Why do we do what we do?

[Gordon Gray]

I am always amazed by members and the High End mags, who say I bought AMP A, PREAMP B, INTERCONNECTS C, ETC., and having an epiphony regarding their personnel reaction to music as if there is something that is a "new experience". Reproduced music is what it is and the "heart and soul" of that music does not change regardless of the quality of the equipment.

GG

 

[risabet]

I am always amazed by members and the High End mags, who say I bought AMP A, PREAMP B, INTERCONNECTS C, ETC., and having an epiphany regarding their personnel reaction to music as if there is something that is a "new experience". Reproduced music is what it is and the "heart and soul" of that music does not change regardless of the quality of the equipment.

GG

Yes and no, some components do get me closer to the "gestalt" of the music. They don't necessarily measure better or any other objective measure; but subjectively they get me more involved in the feeling of the musicians and thus the music. I can't necessarily explain why it occurs but I know, for myself, that it does. I might not use the word epiphany but some systems have immersed me in the music like no others.

 

[edwinr]

I reckon it's more to do with finding a synergistic match. When mixing and matching components there's always a fear that introducing something new into an already proven system will not produce the desired results. My current system is particularly sensitive to any changes I make vis-a-vis cables, components, positioning etc. While I don't get that holistic or out of the body experience when playing favorite CD's on a recently upgraded system, I do enjoy listening for the extra detail and resolution I get when I have made a worthwhile upgrade.

It is amusing though, reading some other people's experiences. With some it's like they have reached Elysium. They must have golden ears...

 

[Rich]

I am always amazed by members and the High End mags, who say I bought AMP A, PREAMP B, INTERCONNECTS C, ETC., and having an epiphony regarding their personnel reaction to music as if there is something that is a "new experience". Reproduced music is what it is and the "heart and soul" of that music does not change regardless of the quality of the equipment.
GG

I agree with you, Gordon. It gets pretty silly. It is kind of like the over-use of terms like: "a veil was lifted from the music." Ultimately, I think their job is a difficult one. They have to write about all this gear day in and day out, and make each product sound as if it is something special. Let's face it. Most audio products reveiwed by these mags are pretty decent, but just a few really stand out from the crowd. Reading the reviews, you would think every product out there will produce an epiphany in your listening experience.

And for all this talk about system synergy being important, apparently this doesn't hold true for the high-end mag reviewers. Every component stuck into their highly expensive "reference" system seems to elevate the sound to a new level. Just another reason to take all magazine reviews with a huge grain of salt. Just remember: they know where their bread is buttered and they don't tend to bite the hand that feeds them.

Having said all that, I do agree that a properly synergized system made up of really great components can totally blow your mind and give you a connection to the music you didn't have before. (For instance, I experienced this when upgrading from my yamaha integrated to my Conrad Johnson tube amp and pre on the Ascents.) But by about the third or fourth system like that you listen to, I would think the effect would be wearing off a little.

Rich

 

[eknuds01]

I agree with you, Gordon. It gets pretty silly. It is kind of like the over-use of terms like: "a veil was lifted from the music." Ultimately, I think their job is a difficult one. They have to write about all this gear day in and day out, and make each product sound as if it is something special. Let's face it. Most audio products reveiwed by these mags are pretty decent, but just a few really stand out from the crowd. Reading the reviews, you would think every product out there will produce an epiphany in your listening experience.

And for all this talk about system synergy being important, apparently this doesn't hold true for the high-end mag reviewers. Every component stuck into their highly expensive "reference" system seems to elevate the sound to a new level. Just another reason to take all magazine reviews with a huge grain of salt. Just remember: they know where their bread is buttered and they don't tend to bite the hand that feeds them.

Having said all that, I do agree that a properly synergized system made up of really great components can totally blow your mind and give you a connection to the music you didn't have before. (For instance, I experienced this when upgrading from my yamaha integrated to my Conrad Johnson tube amp and pre on the Ascents.) But by about the third or fourth system like that you listen to, I would think the effect would be wearing off a little.

Rich

Excellent post!!!

I think the biggest improvement does indeed come when one 'graduates' from the mass marketed big box stuff to a good pair of speakers and solid electronics.

The mags, in general, gush over just about every product they review. If it's less than $1000, the product in question 'is a terrific bargain...great sound/imaging/performance without breaking the bank...'

If the product costs way more than that, '...this amp/speaker/sub/TV/interconnect is now part of my reference system...audio nirvana has been reached [even though the new cable is 3k]'

This hobby is so darn subjective and one is always fighting a sort of 'psychoacoustic' effect. No one wants to admit that their new toy is inferior to their old toy. You want to believe that the new purchase was worth the money and the listening/viewing experience is now even more enjoyable. Unless you are making a really big upgrade in technology, I feel that it's awefully tough to pick up on these tiny little subtleties (such as comparing two similarly priced interconnects).

But I should talk...I am in the middle of getting my player modded and a new amp, but I fee these are fairly big improvements that should last for 3-4 years. I think there's a highly non-linear relationship once you throw in say, 10k into a system. Say you got some Vantages, a nice player, good sub, etc. You'd have to spend quite a bit more money to make a very noticeable improvement. Take Dave's (twich54) system. He got terrific deals on just about all of his components and has a fair amount of money invested in his speakers and associated electronics. For Dave to make a big leap forward, he'd likely have to drop a TON of cash, and then, to me, it becomes more of an excercise in spending money than simply enjoying some music when you have some down time.

 

[Gordon Gray]

Thanks for the responses

I appreciate all the input to my thread. It does seem, in retrospect, that I enjoy listening to music now the same way I did when I became engaged in this crazy hobby 30 some years ago.

My first "high end" system, circa 1977, consisted of a Tandberg receiver, a Technics turntable with a Denon 103 MC cartridge along with the venerable DQ 10's with the butt ugly but magnificent sounding Sequerra ribbon tweater. Total cost was probably under $4K. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

From there (speakers), I went to Acoustats 1 + 1's and then the ML CLS 2A's. Other stuff included a Tandberg TD 20A reel to reel, the original Moscode hybrid amp, and the Sonic Frontiers SFL1 preamp. And the journey continued.

Now that we've reached MC cartridges costing $7,500, turntables costing $20K to $50K and numerous speaker systems that are in the six figure range, one has to wonder where it all stops and whether the folks who buy this stuff buy it to really enjoy state of the art music reproduction or whether they buy it because they can (the my house is bigger than your house syndrome and /or my dealer said that this "whatever" is the greatest thing since apple pie and ice cream / warmed up of course) and really don't care about the music.

And what is further mind boggling is the fact that there are numerous companies who make this stuff and continue to exist.

Oh well. Thanks for reading my rambling thoughts and for your input.

GG