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Happen to you? Gear chasing because the fundamentals were wrong.

Gear chasing and swapping can be a real joy or a real pain. 
The search for "better" or just the search for the "right fit" or sound.
One thing I've learned (with some difficulty) is that there are some fundamentals which have to be in place if anything else is going to be accurately assessed.

Of these, amp-speaker synergy and room acoustics were the most obvious factors I neglected. Noise and isolation were also missed as critical, early on. I blamed components which really were not the cause or the solution to the situation because I was missing the fundamentals.

I'm curious to hear anecdotes of your discovery.

What fundamental did you fail to pay attention to which caused you to chase gear unnecessarily?

Hopefully, these stories will be instructive, especially for newer audiophiles.

128x128hilde45

Showing 2 responses by hilde45

hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,817 posts
 

Great stuff! Thanks. Keep it coming.

@nonoise 

To be honest, when I first started out I fell for the hype when it comes to amps, power ratings and the like. Add speaker myths about efficiency and the dos and don'ts in all things audio. It was a learning curve for me.

Me too. I also didn't understand about impedance curves and phase angles.

hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,817 posts
 

@whart I'm still curious about horns/sets as a combo.

I have since discovered that small peaks (around 3 db) at certain frequencies, in the mid’s and low mid’s can add a richness to vocals and that certain dips in the mid’s can remove a hollowness from vocals that can show up from time to time.

The assumption of a flat response is a fundamental mistake I made, too. Your post reminded me that in addition to measuring a room and *not* worshipping a flat curve, it was also helpful to measure my hearing -- with an audiologist. I don't believe that measurement is the last word, but knowing the curve of one's hearing can help guide anyone adjusting the curve of their room. 

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