So Can There Be Parallels Between System Building and Your Grandma's Cooking?

Grandma didn't need to overthink every detail, parsing every ingredient to text book perfection. She had no need to get on the party line and crow about her technique. She just did it, selflessly for others. Maybe it was not perfect but is was exactly right, every time. I could not compare with her, nor would I try.
 
...You can pick gear or accessories that check certain boxes. The right power, the right number and size of drivers, the right specs, the right pedigree, or the right price. Yet its how you combine those ingredients that result in something that is special...

For some it may be the deft and stylish combination of essential component parts, all bought for various justifiable reasons. Some were emotional decisions, some recommendations from others you trust, others essential items to gain entry into the audiophile's playpen, and perhaps other pieces simply bought on a whim. Some very rare purchases may even be based on actual measured technical performance.

Combine the endless variety of 'accessories' and one can create a completely unique and tailored experience that is mathematically unlikely to be used by anyone else. That combination is indeed 'special' to you but only because you believe you created it.

But realistically it's no different the girl who shops for a new dress for an event, buys shoes at another store, gets her hair and nails done at her favorite salon, picks a necklace, earrings and bracelet and has her makeup done to create something that makes her feel special and unique. She feels like a fashion goddess walking into that event in her bespoke combination. That is, until she sees the tablecloths on all the tables have the exactly same fabric as her dress.

System building is not a black 'art'. There are no 'gurus' in the field. There are no magical qualities to it. Components either work together or they don't and the reasons for that are easily quantified through measurements and technical parameters. Well designed, competently engineered high fidelity gear is not fussy- poorly designed gear is.
 
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As my old Polish busia always said ... make sure you have plenty of headroom ... ;-}

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See why you gotta go there? There will be no invites for you to Pig-Topia. Its where all the cool people hang out. It's good to be a tropical pig.

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Cheers
Mister Pig
 
For some it may be the deft and stylish combination of essential component parts, all bought for various justifiable reasons. Some were emotional decisions, some recommendations from others you trust, others essential items to gain entry into the audiophile's playpen, and perhaps other pieces simply bought on a whim. Some very rare purchases may even be based on actual measured technical performance.

Combine the endless variety of 'accessories' and one can create a completely unique and tailored experience that is mathematically unlikely to be used by anyone else. That combination is indeed 'special' to you but only because you believe you created it.

But realistically it's no different the girl who shops for a new dress for an event, buys shoes at another store, gets her hair and nails done at her favorite salon, picks a necklace, earrings and bracelet and has her makeup done to create something that makes her feel special and unique. She feels like a fashion goddess walking into that event in her bespoke combination. That is, until she sees the tablecloths on all the tables have the exactly same fabric as her dress.

System building is not a black 'art'. There are no 'gurus' in the field. There are no magical qualities to it. Components either work together or they don't and the reasons for that are easily quantified through measurements and technical parameters. Well designed, competently engineered high fidelity gear is not fussy- poorly designed gear is.

Actually restorer-john and I agree about absolutely nothing in life it appears, and probably never will.
 
Actually restorer-john and I agree about absolutely nothing in life it appears, and probably never will.

Without musicians, there would be no music. Without engineers, there would be no high fidelity at all. But without pigs, there would be no bacon. Surely we can agree on that?

I have absolutely no problem with disagreement as long as it's respectful, articulate and serves to create discussion, thought, and perhaps a little discourse.

In AFL football, we have a saying: "play the ball, not the man."
 
Everyone in the big family are good cooks and bakers. Except Dad, great cook lousy baker. And me, no imagination. They are all curios and don't use recipes. It's never the same. Once in a blue moon they serve up a dud, but rarely does anything go to trash. They all know what they're doing. And argue about it with the kitchen packed while doing it. It's fun to watch.
The only connection to their cooking and my audio is curiosity. Because the success rate is very different. They have decades of experience. I don't.
Now getting all there is to get out of a go fast boat is another story. I have lots of successful private recipes and even more combos waiting to be tested.
 
I had to check and see if I was in the humor forum, seeing Mr.Pig bloviate about cooking. Conflict of interest? Deception to make folks lean toward beef or venison?
Either way, a definite parallel, and I see the point.
Honey, I'm suddenly hungry, wanna go out?
 
I can agree...
This is why I love the TECHNICS SA receivers and the OHM Acoustics together, the
"Recipe Combination" work's!

My mother and my grandmother were the best cooks of my lifetime.

.No equal.
 
Without musicians, there would be no music. Without engineers, there would be no high fidelity at all. But without pigs, there would be no bacon. Surely we can agree on that?

I have absolutely no problem with disagreement as long as it's respectful, articulate and serves to create discussion, thought, and perhaps a little discourse.

In AFL football, we have a saying: "play the ball, not the man."

There is another Ak saying that works equally well.

Ignore the man. So it is.

Cheers
Mister Pig
 
No magic? No guru?

Most of us here have probably been, or now are, someone's audio guru. A small handful of people have even used the word referring to me, in the past. Many of you even more so, I'm sure. Of course, I did not see myself that way, being much too aware of the finite numbers of brands and models of the best gear that I had never even seen, much less heard. And I knew the best-sounding systems I'd heard then were the result of someone else's efforts, not my own.

How many filaments did Edison try before he finally found something that worked well? How many hours, days, weeks or months of failure did he endure before he got lucky?

Many enthusiasts have persisted, with part perspiration and part inspiration, in putting together a system that takes one's breath away, in their space. Often they went through a lot of gear to get the SQ they sought. It's more than just looking at THD, RMS, frequency response and graphs - more than just specs on paper. When you hear it, it sounds almost magical, and that enthusiast seems a guru. But he just got lucky, didn't he? Like Edison.

Or like mom, who's cooking is hard to duplicate even with the recipe in hand.
 
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See why you gotta go there? There will be no invites for you to Pig-Topia. Its where all the cool people hang out. It's good to be a tropical pig.

Hey, don't blame me ... it's my dead busha that's the culprit here - nothing went to waste in her kitchen. I make a more civilized "headcheese" here, using pork butt - both the other end of the spectrum, and yes, the other end of the pig as well.

Although I do remember we used to fight over who'd get a slice with an eyeball in it ... ;)

PS ... another of grannie's favorites ... hocks 'n kraut! I prefer my hocks hairy ... self flossing, doncha know!

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I'm in agreement in a way.... I do not believe that specs tell much though they are a useful indicator. What I find far more useful is equipment reviews and I've focussed on two things in my systems: musicality and transparency so that's the information I'm looking for in a review. Without a few musical sounding pieces a system can end up analytical and transparency allows you to see deeper into the music.

Sure there are other qualities though those are my main two. If I don't like a piece I'll tweak cables, tubes etc and live with it a bit. If I think it has potential it may drive further purchases to get the most from it and if not it will either be sold or donated to a mates system.

There have been a few miss-steps though overall I've come out ahead. Most recently I've been blown away by the difference a power conditioner can make . Just incredible.

I'm not sure that it's a craft or an art, though it's not really a science either. Rather a combination of the two as their are plenty of great measuring gear sounds like complete "crap" and likewise less well measuring gear that sounds wonderful. What our ears tell us is far more important than the measurements after all.

In a way I think part of the reason many (myself included) are emotionally invested in our systems is the time researching, tweaking, buying and the fact that there's not likely to be anyone else in the world running the exact same combination of components, cables, interconnects as we are.

I love my system, though love my wife far more.... I don't know how I could live without either in my life though ;)
 
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