How many times have you said, “thats it, I am there. This is the best sound I can get?”

[bencat]

I have never achieved the best but I have often hit the right spot and felt that this is the best sound I have heard in that room . Sadly this has never been a straight path and the detours and wrong turns have been frequent . Stand outs along the way has been the discovery of active speakers which offer almost without fail the speed and precision I find that once heard is very hard to be without. Quad ESL 57 these really are an old mans speaker with not much low bass and dropping treble , they match my hearing profile as I have grown older and they are the speaker which least excites my Tinitus .

 

[Nativebon]

Once you get to certain level of sound quality(which is subjective) you have to spend 3 to 4x more to hear real improvement. The limit is how much disposable income is available really.

 

[Ceko]

Every time I say to my wife: “this is it. I’m done”, there’s a voice (I think it’s WAM) saying “you know you’re not”

Seriously though, in my room the possibilities aren’t limitless. So I’m quite as happy as I could be sound-wise.
But there’s one complication. Some music calls for sound characteristic A (for example jazzy) and other music for characteristic B (for example EDM). Getting those two right in one system seems impossible, so the search continues forever

 

[steve 57]

At the audio talk forum meets, over the years there seems to be a definite standard of what audio should sound like.
The trouble is you can't relay that over a forum unless you attend bake-offs and shows,

Most hifi systems have flaws, and there's no getting away from the fact those flaws are always what they are judged on, regardless how good the system is in other areas

 

[zeta4]

A few times Ive been comfortable with the sound I had, not enough to think about changes but not in a rush to do anything about it. Then I hear something at a friends or in one memorable case a friend brought an amp over to try in my system. It was a 300B dht amp and it was such a change that it set me off in a different direction that Im still on today.

 

[Alvolake]

I can say with reasonable certainty that I am done: Heaven forbid it should happen to anyone but I lost my hearing 100% in my right ear in a relatively short space of time. My audio nerve has degraded, kaput, due to a Schwannoma. So I can appreciate tone and timing and that´s about it. HiFi needs 2 working lugs so I´ll just have to listen to the music instead of the guy behind the glass moving those sliders.
LOOK AFTER YOUR TABS

 

[Speedracer]

I have always been fairly happy with what I have had up to a point, of course it could always be better, the biggest restrictions for me now is the room & how shallow my pockets are. In terms of the room the one I have now is the smallest I have ever had, & there are lots of shiny surfaces, but I would say I am happier now than at any other time in the past with what I have.
Mind you, just a few weeks ago I said the same & since then I have changed my speakers, tonearm, cartridge & pre-amp! And that is not including the amps I currently have on loan, but part of the fun for me is ripping it up & starting again just for the hell of it. I don't worry if I make a mistake with a bit of kit, it just give you a different perspective.

 

[bencat]

Good post this as it made me think a bit about things and come to some conclusions . Number one is when as we all normally do listen to a single system at a time in isolation then in my case at least I find myself listening and enjoying the strengths of that system and listening to the music . I also find that I tend to identify the flaws but unless they are really gross ones that i am sensitive to (ie back ground noise , crackles and pops , run in noise etc) then i very quickly learn to ignore the issues. No system is ever perfect and does all the things you want but there are some that do most of what you want very well and these are systems you can live with and enjoy .

The other conclusion I have come to is that it is great to hear other systems by visits or bake offs and you get exposed to lots of different equipment and sounds and some times music you have not heard before. The same for shows as well . However just because one set up in one size room works really well there is not guarantee that when transposed to your room it will sound the same . Speakers are the main culprit here . As has been mentioned from time to time we look back with great fondness on our earliest set ups and how good we felt they sounded and how we seemed to be enjoying the music more even though they were often quite basic . I think in many cases this is because our first speakers were often smaller because they were cheaper and all we could afford. They would then by chance also be less likely to really upset the room and sound over blown or too in your face .

This is one thing we may need to consider more than we realise . If your listening room is not as big as you would like then you may need to scale back on the size of your speakers a simple two way of decent but not exotic build may sound just that bit better and more enjoyable than a pair of four way giants pumping out huge amounts of bass that your room just can not cope with .

Some time cheaper and simpler is better for your music and your room , does not stop you lusting and wanting something exotic and huge that you heard sound excellent but will it work for you , your room , your ears ?

 

[bigrod]

Good post this as it made me think a bit about things and come to some conclusions . Number one is when as we all normally do listen to a single system at a time in isolation then in my case at least I find myself listening and enjoying the strengths of that system and listening to the music . I also find that I tend to identify the flaws but unless they are really gross ones that i am sensitive to (ie back ground noise , crackles and pops , run in noise etc) then i very quickly learn to ignore the issues. No system is ever perfect and does all the things you want but there are some that do most of what you want very well and these are systems you can live with and enjoy .

The other conclusion I have come to is that it is great to hear other systems by visits or bake offs and you get exposed to lots of different equipment and sounds and some times music you have not heard before. The same for shows as well . However just because one set up in one size room works really well there is not guarantee that when transposed to your room it will sound the same . Speakers are the main culprit here . As has been mentioned from time to time we look back with great fondness on our earliest set ups and how good we felt they sounded and how we seemed to be enjoying the music more even though they were often quite basic . I think in many cases this is because our first speakers were often smaller because they were cheaper and all we could afford. They would then by chance also be less likely to really upset the room and sound over blown or too in your face .

