Crossroads...some truths

Bear with me, please. This is stream of consciousness stuff.

I'm having a bit of a battle inside my head.

I like finding and acquiring gear...I spend more time thinking about the stuff than actually listening to music. Don't get me wrong, I love listening to music. I just don't sequester myself from the family for long periods to do it. Nor do I critically listen - can't not be doing something else while listening. That said, I do want my music to sound good, but my 'good' is not as demanding as some folks'.

Counting little T-amp stuff, I could put together about six rigs, including four turntables. That's ridiculous for me...I barely listen to two.

I've got a tube amp that sound fantastic, but my average listening session is only about 30 minutes. The amp hardly warms up before I'm shutting everything down and moving on to something else.

Logically, I know that it's time to whittle down to one stereo upstairs and one in the office...but I'm torn. What stays? What goes?

I've acquired some nice pieces from fellow AKers. Some fellow AKers have given freely of their time to get some pieces up to snuff. Is it an insult to part ways with these things?

Can I be cured?

We've all felt this as well. I have a ridiculous amount of stuff, simply because in the early '80's, I would salivate over it, knowing I could never own it.

Now I can.

Does that mean I should?

I have let go some of my stuff, but still have about 4 tt's, 8 or so receivers/amps/ and I think 13 or 14 pair of good speakers, and countless little stuff.

Hell, I have TWO minidisc players, 4 broken cassette players, and 3 working ones.

At some point, I think we all whittle down the stuff.

No easy answer. It is a nice problem, tho...:yes:

This is a theme that seems to have passed though AK several times this last year. Personally, I am not a hoarder, collector, or a person interested in owning tons of gear. I like to experiment a bit, and there are many things that catch my attention. But I don't buy them unless it improves my system.

I only own one system, and work at refining it and moving it forward. I got a decent amount of cash tied up into it, but its not really over the top. I get a lot of enjoyment out of the music, and I don't have to work at swapping things in and out to hear different presentations. I can understand the need for a second system, and in some ways my car audio system might fit that bill.

In your case I think I would keep the components that offer the best sound. After all you take your best girl to the big dance, and let the others stay home. Kick the pretenders to the curb. Or do as others have done, create a strategy for a system upgrade, and then sell and trade all the extra gear until you build up an audio kitty that allows you to afford the gear that moves you down the path of your audio journey.

This takes some introspection, listening to other system configurations, research, and evaluation to understand where you want to go. Then stop for awhile when you get to a point where the music is sublime, and rest and enjoy the fruits of your labor. A time may come again where you wish to journey farther down the audio path, and then you may have the resources, experience, and determination to go further.

Just a barnyard animals opinion. If you want another one go ask the cows. Don't talk to the chickens as fowl cannot be trusted to tell the truth.

Regards
Mister Pig

This cat's with the pigs advice on your dilemma.

I was in a similar situation (spend a bit more time listening than you descibe).
Letting go of (my own) attachment and prejudice towards the stuff I'd managed to pile up during the years and truly being honest in finding the best sounding gear I had and letting go of the rest has been a difficult but very rewarding trip for me, with quite a surprising outcome..

Starting my vacation today. Wont have to go back to the den of delusion till january. I left yesterday with a pack on my back thats heavy and burdensome. My head feels like its packed tight with cotton and burlap. Crossroads caught my attention this morning, like a familiar voice in a crowd.

Music is a salvation. On a cold morning, with my cigarettes and coffee, and a bit of Leonard Cohen creeping through my house, i can see.

I built my newest system with money i received for forced overtime and foolish decisions made by people i dont respect. Money that was there because i was to tired to even spend it.

I needed to build this.

Its become not about the system. But about the subliminal effect of music always playing in the background, not unlike rain song.

If you put your efforts into one system, built with knowledge, love, and a bit of curiosity, it pays because your listening to your soul.

Audiophiles get knocked because of the amount they spend on cables, but the hidden secret is they look at it like putting used sneakers with holes upon there childrens feet, they just want to do the best they can with what they have. Love is giving, and only the best will do.

I'm a bit melancholy today, and with my cigarettes and coffee, and a bit of leonard Cohen creeping through my house, i can see.

There is no cure - sorry - not really - just enjoy it

nicely put --@H@B-->

It's not about the end, it's about the journey.

