I think that everyone that's posted here is "on," whether they admit it or not. In my opinion, being so doesn't necessarily mean you're still buying stuff, actively upgrading as you surely did at some point in your audiophile career. Being on means you recognize that good sound matters to achieving an optimal connection to the music one cares most about, that you care, that you at least wonder if a change might make a difference. Whether or not you choose to act on that thought is immaterial.
If you want to know who's off, look at your friends who aren't audiophiles—most of the people you know, I'd assume. They, of course, never got on. They still have the "stereo" they got in college or graduate school and when it breaks, they'll replace it with a box (with no visible wires) that starts playing music when they speak to it in a firm tone of voice: "Play Carol King!"
Those of us reading this thread are definitely on, and on for life. And you're my kind of people.
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Always on, even when I think I am off.
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On, and enjoying the journey!
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On! It always comes back!
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Definitely off.My last 2 purchases really did it for me. My McIntosh Q112 and my ARC Ref 9 cd.
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I’m Off, and still trying to get the bad taste out of my mouth from being on. Over this past year my room has seen three different streamers, multiple cable interconnects and speaker cable, and a highly reviewed integrated amp. Each one of these turned out to be a step in the wrong direction. Everything I have in my rack now was there over a year ago. I’m back to where I started and happy to be there – wiser but poorer. I’m off, and glad to be off – and loving my system.
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Where do you purchase tickets? What park?
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Off- If it’s pointless merry-go-round
On- if I’m open to possible future well thought of upgrades
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I am "on" when I'm awake and off when I'm asleep.
The rest of the time I am ambivalent.
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OFF. As in off-loading. I have way too much gear and LP's. My kids don't want it. My grand-kids don't understand it. So I have to sell it, which is a giant pain in so many ways. My wife asked me (more than once) why do I need 9 turntables, 6 sets of speakers, 8 tuners, etc. Most pieces are "Golden Age" equipment that I spent a great deal of time restoring to pristine cosmetic and operating condition. I cycle through gear just for fun and usually am listening to my main system in the living room and another in the finished basement. But I've got let the gear go.
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Still reaching for that brass ring.
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Unless something breaks in my system, I'll stick with what I have. I still own an NYAL Moscde 300 Maxi with mods I purchased in the eighties and a recent discussion with George Kaye about it, I happened to catch him before he left for the evening to perform in his jazz group at a local club. He's a bass player.
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.....letting this eve in contemplation of Lou Reeds' last words prior to leaving us...
“Take me into the light.”
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*S* I do what I do...;)
Step on, step off. Audio as a 'clapper emulator'...mostly enjoying what's at hand while tending to the 'honeydews' and those needy things that need doing.
Vague retirement, golf for me would be a wrist rocket and a pool cue, tennis as jai alai could be fun but any impacts would not be good for one who bruises if looked at hard. Used to cycle bike and moto's, but again damage....not so good for one that leaks easily but clots too quickly in the opin of the cardio Dr.s'
So I 'do' what a local calls steam-punk speakers for the toes in the Tao of my yin/yang, the yin of a complex v. the yang of the making of....
...blending in the wonderous and wooly music they emit.
A misspent life spent well....imho....interpret as you might.
'ciao, J
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Definitely off now that I got the McIntosh MQ112 and Audio Research Ref 750s Ref CD9 👍
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i am perched on the singularity in the very center….
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i am off for the moment
distracted (in a good way) by other hobbies, friends, holidays -- very happy with the sound of the music through the rig, just listening for pure enjoyment of performances, no gear changes for a while
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I’m VERY happy with my gear heap, but is buying some new thing from time to time really a merry-go-round? It might just be FUN. I’m waiting on a Schiit Urd cd player I don’t need, but still...I bet it’s going to be fun. Besides, who cares? If you’re worried about some gear addiction issues get therapy...although that might cost as much as a new amp!
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I haven’t purchased any new gear since 2021 so off for now. Retirement is a quandary, more free time but less $$$.
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Off for now. I have enough different components that I can mix and match when I desire a different sound.
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+1 @larsman for the Kesey quote.
I am off the bus...until I "blow something up".
Regards,
barts
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+1ibmjunkman
"Never got on. Happy with my reconditioned 1970s gear."
My stuff is from 1990. Almost done getting it all refurbed and upgraded.
Then I'll be good for 30-40 more years. More than I'll be around!
