More than music? No, never. I do enjoy my amp's "sound" despite the minor colorations that I can hear. I can listen past them and still enjoy it's generally truthful and musical character. I would enjoy it more though if the colorations were completely absent.
I went to a concert last weekend and heard Beethovens Eroica symphony. I played the Von Karajan version on my turntable and the sound was much more exciting. That may have been because I had a box seat at the concert and my amp can play the music louder. It makes me wonder how the concert would have compared if I had a front row seat.
How do you separate the two? You can't have one without the other unless your using the amp for other purposes in which case your question is irrelevant. In the context of comparison, your question makes sense. 'I love this amp so much more than that other one that I just want to hear it perform'. But in what way? You can't help still enjoying the music that goes with it. It's been that way for me since the beginning and I would dare wager it's the same for just about everyone here whether about amps or just tweaks.
And in the context of Bob's reply, nothing changes. If God declared 'It's music or gear', what fool would choose the gear?
It's the total experience for me but the music still wins out. I love watching the LP spin on the TT under low light while the music plays; it warms my heart. And of course a glass of red wine or scotch in my hand. Pure Joy.
Once you've gone through a few amps and learned to appreciate what a really good one can do, it can be hard to separate the two aspects. However, for me, music is the final destination. As I enjoy it, I am sometimes reminded of how I got there (the equipment). If I really enjoy a particular piece of music, I never think of the equipment except to turn it on.
Well, lots of people have 1000 + software but keep going back and listen to the 20-30 favourites. I guest that is enjoying HIFI more than music. Have to say most audiophiles are in this group.
Not meaning to offend the op, but the subject of this this thread is audiophile nonsense and one more reason the term "audiophile" has a negative connotation for some people.
Amen Foster 9. But then again it has been clear to me for years that each one of us have different goals related to this hobby which becomes more evident the more "audiophiles" I become acquainted with.
Hey! You're definitely not alone! Many people have no idea what music actually is and yet enjoy the sound of their rig. They're all called audiophiles. Enjoy the club!
Of course we love the sound of our systems. Why do you think we visit and post on this site. All of us! Its only a problem when you only turn the system on to listen to it's incredible sound. Any music will do so long as it shows off your systems capabilities.
I think another symptom of the 'audiophile' disease is when you start bragging about your stuff, especially to folks who couldn't care less. :-)
My system doesn't have any sound without music. How can you separate two. Are you asking if we would enjoyed music with bad sounding system. Yes, but not as much.
You cannot even compare it to live music since some types of music are suited for studio, good seats are expensive, world music concerts are rare while performances of dead artists are very rare.
The more my amps sound like the music I hear(live), a couple times a week; the more I enjoy them. Just installed four Deuland CAST-PIO-Cu coupling caps, in my mains, to get a wee bit closer.
Nuance of the performance is dependent upon nuances of adjustment to my system!!!!! The more attention I pay to what my system is doing/not doing the more I hear what the musician/conductor/engineer intended. I think this enhances my ability to enjoy/appreciate the music. Playing with and enjoying the gear is more appreciating the engineering and design thing !!!!!! I can go for long periods when everything sounds wonderful then some small detail will come to my attention and I'll have to chase it down.
I suppose that some people listen to the gear in the sense that, in some cases, the journey is more important than the destination.
Personally, I like listening to music. When it is played through a system with good synergy, the music moves me and eases my soul. Generally speaking, if I'm listening to the gear, it's because something isn't right. When all is right, all I'm hearing is the music.
Hello Mr R- I'm using them as coupling caps, from the plates of my dual triode driver tube, to the output tube grids(one per phase). They are .22uF/630V(in my Cary mains). A side note: It's said that the CAST/stacked construction(of the Deulands) obviates the need to orient(what would be) the outer foil lead, toward the lower impedence, for least noise. I tested mine(before installation) and there was a marked difference in noise levels, when leads were swapped to ground. My apologies, if we are seen as hijacking this thread.
I like the idea of turning your gear on and NOT playing anything to enjoy the silence...meditate...sleep...go elsewhere knowing your hifi is not doing anything...ride my motorcycle...although I turn the stuff off when I'm not around for a while, I am comforted in knowing it's there anyway...music just gets in the way...all those notes...who needs that?
Sounds to me that you're just enjoying the music MORE on the better equipment. Exactly! Also, nothing wrong with preferring your hifi to a concert. I would much rather watch a ball game on a big-screen tv sitting on a nice couch relaxing than roasting to death in an open stadium surrounded by 50,000 screaming pigs. Any baseball goers in the present company are excepted of course.
I do think it's pretty clear that audio geeks are more into "active listening" by virtue of the fact that they care about sound quality...and that's a good thing.
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