Dirty New Shirt VS Clean but Slightly Bleached Shirt

[Worf101]

My problem is this. I'm old enough to have been around when "Hi Fi" challenged mono. I was also in the park when stereo supplanted both. But musical fidelity wasn't even a concept to us as we were busy dancing and singing along to portable record players with quarters strapped to the back of the tone arm. I know/knew analog was imperfect when we played certain .45's so long the grooves literally seemed to disappear but it was all we had till Cassettes and 8 tracks came along. They lasted what seemed a hot minute, well mebbe longer in terms of Cassettes, before being cast aside in favor of a new, all digital media, the CD.

I'm not nostalgic for the "good old days" of analog because for me, there were no good ole days, just varying levels of snap, crackle, pop, drone and whirr. I've never heard a world class analog set up. Perhaps one day I will, but until I do the question is moot. I prefer my music without bacon frying in the background, simple as that.

Worf

[Luvin Da Blues]

I think I see the problem with your attempts at vinyl playback.

.......... as we were busy dancing and singing along to portable record players with quarters strapped to the back of the tone arm...............just varying levels of snap, crackle, pop, drone and whirr.

Worf

[Ajani]

My problem is this. I'm old enough to have been around when "Hi Fi" challenged mono. I was also in the park when stereo supplanted both. But musical fidelity wasn't even a concept to us as we were busy dancing and singing along to portable record players with quarters strapped to the back of the tone arm. I know/knew analog was imperfect when we played certain .45's so long the grooves literally seemed to disappear but it was all we had till Cassettes and 8 tracks came along. They lasted what seemed a hot minute, well mebbe longer in terms of Cassettes, before being cast aside in favor of a new, all digital media, the CD.

I'm not nostalgic for the "good old days" of analog because for me, there were no good ole days, just varying levels of snap, crackle, pop, drone and whirr. I've never heard a world class analog set up. Perhaps one day I will, but until I do the question is moot. I prefer my music without bacon frying in the background, simple as that.

Worf

Those are good points... Often when audiophiles talk about the 'superior' sound of analog and tubes they are referring to state of the art/ultra expensive gear... Then they claim the mass market is deaf for preferring digital and SS... Yet they neglect that in the price ranges the mass market shop, Digital and SS sound far superior to the analog and tube alternatives of the day... an iPod sounds far superior to the Sony Walkman I had as a child...

[pixelthis]

Those are good points... Often when audiophiles talk about the 'superior' sound of analog and tubes they are referring to state of the art/ultra expensive gear... Then they claim the mass market is deaf for preferring digital and SS... Yet they neglect that in the price ranges the mass market shop, Digital and SS sound far superior to the analog and tube alternatives of the day... an iPod sounds far superior to the Sony Walkman I had as a child...

What AM I going to do with you? Send you back to audiophile 101, I GUESS.
Thanks to a little thing called diminishing returns the difference between a 10,000
system and a 100,000 system is less than you might think.
It takes a few grand to go from HTIB to a decent system with 95% of all of the performance
you will ever get, and about another 100,000$ to get a few more percent. You never will
get perfection, just chipping away a few fractions of a percent at higher and higher cost.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN mass market and a system that cost the annual
budget of Norway, not that much.
and this applies to everything, my 13 year old car can do around 140 if I WANT TO RISK MY LIFE, a shiny new Corvette can clear 200 MPH, a difference of 60 MPH, AND THE DIFFERENCE in 0 to 60 is around four seconds.
THE DIFFERENCE IN PRICE is fifty grand.

[Ajani]

What AM I going to do with you? Send you back to audiophile 101, I GUESS.
Thanks to a little thing called diminishing returns the difference between a 10,000
system and a 100,000 system is less than you might think.
It takes a few grand to go from HTIB to a decent system with 95% of all of the performance
you will ever get, and about another 100,000$ to get a few more percent. You never will
get perfection, just chipping away a few fractions of a percent at higher and higher cost.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN mass market and a system that cost the annual
budget of Norway, not that much.
and this applies to everything, my 13 year old car can do around 140 if I WANT TO RISK MY LIFE, a shiny new Corvette can clear 200 MPH, a difference of 60 MPH, AND THE DIFFERENCE in 0 to 60 is around four seconds.
THE DIFFERENCE IN PRICE is fifty grand.

