Why I'm a bad audiophile

[Feanor]

Back to the original topic ...

Feanor -

I actually look at your perspective as common sense. You don't see the value of going beyond a certain price point and performance level, so you do the best within your financial and lifestyle boundaries, and just enjoy the music.
....
In my experience, nothing could be further from the truth. It's just as possible to have a dedicated audiophile who appreciates music, as it is to find an audiophile who chooses their music based strictly on the sound quality. ....

I'm reassured by most of the comments people have made -- even Florian's to an extent. I've never doubted the validity of my own interest. And I think today it's finely balanced between music and sound quality.

One the one hand, if I had more money or fewer other commitments I would indulge myself with fancier equipment. On the other hand I'd buy a lot more music too. The latter is much more important presently and I spending more money there. Though my interest in the hobby goes back 35 years, I almost entirely abandoned it for an interval of almost 15 years. Consequently my music collection is really very small: maybe 400 CD/SACD and 200 LP (which I hardly listen to). I need to get caught up big time!

[E-Stat]

One the one hand, if I had more money or fewer other commitments I would indulge myself with fancier equipment. On the other hand I'd buy a lot more music too.

I think it is sad that discussing our shared passion ends up so contentious. While there are certainly those who parade their expensive systems around like jewelry, most of the audio enthusiasts I know do it for the love of music. I have been blessed for the past thirty years to count two audio reviewers as friends who have given me exposure to gear (and music) I would never have otherwise been able to sample.

How do I say this and convey my true feelings without sounding snobbish? Ok, my main system is worth more than my Acura. There are those who say that audible differences with systems more expensive than that would be so slight as to not make a difference. I assure you this is not the case. I really wish everyone had the chance to hear a system of the caliber found in Seacliff. You would hear your music for the very first time. It is truly a treat.

Having said that, I likely listen more to my vintage Advent based system in the garage than the main one. While you can extract enjoyment from virtually any system, it sure is fun to hear what is possible now and again.

rw

[Feanor]

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There are those who say that audible differences with systems more expensive than that would be so slight as to not make a difference. I assure you this is not the case. ....
rw

Thanks, E-Stat,

Perhaps my "good enough" statement was misleading. I didn't mean to imply that my system was as good as I, (much less another person), need or would like it to be. I only mean to convey that I don't obsess about searching for hypothetical improvements, (unless I am conscious of a specific problem),.

But yes, it's true that I am skeptical about the benefits of costly tweaks such as $1000 power cords. (1) Will there be a significant improvement? (2) Will the expenditure really provide value versus other alternatives, e.g. obtaining more music.

With music, on the contrary, I am always looking for new stuff at least with the broad genre of the classics and jazz.

[E-Stat]

I only mean to convey that I don't obsess about searching for hypothetical improvements...

Neither do I. I evaluate those improvements I know exist through direct experience.

But yes, it's true that I am skeptical about the benefits of costly tweaks such as $1000 power cords. (1) Will there be a significant improvement? (2) Will the expenditure really provide value [

So was I. Until I heard some in my own system for a week. Significant improvement? No. Value? Value lies in the eyes (and wallet) of the beholder. It also depends upon those aspects of the musical experience that are most important to you.

Skeptic was all about flat response. He spent years tweaking his two EQs to get his AR-9s to be flat. Resolution, however, was clearly unimportant to him. While boasting of living in a million dollar house and making over a million dollars in real estate, he chose to use a 1974 H-K Citation preamp (I owned one thirty years ago myself) and a Dynaco ST-120 amp with MOSFETs. To each his own.

As for me, I relate to music not only on an emotional level, but on a mental one as well. It is a way for me to keep my mind busy. Music is always running through my head. As a result, I delight in hearing previously unheard of detail found deeper in my music. The kind that better cables provide. Is that a 5% improvement? 2%? Who knows. It is, however, important to me.

There is far more information "trapped" in recordings that most folks give credit for. Even pop recordings like Madonna. I can still clearly remember first hearing the "Ray of Light" album on HP's incredible system. I had never really heard it before. The image size dissolved the walls. All of the instrumental rhythms were laid bare and revealed in their entirety. I now understand his notion of "authority". Completely effortless sound with significant HF energy - yet not sounding the least bit bright.

rw

[Feanor]

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Value? Value lies in the eyes (and wallet) of the beholder. It also depends upon those aspects of the musical experience that are most important to you.
...
rw

Of necessity, sad to say

What I tend to look for is transparency, viz. detail, spatial clues, separation of voices and instruments, "air" around the performers. I won't sacrifice these for smoothness, depth, bloom or harmonic richness (whatever they are). I do value good frequency response because, as a person reasonably familiar with live accoutic instrument sound, I find flat sounds more like real.

[E-Stat]

What I tend to look for is transparency, viz. detail, spatial clues, separation of voices and instruments, "air" around the performers. I won't sacrifice these for smoothness, depth, bloom or harmonic richness (whatever they are).

You have a really good system that I think is capable of a bit more. Of all the systems in HP's house, there is only one pair of speakers found among the hundreds of thousands of dollars of gear (and cable) that he actually bought with his own money. The envelope please? MG 1.6s. Take this advice or leave it: buy a Monster HTS-1000 conditioner for around $50 US on Ebay and plug everything but the power amp into it.

I recently bought another one for my vintage system. Differences? Subtle to be sure. A bit blacker or quieter. More inner detail. Wisps from vocalizations are more apparent. You can better hear the squeak of strings. Everything sounds a bit less bright. I find the last level of improvement not at all "impressive" sounding in the usual audio cowboy sense of the word. It may not be immediately apparent either. Play your favorite recordings and I think you'll discover those passages where the recording reveals more of itself to you.

That is where I find the joy.

rw

[Florian]

I agree with E-Stat its in the eye of the beholder. Others dont have to agree, but i can hear the differences between the base my DAC sits on. Powercords, speaker cables, amps, preamps, CD Transport and 1in movements. I can hear the difference between capacitors and spools or the solder from Home Depot or Silver solder. I want to reach audio nirvana and will do what it takes to get there. If others dont, thats fine but dont hate those who do.

-Flo

PS: Tweaking is fun, and reaching more and more is part of the hobby for me. I get my joy from that too. Its 3AM in the morning and i just increased the capacitance of my super tweeter from 28uF to 44uF and cant sleep. I listen to music for hrs and hrs non stop and its one hell of a ride.

[Feanor]

You have a really good system that I think is capable of a bit more. Of all the systems in HP's house, there is only one pair of speakers found among the hundreds of thousands of dollars of gear (and cable) that he actually bought with his own money. The envelope please? MG 1.6s. Take this advice or leave it: buy a Monster HTS-1000 conditioner for around $50 US on Ebay and plug everything but the power amp into it.
...
rw

Currently my power delivery chain consists of:

Tripp Lite IS1000 isolation transformer
Belden/Wattgate cable
PS Audio Ultimate Outlet
Belden/Wattgate cable
Bel Canto eVo2i

... same PS Audio
attached cable
Sony SCD-CE775

... same Tripp Lite
attached or 16 g. cables
other components

The Tripp Lite and PS Audio might be effect from a protection point of view, but neither they not the Belden cable made any difference to the sound that I could hear -- then, as I said above, I don't go nuts A/B'ing components listening for tiny differences.


In the past I have had the impression that speaker cables, and even interconnects, have actually made a small difference. But recently I swapped Nordost Flat Line Gold single cables for Monster 14 g. bi-wires, however I heard no difference.