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Audio Lessons Learned - post your best advice for the newer members!

Hi,
I thought it would be great to have our longtime audiophiles post their "lessons learned" along the way.

This is not a thread to start arguments, so please do not do that.
Just a repository where newer members can go to get a few good tidbits of knowledge.

I'll start - I have been an audiophile for 50 years now.

1. Learn about how humans hear sound, and what frequencies SHOULD NOT be flat in their response.. This should be the basis for your system. "Neutral" sounding systems DO NOT sound good to the human ear. You will be unsatified for years (like I was) until you realize this.

2. I do not "chase" DACS anymore.. (I went up to 30K Dacs before realizing the newest Dac chips are now within a few % of the high end Dacs.) Do your research and get yourself a good Dac using the best new dac chips. (about 1000.00 will get you a good one) and save yourself a fortune. - This was one of the best lessons I learned (and just recently) . It allowed me to put more of the budget into room treatment, clean power, and cables which are much more important.

3. Do you want a pleasant or unpleasant sounding system?
I had many very high end systems with NO real satisfaction, until I realized
why a certain company aimed for a particular sound..

4. McIntosh:
As a high end audiophile, I regarded McIntosh as just a little above Bose for about 40 years.-- (not good)
I thought I was an elite audiophile who knew way too much about our hobby to buy equipment that was well made, but never state of the art and colored in its own way.

This was TOTALLY WRONG, as I realize now.
McIntosh goes for a beautiful sound for HUMAN ears, not for specification charts. This is not a flat response, and uses autoformers to get this gorgeous sound. If you know enough about all the other things in our hobby, such as room treatments, very clean power, and very good cables, you can bring a gorgeous sounding McIntosh system to unheard of levels. I have done this now, and I have never enjoyed my music more!

Joe55ag


joe55ag

Showing 4 responses by keegiam

keegiam
731 posts
 
I thought I was getting pretty basic with the sweet spot chair and ear angle.

The more posts I see, the more I need to urge would-be audiophiles to GO LISTEN TO LIVE MUSIC.  To have a satisfying home reproduction system, you  to understand what you're trying to reproduce, and why.  You want to recreate what you hear at live performances.  Not an easy road, but it's possible.
keegiam
731 posts
 
Two cheap, overlooked factors:

1.  Portable sweet spot chair.

Get a small chair and move it around to find the sweet spot for each recording.  The idea of setting up a system with a single, large, fixed sweet spot (and comfortable chair to match) is a myth.  I wind up moving my chair around for each recording.  Try it - you'll get it.

2.  Head angle.

Learn which vertical position of your head puts your ears at the best angle.  You want your complex ear structure in the position where they capture the musical information in the most pleasing way.  Do this by raising or lowering your head so the angle of the music information arriving at your complex ear structure results in the most natural sound.  For me, this usually means lowering my head to a position 20 to 30 degrees from level.  Your job is to figure out what head/ear position you prefer.  Try it - you'll get it.
keegiam
731 posts
 
This forum has generated so much advice, I thought I'd try to get back to basics and how to get started.

1. Before considering buying anything, get familiar with the sound of live music and the instruments that create it.  If your goal is to recreate these experiences in your home, this knowledge is paramount.2. Select some recordings with passages that exemplify the sound that thrills you.  These will be your absolutes when going to sample equipment.  You want gear that gets these passages right.
3.  I suggest selecting speakers first.  Read, read, read, read.  You will learn which reviewers are adept at describing the attributes accurately.  The reviewer's longevity is a good sign.  Learn the lingo - transparency, coherence, imaging, soundstage width and depth, bass roll-off, frequency balance, etc, etc.  It took me TWO YEARS of reading and going to shops and listening to MY recordings to select my first speakers - the Dahlquist DQ-10a's.  They brought me so much pleasure over the years.
4.  Once you get that far, you'll have learned how to learn, and choosing the rest of your gear will be easier.  If you need more advice after that, check in with us again.
keegiam
731 posts
 
@firberger

Since you mentioned "Who's Next" and "Sticky Fingers," I encourage you to post on a forum I started" "1st Album you ever Owned."  It's been a fun thread.

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