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Being Satisfied in this Hobby

audioman356

audioman356

Member
I struggle with being satisfied in this hobby. In writing this I realize I have to take the long view as far as investing in pieces of gear. I've gone from a vintage Sansui 5000A to an Audiosource AMP100, and then to an Onkyo TX8260 in my main system. I've also upgraded my speakers from KEF F15 bookshelves to Infinity R253s. So my system is evolving even If I need to take the slow and steady approach.

I've heard it said, here the only person your system needs to make happy is you. This makes sense. If I take the long view, I realize I"m making slow and steady progress. I'm learning my taste for receivers/integrated amps instead of separates. I tried the separates path with the AMP100 and it just wasn't for me. I've had the privilege of hearing a high end tube separates system. This beast had a vintage Conrad Johnson Premier paired with it's matching preamp driving a pair of Celestions. My friend's Dads. So I know how far one can take so-called high fidelity. But there are other priorities in my life personally that are more important to me than constanly obessing over my Hi-Fi. I"m also a musican it's in this area of my life where I spend the big bucks on gear. It's so much more fun to spend money on gear that aids in the creative process. I mean let's be honest, the hi-fi hobby is more like wine tasting than anything else.

Thoughts?
 
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The main roadblock to audio satisfaction is the quality of the music recorded and mastered, whether you have a million dollar system or a $1000 system. That is why nobody on earth could ever be anywhere close to 100% satisfied, no matter how much money and effort is spent.

On the bright side, I believe it is just an order of magnitude cheaper and easier to assemble a good to great sounding system now compared to 10-15 years ago. Lossless music streaming has opened up excellent musical discoveries, and the performance/price ratio of better class D amplification and DAC technology has made this hobby much more affordable. The all-crucial speaker/room interface still requires a lot of effort to get right, but there have been great advances in DIY/kit arena, including the open-baffle alternatives, and DSP crossover/room correction. Exciting times if one has the will.
 
I have a class D Fosi driving my KEFs in my bedroom. That system is lots of fun. I often fall asleep to it. Or listen to it when I'm struggling with insomnia. A good friend told me, when he was struggling with gear acquisition syndrome, someone told him it's all about the music. And yes, your point about mastering is well taken. There's nothing that'll make my copy of Staind's Break the Cycle sound good. And you're right class D has really changed the game. Also. powered speakers entering the consumer market beyond computer speakers. I mean all you need today is a phone and pair of powered speakers and you're set. An old school component rack could be see as outdated. Heck it probably is by Gen Z.
 
audioman356 said:
I struggle with being satisfied in this hobby.
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if you want the real satisfaction then invest in tools and knowledge and design and build your own speakers.

ditto with repairing gear.

there is nothing more satisfying to me than sitting back to a 100db jam with gear i repaired,restored,designed and built.

not everyone can do this but if you can, it is the way to go.

i lied. there is another level: when you invite people over to hear it and they are blown away. :biggrin:
 
I've wanted to start doing this. I've watched youtube videos of techs repairing gear. I call it a nerd cooking show. I also started watching basic electronics videos. Gotta get back to that. I totally know what you mean. I've been building my own computers since I was 17. Of course compared to home audio, that's just adult Legos.
 
audioman356 said:
I've been building my own computers
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yeah, that's part of the path for people of a certain age. that will help train you with following procedures in specific orders. at least it did 15 years ago when you had to install hardware and drivers in specific order to make everything play nice together. now you can just install all the hardware and the pc does it all in order itself. definately took the challenge out of it.

i assume thats why anyone can built and setup a computer nowadays.

windows practically installs itself anymore. we just have to go back and yank out the stupid **** they installed.:mad:
 
It seems that there are degrees of satisfaction with music reproduction that vary with an enthusiast’s awareness of what is possible and how to achieve it. I could have saved a whole lot of money over the years if I’d had a more well-defined idea of where I was trying to get to. As it was, I really didn’t know what I was looking for until I got there by changing this or that, which is a pretty inefficient way to proceed. The more varied systems a person can listen to in the process of building that awareness (and the more knowledgeable people they can talk with) the shorter the path to getting there. I think it important though to recognize that what is really being pursued is an inner vision unique to the individual. As you say, the only person it has to please is you, but you have to know what you’re looking for in order to be satisfied that you’ve arrived there.

audioman356 said:
I mean let's be honest, the hi-fi hobby is more like wine tasting than anything else.
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Listening to music on a really good rig can be an immersive experience that even the best wine can‘t touch, although there are certainly similarities in the diminishing returns aspect. :thumbsup:
 
I’d say “happy” is a relative term. Means different things to different people.