This is one thing we may need to consider more than we realise . If your listening room is not as big as you would like then you may need to scale back on the size of your speakers a simple two way of decent but not exotic build may sound just that bit better and more enjoyable than a pair of four way giants pumping out huge amounts of bass that your room just can not cope with .

Some time cheaper and simpler is better for your music and your room , does not stop you lusting and wanting something exotic and huge that you heard sound excellent but will it work for you , your room , your ears ?

Less is sometimes more

 

[MVJ]

2 times the first was when I got my B&W 802d speakers that had been my dream speakers. After a couple of years & much money spent trying to get them to work in my room + much box swopping for the right amplification I had to admit defeat. I then spent several years swopping & changing everything adding in valves in the process I slowly gathered some kit that were so good they became keepers.

With a Marantz Ki Pearl/ Esoteric Co-3 pre/ EE Minimax Phono/ and some refurbed Tannoy Cheviots I sat back for a while very happy but still with a niggling bass issue.

One day while perusing the wam up popped a pair of Event Opal studio monitors which I had never heard but had read great things about during my 802d days but could'nt afford at the time. The plunge was taken & they duly arrived and I put my chevvies in the hall to sulk and set the Opals up then sat down for a listen too be completely blown away by what I heard.

My system was now complete with the best bass ever in my room and music reproduction I have never ever ever ever ever heard in my music room Before. Since then I have sold everything passive I've also added an Esoteric SACD player another small improvement swopped my Michell TT for a Technics + added a streamer so my set up is complete.

The second time is NIRVANA it has been reached with one small caveat the Opals are no longer made & also a bit suspect reliability wise but I'm confident there are other brands of studio monitors that will drop into my room & achieve the same result.

So speakers may change in the future but only if the Opals fail.

Two years & counting...........

 

[chris]

Never, I wish I could. I still think I am a long way off

How do you know it cannot be bettered or how good it can get?

 

[It Cost How Much!?!]

Headphones? I will just leave that thought there Graham...

 

[MVJ]

Never, I wish I could. I still think I am a long way off

How do you know it cannot be bettered or how good it can get?

Stop listening for what it does'nt do & listen to the music & what it does do

 

[Andy Stephenson]

Never, I wish I could. I still think I am a long way off

How do you know it cannot be bettered or how good it can get?

It can always get better, if you're in the fortunate position of being able to keep throwing money at it.

Sadly, for some of us at least, real life gets in the way and Rishi wants his 'share' of your income.

Andy

 

[JAD]

twice, first in 2004 when I bought CD, Amp, Speakers in one fell swoop. For the money spent I thought I had nailed it. Gradually though I lost interest in hifi which was rekindled during lockdown. I then started thinking maybes the speakers could do with an upgrade. One new streamer, new cables, interconnects, a set of floorstanders subsequently replaced by a set of stand mounts and whilst early days I am a very happy boy. Finances dictate that there will be no more swaps unless something fails. This is me, other than a few inexpensive tweaks and possibly a turntable, to retirement. So for the next 10 to 12 years this is as good as I am going to get and I am very comfy with that thought.

 

[MVJ]

twice, first in 2004 when I bought CD, Amp, Speakers in one fell swoop. For the money spent I thought I had nailed it. Gradually though I lost interest in hifi which was rekindled during lockdown. I then started thinking maybes the speakers could do with an upgrade. One new streamer, new cables, interconnects, a set of floorstanders subsequently replaced by a set of stand mounts and whilst early days I am a very happy boy. Finances dictate that there will be no more swaps unless something fails. This is me, other than a few inexpensive tweaks and possibly a turntable, to retirement. So for the next 10 to 12 years this is as good as I am going to get and I am very comfy with that thought.

A great post & very sensible unlike many wammers/box swoppers on here

 

[bigrod]

Never, I wish I could. I still think I am a long way off

How do you know it cannot be bettered or how good it can get?

Anything manufactured can always be “bettered” ,
They said the Hubble telescope was the ultimate platform for resolution of deep space .. They started building the James Webb telescope before Hubble was even put into space knowing it could be bettered .. And they’re probably building another platform knowing it would be better still ..
It’s all about “resolution’
How much of the light that is available can be turned into an image and the same with music how much of the detail can be retrieved and turned into the image that sound creates ..

 

[Andy Stephenson]

Anything manufactured can always be “bettered” ,
They said the Hubble telescope was the ultimate platform for resolution of deep space .. They started building the James Webb telescope before Hubble was even put into space knowing it could be bettered .. And they’re probably building another platform knowing it would be better still ..
It’s all about “resolution’
How much of the light that is available can be turned into an image and the same with music how much of the detail can be retrieved and turned into the image that sound creates ..

Technology moves on.

How many people in the 50s and 60s had 'the ultimate, can never be bettered' system?

Andy

 

[wHIZZY]

I sometimes think better equipment can brings its own problems by highlighting weaknesses in other parts of the system. As such, on numerous occasions when I thought I was nearly there, that one last improvement would only upset the balance by showing up the limitations of the room or equipment I was previously happy with.

 

[MVJ]

I sometimes think better equipment can brings its own problems by highlighting weaknesses in other parts of the system. As such, on numerous occasions when I thought I was nearly there, that one last improvement would only upset the balance by showing up the limitations of the room or equipment I was previously happy with.

That has to be true for all hifi enthusiasts at one time or another during their journey but it's a matter of realising it & not over reacting to the changes.