I am now getting into making what I have sound it's best, while keeping it affordable. I replaced all my cheap old interconnects with the Audioquest Tower line. Big improvement. Just yesterday I received my SP6 speaker cables from Morrow Audio. Huge improvement. Still goofing around with speaker placement and am going to start room treatments soon.
In response to the OP, I never got on. Bought the best I could afford once, still have it.
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No merry go round. Most changes I make these days are exploring new frontiers.
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Standing very close to the merry go round.
First step on was back in the 80’s with a Luxman c120 preamp and m120 amp, added DCM Timewindows, and a Mitsubishi LT1 turntable.
Great stuff at the time and kept me happy for a long time.
Old now (>70) and look at the whole area from a different point of view. Cost, and return play a big part in choices and outlay, although I’m retired and spend more time listening than I have for a long time.
I linger here to hear opinions and recommendations, but am not willing to spend the $$ to reach very high. I live in a small apartment, and the choices for layout and treatment are nearly non existent. 14 x 12ft with a big opening into a dining area and hallway. So I’m in a sort of near field situation, but want to fill the dining area with ”good” sound as well.
I love the sound of Magnepans, but don’t have the space for them or some of the higher end speakers. Have had a background in electronics so have ideas as to what I would realy like in that department. A really good clean preamp with at least 5 input sources, tape or extra line out, and HT bypass. Clean meaning that 4 live sources active, and output on an inactive source with the volume at max should have no sound at all through the headphone output. Monoblock amps with lots of current, high dampening and quick response. Don’t really have a preference for type off amp, tube, ss, class A, A/B, or D as long as it mates with the speakers, and is musical. So, looked at on paper, about $15k to $30k right there - but that ain’t going to happen.
I tend to the mahgister point of view. Work with what you have, and optimize as much as you can to get enjoyable sound.
I just changed interconnects between my dac and digital receiver and noticed a better sound floor, cleaner sound and better separation. But still question whether it was the cable, purchase bias, my mood that day or low ambient background noise. Background noise is typically around 30db, and can go to 40db ambient; that excludes peaks for mowers, blowers, traffic and the like. Will evaluate them for a while and see if I feel the same about them over time and various source material.
With all that in mind, with even the best speakers, preamp, amps and cabling, would it really increase my listening pleasure in my environment? - it’s questionable. Only so much can be done in the space I have.
But I still look to the weak parts for a little more. Current focus is on dacs. Just compared a Schitt Modi Multibit to a Cambridge audio Dacmagic 200. Like the Schitt a little better. To me better bass definition and separation, maybe not as smooth as the Cambridge, but a little better separation in space of various instruments. Width of soundstage about the same, depth and height a little different, and the Schitt a little more forward. So looking at the Schitt Bifrost, or a Denafrips as the next step. Want to stay under $1k and shopping to try to stay closer to $500. Want to stay with the resistor ladder type (whether resistors are on a chip or discreet) versus Delta Sigma.
That gives you an idea where I am relative to the merry go round. If I had a nice basement to work with and unlimited budget, I would love to explore what I could perceive and enjoy in going round and round. Single driver, open baffle, horns, electrostatic, and traditional 3 way speakers. Choices of SET, pure Class A, class D amps. Probably tend toward a tube pre with a tube phone stage. The fewer resistor wiper knobs and switches the better. They all fail eventually, and cause noise due to electrostatic migration of material even if they are separate for each channel. The issues with my Luxman ss components were all with the switches, knobs, and relays degrading over time - not that I expect to outlive any new versions. |
+1 @sfar. We're all here reading....
That said, I'm generally off. I have the Lightning Lane pass, but don't have any particular need to go on the rides. Happy with what I have. But now and then a new potential toy becomes very interesting, and an audition inevitably follows...
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You are in or/and out only for car or bus passengers in a market ...
I walk or i drive my own car out of the city market because i am retired ...
«I am neither one nor the other»--Ben Besey 😎
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Iam on auto on and off , like my Subwoofer.
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As Ken Kesey said, "You're either on the bus or you're off the bus...."
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I'm on and off all the time any time of day
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About 4 years ago, I decided to get back in hifi after selling most of my system 25 years ago. I am retired and no kids so plenty of time and money to waste. I had a collection of over 400 cds in boxes and wanted to listen to them again. Now at age 74 I have a pretty nice system and got back into vinyl big time. I spend a lot of time going after select albums i really want. I also have a really nice record cleaner. At this point I am off the merry go round.