I made the decision this year that if I don't use it, I give it away to friends and family. If they don't want it, I sell some and give the rest back to GW and SA, where most of it came from anyway. Returned in better condition than I got it in most cases. And that makes me feel good too.

My apologies for seemingly abandoning my own thread.

Starting to get things right in my mind. Time to couple sage swine advice with the John Theory (eliminate redundancy).

My norm has been to use a piece until the next shiny thing came along. In all honesty, I've never really listened to an entire setup long enough to develop an opinion or figure out what could/should be improved. Always changing something, but without any real plan for improvement.

So, the trimming has begun. Still have a few more things to let go, but there's real progress.

I'll live with what I have for awhile. Listen and learn and work on a plan rather than just seek out the next 'score'.

don't sweat not being able to sit down and actually listen for long periods of time. just power it up, play it loud, and do whatever it is you got to do around the house. i have a biamped tube mac setup with altec speakers that spends most of its time playing music off the radio while we do chores. oh the blasphemy right? its better that it gets enjoyed on a regular basis in some form than it sits there never powered up.

as far as the clutter, its part of the hobby for some of us. some of us just like to tinker, some of us like to try out different pieces for the heck of it. i have yet to personally meet another audio geek that doesn't have a pile of unused gear. i know they exist but i haven't met one yet.

i hit the "time to purge" wall earlier this year.

Me too.

I acquired a lot in the last couple of years as I learned, but hit some kind of plateau over the last few months and am ready to winnow. I know, roughly, what I like and what I can use. Most important, I don't seem to have the "I can't get rid of it because it could mean something some day" impulse at the moment - otherwise known as the hoarder's lament.

I have a gone a week without turning on a stereo. I have varied interests that sap my pocketbook-machining, woodworking, etc. keeping everything around here alive. 79 acres of land. Yet I'm still prowling for equipment. The real problem arises when I DO turn on a stereo. The volume starts at 2 and winds up at 8, and I want MORE! Eventually (10-15 years from now), I'm going to let go, and just keep one decent stereo, and a few old radios, and some test equipment.

Purged a year ago, save for a few monster receivers and my daily rig. Life is better.

"I've never really listened to an entire setup long enough to develop an opinion or figure out what could/should be improved."

So- do that now. Take the time to do it, with the goal of keeping one (or two or three) assembled systems. Swap the gear and speakers in and out- find the sweet spots and the synergy- that should be fun! Then decide what stays and what goes.

As someone who has "evolved" to only 2 systems, I can say that the freedom to simply collect and enjoy the music far surpasses the thrill of collecting the gear- at least everyone I know who's done it (including me) has found it so. Now if some ESS AMT rock monitors pop up cheap, or another nice tube preamp, I may succumb- but until then it's simply .

Retirement and cold upstate New York winters lends itself to plenty of listening and tinkering time.

mfhale, I think I know how you feel!

I became so addicted to this hobby it nearly drove me nuts. Every second of the day I thought about what I could do to improve my system. I mortgaged against my house to buy gear I thought would bring me peace and fulfillment. Dynaudio S1.4's, Primare A33.2, Triode corp valve pre-amp, 6 sets of expensive speakers, 5 different amps, an expensive TT, 2 expensive CD players all in 4 years!! Did it bring me calm? no! I sold it all because all it did was make me feel bad and I didn't feel engaged.

The medicine to all the problem was DIY It fixed everything. I went to the hardware store and bought a router, electric plane, skill saw, rasps etc. I built, modified and tweaked my own speakers then bought a Garrard 401 and built the plinth after hours of research, built a uni-pivot arm, bought the Dayens Ampino because 6moons said it was good and I believe his recommendations. I built my rack, speaker stands, isolation footers and other bits and bobs. I buy much more music now and listen to it. Why is this different? Because I can hear my efforts and I love it. Engagement, fulfillment, and night sleeps without dreaming of components and speakers DIY helps the HiFi blues!

mfhale said:

I like finding and acquiring gear...I spend more time thinking about the stuff than actually listening to music. Don't get me wrong, I love listening to music. I just don't sequester myself from the family for long periods to do it. Nor do I critically listen - can't not be doing something else while listening. That said, I do want my music to sound good, but my 'good' is not as demanding as some folks'.

Click to expand...

