When do you reach the 90%?

[tyeeslayer]

And how do you know?
Every upgrade I make, I know I'm not there yet.
But how does one know when they are and they should start reaching for the last 10%?

 

[tromba]

For me, only one answer: $$$ Can I afford any better stuff....

 

[restorer-john]

10%? Most AKers are well into the 90s if you ask me.

It's the infinitesimally small incremental improvements in the last percentile that keep the Audiophiles reaching for their wallets and burning up exponentially more of their savings each 'upgrade' they make.

Systems cannot be rated, so the entire notion is a little ridiculous, but fun to think about.

 

[w1jim]

The law of diminishing returns comes into play plus 100% keeps moving and actually doesn’t exist.

 

[tyeeslayer]

10%? Most AKers are well into the 90s if you ask me.

It's the infinitesimally small incremental improvements in the last percentile that keep the Audiophiles reaching for their wallets and burning up exponentially more of their savings each 'upgrade' they make.

Systems cannot be rated, so the entire notion is a little ridiculous, but fun to think about.

There is the conundrum every time I think I am at the 90% and I make an upgrade, I come to the realization I can't be. I still get a lot more with every upgrade.
Am I there (90%) yet I don't know

 

[ConradH]

Spend an infinite amount of time and money to achieve 100%, then back off by 10%.

 

[Blue Shadow]

That last 10% might be something as simple as getting speakers you like better than what you have, an easy way to hear that improvement or getting an amp or other component that is marginally better takes time to hear the change which you prefer. But I think Conrad is right, get to 100% and back of a notch.

 

[4-2-7]

This 90% or should I say what's called the last 10% is a fantasy thought genially brought about by some that need to feel better about what they have.

In their mind anything they have is 90% there and everything above that is diminishing returns for the last so called 10%.

In other words they can have a transistor AM/FM pocket radio and everything else is the last 10%.

Don't worry about it, get in were you fit in and don't trip at your status and reference point. But also don't think your at some inflated level you need to validate yourself with, there is always a lot better than what one owns and is a hell of a lot higher than 10%

 

[4-2-7]

There is the conundrum every time I think I am at the 90% and I make an upgrade, I come to the realization I can't be. I still get a lot more with every upgrade.
Am I there (90%) yet I don't know

That's because your reference point changes, this is what the 10%ers believers don't understand.

 

[ETLS]

I'm at 0% right now. OTA tv commercials music is starting to sound good. Except for the Hershey kisses jingle bells spot. That one is burnt.

 

[UncleBingo]

It's a moving target. When you start making "improvements" that sound worse you're probably about 95% : )

 

[restorer-john]

Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs have jackets with badges that have 1% on them because they think they are the 1% that operate outside the law. It makes them feel like they are more bad-ass than the other 99%. Arbitrary percentage figures are just that- meaningless.

 

[theophile]

Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs have jackets with badges that have 1% on them because they think they are the 1% that operate outside the law. It makes them feel like they are more bad-ass than the other 99%. Arbitrary percentage figures are just that- meaningless.

Also applicable: Self Praise Is No Recommendation

 

[SteveA]

When your upgrades are just to make your system sound better rather than fix some shortcoming you have identified you are getting pretty close to the last 10%.

When you spend as much on an upgrade as the cost of a reasonable 2nd hand car and have to admit (only to youself of course) that while it made an improvement it was only a small one, then you are well into the last 10% and probably knocking on the door of the last 5%.

 

[motorstereo]

That depends on what your definition of that 90% is. I was at 90% decades ago never reached 100%. All those upgrades moved things to a different category where I'm still at 90% of my goal. There's always room to tweak and upgrade.

 

[sqlsavior]

10%? Most AKers are well into the 90s if you ask me.

I agree. I suppose it might depend on where you start, but I think most people who can and do make judgements about sound quality have the skills to get themselves to 90% readily. I think the last 10 percent still has plenty of audible improvements along the way.

 

[Jonesy09]

At 90% you're there. Stop. Relax. Enjoy and spend the last 10% on good scotch.

 

[juncers]

When you stop worrying about that question, and just enjoy the music---you're there.
Ray

 

[musichal]

I think the whole 90/10% thing is sour grapes, for the most part. Yes, I have made some upgrades, but the concept of identifying a percentage increase in SQ strikes me as ludicrous. Make all the measurements possible, and you still can't quantify the whole presentation. My goal is simpler: to put together a system I can live with and enjoy long-term, in my space. One that enables me to just listen to music without annoying me. That isn't about largest size or highest price or what anyone else may think of the sound; I'll know I've gotten there when I keep a pair of speakers for a couple years without feeling the need to change them. My opinion is the only one that counts. I feel like I'm there with my amp. Since the speakers in my sig haven't yet arrived, I don't know yet if they fulfill that goal, and only time will tell.

 

[nj pheonix]

At 90% you're there. Stop. Relax. Enjoy and spend the last 10% on good scotch.

Probably a lot cheaper and easier to reach that 10%
(Even really good scotch)!