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The Two Most Frustrating Things about Hi-Fi...

JoeESP9 said:
You're bitchin' because your SO wanted to share some audio bliss? We all should be so unlucky. :rflmao:
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No, that's just it; she doesn't want to share the audio bliss. She wants me to turn it down and pay attention to her instead of the music.

Realizing now I'm just sounding like an a-hole. It was meant to be a lighthearted joke.
 
drp1003 said:
How far have you gone down the hi-fi rabbit hole? A mile or two? Hi-Fi Nirvana can be a fickle, illusive thing. I think I've traveled to the fourth or fifth circle of hi-fi hell once or twice. Can I get an amen?

Why is only the left channel of my amplifier making that weird noise? How did I end up with two different length speaker cables? Why do old receivers have spring clip speaker wire harnesses and new amps have banana plugs? Why did Prince have to die so young? My receiver stopped working? Three. Hours. Later. Oh, I accidently threw the TAPE MONITOR switch on! Idiot!

What am I talking about? Frustrating things about Hi-Fi. For me personally, the two most frustrating things about Hi-Fi are.... Drum Roll Please!

1) I can spend hours and hours tweaking the location of my speakers (speaker placement) in order to eek out another ounce of soundstage width and depth. If you ask me, speaker placement is the most important aspect of Hi-Fi. Nothing else even comes close. Speaker placement can make your system sound amazing, better than anything

How far are your speakers away from the back wall, are they equidistant from the side walls, how much toe-in do I need? And how far apart should my speakers be from each other? Did you know you can throw off a perfect stereo image just by accidentally bumping into your speaker and moving it by 1/4 inch? Did you know that you can throw off the center vocals by moving one or the other speaker forward or back by just one millimeter? Did you know that tilting your speaker back can improve soundstage? But how much tilt? One day things sound amazing, the next, vocals of some of my favorite songs have shifted slightly to the right! WTF? You have to keep your amp on all the time, and warmed up, just to maintain a perfect soundstage. Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Lovin' with it's tornado surround sound effects sounded amazing yesterday, why doesn't it sound the same today? Holy hell, pass the Tylenol! I have nightmares about equilateral triangles.

I'm down to controlling temperature and humidity of my listening space, that's how kooky things have gotten! Just kidding - I'm not that crazy... YET!!

2) The second pet peeve is not nearly as bad as the first, but still irks me. And that's RCA cables and the RCA jacks where the cables get plugged into. I've learned to hate this, for the lack of a better term, 'system of getting a signal to and fro'. I've gone through dozens of RCA cables, some are noisier than others, most couldn't hold tight to the plug-in if it's pathetic life depended on it. RCA jacks can get loose as well. I love spending a weekend soldering in new RCA jacks instead listening to music. Who doesn't!

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR MOST FRUSTRATING THINGS ABOUT Hi-Fi?
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I find it odd.

Cheap systems = few user-enabled controls. More often than not, user happiness. :)

Mid to mid-high = tons of user controls, switches, and other doo-dads to putz around with. User unhappiness. :(

High-end: little user controls. Often, user happiness. :)

1.) Get super heavy speakers, that require a forklift to move. Happiness!

2.) Use lightweight cables whose weight does not stress the jacks. Apply light coat of Deoxit. Happiness plus!

Droopy_-_happy_9eMJUBDrXe1YaR8XiDEfrw.gif
 
noahBH said:
No, that's just it; she doesn't want to share the audio bliss. She wants me to turn it down and pay attention to her instead of the music.

Realizing now I'm just sounding like an a-hole. It was meant to be a lighthearted joke.
Click to expand...
My first wife came down to my listening room starkers. She moved a chair between my speakers. Sat down and spread her legs. She said, "Wouldn't you rather have this than Miles?" and went back upstairs. Needless to say, I immediately followed her. :)
 
drp1003 said:
How far have you gone down the hi-fi rabbit hole? A mile or two? Hi-Fi Nirvana can be a fickle, illusive thing. I think I've traveled to the fourth or fifth circle of hi-fi hell once or twice. Can I get an amen?

Why is only the left channel of my amplifier making that weird noise? How did I end up with two different length speaker cables? Why do old receivers have spring clip speaker wire harnesses and new amps have banana plugs? Why did Prince have to die so young? My receiver stopped working? Three. Hours. Later. Oh, I accidently threw the TAPE MONITOR switch on! Idiot!

What am I talking about? Frustrating things about Hi-Fi. For me personally, the two most frustrating things about Hi-Fi are.... Drum Roll Please!