First off, I don't think you need to be worried about this. Unless you really need the cash or need to clear up some space, there's no reason you have to sell all the gear you're not using at the moment. And I think it's important to listen to music in the way that you want to. I wouldn't concern myself with any preconceived notions of how an audiophile should listen to his stereo. It's your gear and your record collection - listen to it in a way that makes you happy. You don't need to satisfy anyone else. Listen when you have time and when you feel like it. And if you enjoy the thrill of the "hunt" and finding a score, by all means go for it. Nothing wrong with being a gearhead.

That being said, it is well worth the effort to get accustomed to focusing on the music. I come from a generation that's constantly overstimulated and multitasking. I used to never just listen to music. I was always on the computer, reading, drawing, writing, whatever, with the stereo on in the background. I thought I loved music, but I was never really giving it my full attention. Think about it: you don't go to the movie theater and take a book to read at the same time as the movie is playing. Or if you did, you'd get a half-assed experience of both the book and the movie. So when I got into hi-fi, it took a real effort for me to sit down and just listen to the music. But I was rewarded so greatly for doing so, with a whole new experience of songs I'd heard a hundred times before - details and notes and even entire instrument parts I'd never noticed before. This was of course partially due to having a far better stereo than I'd ever had before, but a lot due to simply devoting my full attention to the act of listening. It's a form of meditation, really. It's not like my mind never wanders, and that's fine. I'm just suggesting you give yourself time and give more involved listening a try.

Happy listening!

To the OP: You're at a crossroads, all right; a point on a path that many of us in this hobby encounter, sooner or later, if a general trend in posts here (and personal experience, in my case, too) are to be believed.

There must be some common roots in human psychology that underpin it, for so many of us to go through the same things. (I won't belabor this thread with my theories on the roots of this cycle.) Let it be...go with the flow of it, and begin divesting yourself of what you can and believe you should.

We CHOOSE to buy gear. We choose to buy some gear and not other gear. We can choose to buy less, to stop buying, or to sell off gear. The lifestyle we have --cluttered with gear everywhere, or kept company by one good system --or a few-- is the result of our repeated choices.

It may help you to think about what lifestyle you really want, what suits you best. Then make the little choices that will support that larger choice. Next time you see something that you "think is a bargain" or "is worth hearing" or "needs to be saved" or "(insert your favorite excuse for buying here)", you can choose to walk away, instead. After all, NOT buying something can be as positive an action as buying something, if ultimately it contributes to your getting the eventual lifestyle that you really want. Similarly, selling off or giving away an item of gear can be a positive choice that moves you closer to your highest goal. Sometimes, less is truly more.

I love gear, and have had a great deal of fun hunting it out, but a while back I reached a point where there was simply too much gear in our modest downtown apartment, for the available space. It was getting too difficult to keep it all in rotation as some stacks of gear in the storage room blocked other stacks behind them. I was never caught up with restoration projects, which came in faster than I could complete them, and the growing piles of gear were starting to put a strain on my marriage.

At that point, the negative sides of having all that gear outweighed the positives, and going on down that path any further was just not worth it, I decided. I realized that stacks and stacks of gear --at least without a nice warehouse-sized space in which to organize, display and enjoy it-- was not the lifestyle I wanted, and wouldn't bring me greater happiness. I was not ready to go get that kind of space, and knew that I'd be just as happy with one really superb system and a small, choice collection of only the best pieces I could find, so I started downsizing, keeping only the best pieces, and peeling the others off like layers of an onion.

I'm not finished with the process --actually still far from it, but very little new stuff comes in now, and the rate it goes out is steadily increasing. I feel good about the progress made in clearing out the "clutter" gear, and am enjoying what is left, all the more. The process has spilled over to other areas of my life, too: I've also been downsizing and decluttering things like books, papers, clothes, decorations... it feels good, sort of lighter and freer, to own less "stuff" and have more space in one's life!

Be willing to change: doing something differently today than how you did it yesterday doesn't mean that you were wrong before. It just means you did what was appropriate for you then, learned something that needed to be learned, and moved on. That's what life and learning should be, and it's a process that shouldn't have to end when we reach some age that is considered "adult".

The feelings and questions you are experiencing are part of a process that MANY here go through. Accept it as a part of being human. Learn what you can about yourself from the experience, and enjoy the ride --it's a nice sign that you are still alive, and very human.

i think the trick is to only keep the stuff you enjoy using or are proud to own in your 'living' space...:scratch2:but every now and then i fall off the wagon..