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Definitely on, still have a new set of speakers on the way (Clayton Shaw Caladans), need to upgrade my streamer (Aurender/Innuous/Lumin), need better power cords ???, probably a new pre-amp (Tubes4hifi SP14 or Don Sachs), and building a new listening room. Will be a busy and expensive 12 months for me.
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I'm currently taking my daily dose of off...
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On or off? If only it was that easy...
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Learn how to read in context instead of looking for a way to twist people argument😁 ...
All my posts implicitly and explicitly suggest that i am no more in a race for the better gear ... Acoustics knowledge delivered to me the optimization process needed without any purchase... My minimal acoustical satisfaction level reached, i listen music not my system ... My main argument is acoustics knowledge beat the gear upgrade most of the time ...
Am i interested by audio ? yes but not as an obsessed collectors of gear which is the point of this wheel argument ...
Then being here is not proof that we are obsessed by the gear; in the opposite judging people in general the way as you just did confirm that you are in this wheel and cannot even imagine that some here are not ...
learn acoustics basic and go out of this wheel ...
@mahgister You flinched in the last line. “Perhaps” = on
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I spend a lot of money on music, equipment not so much.
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Personally I'm OFF, but I give free rides to my friends, living Vicariously.
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On and off
It is a state of mind, but the hunt is fun.
Maybe that's it we're just cavemen with clubs.
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I'm with llg98ljk. At my age, all I would be doing is buying it for someone else, and I have no heirs who would even know what half the gear is for, including my wife. Luckily, I am also very content with my current setup, and the 'maybe I should try this' itch is pretty much dormant.
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+1 @sfar. What they said.
@mahgister You flinched in the last line. “Perhaps” = on
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Early 1980s gave up golf, wine collecting and audio tweaking for work, marriage and gardening. Forty years later returned to the first three with a mature garden to tend. Handicap will never reach single digits, audio system will never reach the aspirational heights, but I continue diddling with both because the journey outweighs the destination. Meanwhile there's a spectacular arboretum with a high deck for viewing and enough fine wine for several lifetimes. Have owned Maggies and heard MLs enough to both admire their virtues and learn that I can live without them.
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What do you speak about?😊😉
I come for friends and discussion ... I am retired... I like jazz and other musical forms and spoke about them ...
I am fascinated by hearing and acoustics ...
I dont purchase tweaks ( i created mine ) i dont need upgrades for my low cost very surprizingly good system ...
Dont generalize... each person had his own motives to came here and it is not always the result of an obsession ... I am passionate not obsessed ...
But you spoke about yourself in reality , i understand, and not knowing how to really go in then you cannot go out ...
The solution is simple : read about acoustics concepts and experiment BEFORE upgrading ... Perhaps you will not even need to upgrade ...
Face it, if you’re still visiting this site you’re not really off.
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Face it, if you're still visiting this site you're not really off.
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I’m neither on nor off the Merry-go-round. I love my music and my systems that present it. I’m also open to new ideas and equipment to improve the presentation. Sometimes I shop and buy, sometimes I don’t.
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though I've been slowly upgrading for decades, I always was happy with what I had, so never felt the merry go round...currently at point where no major purchases lurking...
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One thing is sure for me ...
Since i created my last small room with the less costlier of all the speakers i ever bought , i am amazed by the results of my modification on them and by a so good sound ( not high end for sure😊 i dont claim the impossible here ) from so small self powered speakers ... Timbre is not bad but even good , soundstage encompass me and include me and the imaging is good... So much i listen music amazed and happy ...
A minimal acoustical satisfying experience is possible passed some threshold of mechanical, electrical and acoustical optimization ..
I am proud of my S.Q. cost ratio and i am not jealous and desesperate by bad sound as it was in 2000 when i was owning no amplifier nor any dac anymore , and when i decided to go headphones... But no headphones ever satisfied me in spite of all my modifications , nor any speakers till i learned acoustics by experiments ..
Now i know enough , i was able to recreate a second system modifying the speakers porthole and tweeter and modifying my best headphone for the better ...
I am happy and proud ..
learning and creativity over big money ...
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I must be “HiFi” curious…in an ascetic sort of way.
My system is a means to an end….enjoying music to its fullest.
life is a law of averages…..except for you and me…
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Never got on. Happy with my reconditioned 1970s gear. 😊
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Long ago I found the best way to play the merry go round was to get on every ~ 7 years or so, upgrade to the next level, and get off again enjoying the music.
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