When it becomes no fun then Iam done.
Can one ever be "done" in this hobby?
I would like to think I am pretty much in audio nirvana right now but supremely well aware how quickly that can change to audio nervosa!
What do think?
Is it really possible to kick the addiction and be done and just sit back and enjoy the music?
Has anybody managed this trick of the mind?
What do think?
Is it really possible to kick the addiction and be done and just sit back and enjoy the music?
Has anybody managed this trick of the mind?
181 responses Add your response
@MG-Oh, jeez. You know, not every one lives, breathes and obsessed over all things audio every waking moment. Some of us actually have lives and interests outside the hobby. So terribly sorry that a little friendly socialising goes off topic now and again. If this offends your sensibilities or irks you to the point of throwing a wet blanket on your perception of what rigid standards this forum should adhere to, perhaps one should look for the exit door and return to his more controlling surroundings. In other words, if you don’t like the ’tune’, change the record..... |
Whoa people Anybody who watches my posts knows I am more than up for humour and somewhat snide and snarky posts a lot of the time, jeez louise! But MG does have a valid point. There is a big difference to a thread being derailed by excess troll activity and just some light hearted banter injection. No I do not think this thread has reached troll activity levels yet but many potentially good threads have. And GK I was being kind... no pooping in my thread please! |
Sorry carp, they’re called audio forums :) Nothing wrong with humor, I'm chuckling a little as I speak. It's just that many of the threads here get dumbed down so quickly it takes away from the readers wanting to actually be a part of serious listening practices and learning. You may not wish to go as far as the next guy, but shouldn't you give them the choice? MG |
I am aware of that, MG. My point is a little friendly banter mixed in with the topic is harmless and can be quite humorous and entertaining. A big difference from trolling and/or derailing a thread. And if it upsets certain people that much, perhaps it would be better for their wellbeing if they eliminated that aggravation from their lives....And yes, I agree with you that many threads have quickly devolved into sniping and trolling. And yes, I am not nearly as serious about wringing every single molecule of potential out of my system as some on here. But, I’ve learned to separate the wheat from the chaff and simply scroll past the nonsense. I’ve also learned a great deal on how to enhance my system’s sound through this forum, without-admittedly- having much in the way of returning the favor. More parasitic than symbiotic, I'm afraid.... |
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Interesting topic. NO doubt this is two hobbies, music and gear. If it is a hobby can it ever be over? Would you want it to be over? I have other hobbies, scale R/C model airplane for example. We have a saying; "It's finished when you stop working on it". Is there anyone who does NOT use the same handful of excerpts to evaluate a new component? This is not the music hobby. With Tidal, Roon and Idagio we have countless new musics to explore, all with the best sound we can wring out of our system at the moment. |
Dohanian. Methinks you are correct and that has been said before in the thread. I would like to think I am not at a stage with my gear that I can concentrate on the other side of the hobby which is just the music and enjoy. However sites like this and Ebay do not help resist the temptation … lol. Do items like new cartridges for existing turntables count as upgrades or can I just consider them "essential needs"! |
thecarpathian, I may be wrong but I remember Alfa Romeo Spiders having just that written on them (except the number for displacement, or Veloce on some iterations, maybe Graduate in the U.S.A. to capitalize on the movie, etc.). I think Alfa Romeo model was actually called Spider while some other brands had "model+ spider" (124 Spider, for example). Sort of, Alfa Romeo Spider pinpointing to just one model. I just remembered how we ended up with this topic. It was because of the Queen song. Ok, not too far from audio. |
Lmfao..... Apparently Lucas ( Aka The Prince of Darkness to most British"sports car" owners) was looking the other way that day..... Tbh although I lived in England for 40 years I never owned even one example of what were our idea of a "sports car". I was lucky as Ford had just brought out the Capri and 3000GT was just the tool for an aspiring 18 year old on a perpetual hunt for...... use your imagination. Unfortunately I found out the too hard way that their handling sadly lagged behind the performance as I reversed it into a lamppost at 70mph. Funny I could have sworn that post was in front of me when I entered the bend..... |
"Now, can we PLEASE get back to the topic at hand?? All this friendly chitchat is going to cause all the serious audiophiles to quit the forum..."Topic at hand is "serious audiophiles" quitting. Isn’t it? As I was opening the page the right side was advertisement for....ubereats.com. Long reach of uberwaltz who is getting cleaned of audiophilia. |