Me? I’m running a Sansui 8080DB (I repaired/rebuilt), a couple Dual tables, a rather simple sony 50cd box, a relatively unknown 10 band eq and a pioneer ct-f750 cassette.

And (gasp!) Polk rti-a5’s and a Polk psw-111 sub.

Assorted little bits and pieces tying it all together.

Not ultra high end by any means, but I’m satisfied with it. Does what I want it to do.

Does that mean I won’t try something else like speakers if I run across a decent set?

Of course not!

But that will be a “want” to try it, not a feeing of “need” to chase something better.

I’m actually kind of grateful I came to this point. No more gear hoarding, money only goes out when I’m comfortable doing it instead of some sensation of need (which almost always means I’m spending money I really shouldn’t be).

What I’m saying is only you can decide when “enough’s enough”.

It’s a mental state. Some never get there and thats ok too. Some people enjoy the chase more than the “having”.

;)
 
I've found that the key to being happy with your system is to listen for what it does well and not what it does not do well.

No system is perfect and focusing on any system's weaknesses will make the listener unhappy. "I wish this had more air." "I wish this had more bass."

No replacement system will be perfect either. They all have their weaknesses.

I suppose if money was unlimited, one could create the "perfect" system, but if so, why do the dolts who buy the mega-bucks gear reviewed in Stereophile not stop at their first $50,000 amplifier?
 
Hammett said:
I suppose if money was unlimited, one could create the "perfect" system, but if so, why do the dolts who buy the mega-bucks gear reviewed in Stereophile not stop at their first $50,000 amplifier?
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Most eventually become somewhat bored with things they have after enjoying them for a period of time. That often leads to less time spent on the hobby. Regardless of price, buying something different and sometimes even the thought of getting something different is what's needed to renew interest in the hobby. It's happened to me a number of times and for the time being, I'm not bored. But depending on how much time I have left, I won't be surprised if it eventually hits me again.
 
No, they are dolts because of the law of diminishing returns. I've been a reader of Stereophile since the 1980s and I find it amusing, but also ridiculous.

If I need to drop $90k on a pair of Linn Klimax Solo 800 amps to enjoy music, the problem is not my system.

I feel absolutely no urge whatsoever to go down that path.
 
I'm not trying to achieve some form of audio nirvana, just something that sounds good to me playing the music I like.
Because of that, I have not gone through a lot of gear over the years.

But recent retirement has allowed me some time to play around. I got a DSP-408 and a UMIK-1 to go along with REW that I downloaded. I also took the Class-D plunge and got two Fosi V3's and am using the DSP-408 to actively bi-amp with GFA555 II.
 
Hammett said:
No, they are dolts because of the law of diminishing returns. I've been a reader of Stereophile since the 1980s and I find it amusing, but also ridiculous.

If I need to drop $90k on a pair of Linn Klimax Solo 800 amps to enjoy music, the problem is not my system.

I feel absolutely no urge whatsoever to go down that path.
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So I see my observation was probably correct.

Stating one's opinion as fact about how others spend their money is sometimes a thing here.

To the thread, it's a journey for some. I have been rolling new and old crap since the early 80's. I am completely happy with my current systems of new gears in my sig. I also kept some of the old crap I am fond of.
 
Hammett said:
No, they are dolts because of the law of diminishing returns. I've been a reader of Stereophile since the 1980s and I find it amusing, but also ridiculous.

If I need to drop $90k on a pair of Linn Klimax Solo 800 amps to enjoy music, the problem is not my system.

I feel absolutely no urge whatsoever to go down that path.
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I doubt very much if someone who can afford $90k for amps can be defined as being a "dolt". And I bet they have a very different definition of the word than you do when it comes to the audio hobby.
 
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