think we all obsess and desire meaning from putting a system together............otherwise why would we bother?. I meant it`s not a must have top of my list thing that totally drives my spare time.

If I`m understanding you then it is a good point that the hi fi and search for better sound is a bonus to the music rather than a prerequisite. That is healthy enough. Spare a thought for the other guys who are so keen and having a voracious appetite for discovery in sound and equipment. Why? Because they then have to explain the cost of it to the women who design their listening rooms

[Tony G]

Good stuff Nat and Lexi, I'm with you on those aspects, I can enjoy the tunes on the store PA when working in one (get the irrits when they babble about the latest specials and interrupt something I particularly like) and my car system is no mobile disco, just as long as it does not pick up engine noise or rattle the speakers its fine (must say hard rock when driving is not good for me - I get heavy footed - classical or jazz is better/safer)
My preamp has had me feeling I want to replace it, but for most listening it is OK and provides the flexibility I want WRT input selection (CD, Tuner, Computer, LP) - for really serious listening I bypass it and gain in immediacy and reduced compression.
I can't help tinkering if I think something could be better though
But I'm like that with anything, not just hifi, always have had a problem with knowing when too much was enough