I do envy those nice normal people who find a good set-up and just enjoy their records for the next 10-20 years. I've been able to squeeze two + years out of one very good rig. Speakers have been the longest lasting components in my house at four years. Good speakers are much harder to find (and carry and ship...) than the electronics. We're playing, that's what we do. Our stereos are better than anything 99% of the people have. |
The Allegory of the Track For some years I was a Porsche Club track Driving Instructor. All kinds of cars and drivers come to the track. At first they know only what every Driver’s License holder knows: nothing. Absolutely nothing. Less than nothing even. A combination of BS and lies. First thing they all do is head over to the fastest, lowest, wingiest looking car they can find to gape and gaw while trying not to drool all over their brand new Pilotti’s. Then they all go out and, confronted with the reality of just how much total concentration and just how freaking hard it is to drive well, not to mention how expensive it is, they quit. Usually before they get very good at what should have been the reason for coming in the first place, driving. Which is a shame. A persistent few, the wise ones anyway, they notice a few things. Like there are some guys who day after day seem to really be having fun and even manage to steadily and regularly pass in spite of driving much older, cheaper, less crazy looking cars. Cars that don’t even need a trailer to get to the track. Cars they actually enjoy driving on everyday public roads. Some even come to understand what the Instructor said about smoother being faster. The Zen-, or Yoda- if you prefer, like saying that to go fast don’t drive fast, drive well. Other guys eventually notice how fast they are. Start asking questions. Which are always, How much horsepower? Or something like that. Never, Why’d you take that line? How do you look so smooth? Or anything like that. And the skilled driver, because that’s what he is now, to his credit he does try to explain. But they have no patience. Off they run to gape and gaw at the Next Big Thing being rolled off a trailer. |
Miller So glad I do not fall into your category there, but I do fear that millions of drivers do. Spent my formative years piloting motorcycles around some of the twistiest tracks in England, nothing quite like them anywhere here in the USA. Google, Olivers Mount, Cadwell Park, Three Sisters etc. You are absolutely correct, used to have a ball running around the inside or outside of uber expensive and new race replica bikes on a couple of different steeds I had just for the track, stripped down to the core to gain as much power to weight ratio as possible, one even ran total loss ignition, battery power only no generator. Both looked like crap but were rock solid and as safe as any bike on a track could be, all money and time spent on brakes and tires. Smooth was ALWAYS the key to going fast and trying to keep your cool, once you get excited and angry then you get ragged and lose time around the track Or crash.... ouch! |
Once I retired at the end of 2011, giving me more time to actually play the full sized system instead of listening mostly through my Grados, I got restless and upgraded my cd player and speakers a year later to an Oppo 93 and a pair of Maggies. My wife was critical of the expense (which really wasn’t much considering I bought both used and got excellent deals from two kind folks) until she heard the results. We played music non stop for 15 hours the first day everything was hooked up and my only negative was thinking about how I should have done it sooner. Would anything short of equipment failure bring me back to the marketplace as a potential buyer? Not yet... but never is a long time... |
@unreceivedogma It is great that you are happy with your system! I think this is kind of a mood thing but some of us may need to actively decide to be happy with what we got. And we may of couse change mood a couple of years later. I do think you should try a newer cd though, a lot have happened on that front in 35 years. |
By chance, I heard "Le Moribond" by Jacques Brel today and could not be done with it so continued with its copy "Seasons In The Sun" by Terry Jacks (lyrics significantly changed). It is a great song, I think. It is about being done in this hobby of life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h02pNUKInBo (there are subtitles in English, if anyone is interested in lyrics and is not adept at French, they may be worth thinking about) |
Back to back, belly to belly I don’t give a damn, I done dead already Oho back to back, belly to belly At the Zombie Jamboree One female Zombie wouldn’t behave See how she jumping out of the grave In one hand a quarter rum In the other hand she knocking Congo drum Believe singer start to make his rhyme The Zombies are racking their bones in thyme One bystander had this to say T was a pleasure to see the Zombies break away Back to back, belly to belly I don’t give a damn, I done dead already Oho… 🧟♂️ |