1) I can spend hours and hours tweaking the location of my speakers (speaker placement) in order to eek out another ounce of soundstage width and depth. If you ask me, speaker placement is the most important aspect of Hi-Fi. Nothing else even comes close. Speaker placement can make your system sound amazing, better than anything

How far are your speakers away from the back wall, are they equidistant from the side walls, how much toe-in do I need? And how far apart should my speakers be from each other? Did you know you can throw off a perfect stereo image just by accidentally bumping into your speaker and moving it by 1/4 inch? Did you know that you can throw off the center vocals by moving one or the other speaker forward or back by just one millimeter? Did you know that tilting your speaker back can improve soundstage? But how much tilt? One day things sound amazing, the next, vocals of some of my favorite songs have shifted slightly to the right! WTF? You have to keep your amp on all the time, and warmed up, just to maintain a perfect soundstage. Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Lovin' with it's tornado surround sound effects sounded amazing yesterday, why doesn't it sound the same today? Holy hell, pass the Tylenol! I have nightmares about equilateral triangles.

I'm down to controlling temperature and humidity of my listening space, that's how kooky things have gotten! Just kidding - I'm not that crazy... YET!!

2) The second pet peeve is not nearly as bad as the first, but still irks me. And that's RCA cables and the RCA jacks where the cables get plugged into. I've learned to hate this, for the lack of a better term, 'system of getting a signal to and fro'. I've gone through dozens of RCA cables, some are noisier than others, most couldn't hold tight to the plug-in if it's pathetic life depended on it. RCA jacks can get loose as well. I love spending a weekend soldering in new RCA jacks instead listening to music. Who doesn't!

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR MOST FRUSTRATING THINGS ABOUT Hi-Fi?
Click to expand...

The last home system I had sounded great because I spent a lot of time on speaker placement. They were omnidirectional, so I didn't have to worry about position, just placement. Then, I tried to watch "Gravity" and the one and only subwoofer I had, the beast, was rattling every window in the house and driving my cats bonkers! I had taken some time off, so the next day, I bought 3 more subwoofers. This was something I had thought about for a while, but now I had serious motivation. It took quite a while to get the 3 new subs placed and positioned just right, levels and filters right. Once that was done, the sound was amazing and I was able to watch Gravity without my cats losing their.... stuffing.

Paco LM said:
Finding the right furniture for my amplifiers and turntable, yet.

Not having enough time to listen and researching "new" music
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I know it's been over a year since you posted this, but if you haven't found it yet, I have found cedar to be the most neutral material. I made a pair of speaker stands out of it and it was the best thing I could have used.

Since having a home system is no longer an option, my new audio related hobby is experimenting with BT speakers. Have 3 Ultimate Ears speakers. 2 Megaboom 3s and one Hyperboom. They can all be connected at once. I place the Hyperboom in the center and have the Megabooms on either side facing the HB. This way, the left speaker in MB 3 on the left is facing me and the right speaker in one on the right is facing me. Having the HB in the middle allows me to achieve a wider sound stage and it has better bass performance than the MBs.
 
sanford12 said:
Having been born laid back for the most part I don't get obsessive. Leads to frustration and disappointment. Involving a hobby that's for pleasure with obsessiveness would suck the joy out of it for me.
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I hear you and largely agree....except...in my case I do become obsessed by deteriorating (or deteriorated) sound quality once I discover it....it must be fixed or otherwise corrected!

;)
 
sanford12 said:
Having been born laid back for the most part I don't get obsessive. Leads to frustration and disappointment. Involving a hobby that's for pleasure with obsessiveness would suck the joy out of it for me.
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I have obsessive tendencies via adhd. Obsessiveness is pure pleasure and puts the joy into the process for me. Now that I’ve reached a point of diminishing returns, however, listening to music is now the pleasure and that’s ok. Now, on to the next obsession!
 
baeron said:
It's like a big candy store. You have to try many flavors out. Till you hit the sweet spot.
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Great analogy! There’s a ton of yummy stuff out there that can bring one a lot of happiness. I fuss a bit while thinning my herd here, but have come to realize that I really enjoy a lot of systems.

Locally, I get to listen to a lot of systems and there’s just a handful that I would seek to duplicate. iI’s likely because I’ve become dialed into what I have and enjoy it a great deal and have reached a point of diminishing returns.

Sometimes one just needs to stop and smell the roses.
 
Gigantic said:
I have obsessive tendencies via adhd. Obsessiveness is pure pleasure and puts the joy into the process for me. Now that I’ve reached a point of diminishing returns, however, listening to music is now the pleasure and that’s ok. Now, on to the next obsession!
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Hear hear. God bless the dopamine avalanche of ADHD obsession and hyper-focus.
 
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