Thanks for providing the segue for a contentious point I've been thinking of bringing into this thread: Diminishing Returns

My opinion on Diminishing Returns has changed a lot in the last 5 years... I remember JM and I agreeing in a thread I started on the topic back then, that diminishing returns for a CD player starts at about $300 with the Marantz CD5001... Flash forward 5 years and both JM and I own $1K digital sources....

I think there is no fixed point of diminishing returns... And here is where my view gets really contentious; I actually think it has less to do with sound quality and more to do with disposable income...

In other words, the more disposable income you can allocate to this hobby, the higher the price point you declare that 'diminishing returns' kicks in...

NOTE: I am not talking about Income... as many persons make the ridiculous assumption that someone is poor because they own a humble Rotel, NAD or Emotiva amp... I am talking about the money you are able to spend on this hobby after dealing with all your financial commitments (paying off the mortgage on the house or mansion, yacht, BMW, kid's college, etc) and all your other expensive hobbies (wine tasting, fine dining, luxury watches) and also what your spouse will allow you to spend or else she'll divorce you....

I think it's why a lot of audiophiles are suddenly able to 'enjoy the music' when they've spent like $30K on a setup... They know they can't justify the expense required to reach the next level to a spouse or are unwilling to sell the BMW or give up their other hobbies, so they realize that they've found audio nirvana at that price point... Yet check on them 5 years later, when they've accumulated some more cheddar and suddenly it's time to upgrade some part of their perfect setup...

[kexodusc]

I prefer my music without bacon frying in the background, simple as that.

Worf

(spews coffee all over laptop) You son of a...you owe me one shiny new MacBook Pro.


There's still a few weeks left, but early in Round 12, Worf lands a strong left hook in the fight for Quote of the Year.

Someone get me some napkins.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

(spews coffee all over laptop) You son of a...you owe me one shiny new MacBook Pro.


There's still a few weeks left, but early in Round 12, Worf lands a strong left hook in the fight for Quote of the Year.

Someone get me some napkins.

Here Kex,(hands over the napkins). I am mad as hell at worf, he just made me so hungry with the bacon comment. I love bacon.....damn I want some.....I HATE YOU WORF!

[GMichael]

(spews coffee all over laptop) You son of a...you owe me one shiny new MacBook Pro.


There's still a few weeks left, but early in Round 12, Worf lands a strong left hook in the fight for Quote of the Year.

Someone get me some napkins.

What a mess.

[Worf101]

(spews coffee all over laptop) You son of a...you owe me one shiny new MacBook Pro.


There's still a few weeks left, but early in Round 12, Worf lands a strong left hook in the fight for Quote of the Year.

Someone get me some napkins.

Sorry muh man didn't mean to cause spewage, jest makin' a point. Thanks for the love though. But lets be honest, that's what most .45's sounded like after about 10 or so trips through the ringer.

Errr. Sir TT. I gave up pork for about 10 years after getting sick once in the Army from a booby trapped pork chop (no lie). I could resist all manner of porkage but bacon always gave me trouble.... it just smells so..... damn..... good.... (slobber, smeck, drool). When I finally caved and started swallowing swine again you can guess what I started with... A heaping pile of salty, crispy, sizzlin' and scrumptious bacon.

Sorry for the thread jack. Man ah'm hongry.

Worf

[GMichael]

A heaping pile of salty, crispy, sizzlin' and scrumptious bacon.

Sorry for the thread jack. Man ah'm hongry.

Worf

Awwww man! Some of us are on a diet you know.

[pixelthis]

Awwww man! Some of us are on a diet you know.

I heard about your "diet"...something dies YOU EAT IT(die-eat, get it?).
Ahhem.

[GMichael]

I heard about your "diet"...something dies YOU EAT IT(die-eat, get it?).
Ahhem.

Sounds like The Roadkill Cafe. You kill it, we grill it.