There's a serious issue with FOMO in this hobby and way too many people chase the unobtainable. I guess if they've got the money and it makes them happy (the buying new stuff, obviously not how it sounds), gofer it.
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Yup. I sold hifi in the 80's. I don't have what is considered a pure audiophile system but it gets the job done better than anything I have ever owned. I don't have FOMO. I don't have upgrade-itis. Play on!
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Heck, this is a fun pastime. Chez xeno has always had a fun stereo since the earliest iteration: components were sourced from Goodwill, St. Vincent De Paul and other thrift stores...think $15 Heathkit tube integrated and $25 Dynaco speakers. Lotta evolution, all fun, and now we're enjoying our end game system. So yea, it was waaaay more than worth it. I'm truly saddened for anyone who hasn't had similarly enjoyable experiences growing their stereo.
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@craigvmn
My older brother thinks I’m out of my mind for having the rig I have. He’s very happy listening to his music from the 1/4” speakers in his phone. While I do listen the same way from time to time, I truly enjoy listening with my main system a lot more.😃
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Brother:
Man, you’ve been reading my mail. I thought I was a weirdo because I was so fascinated with anything that made music when I was a kid. I’m a 1960 boomer. I pined after anything that made reproduced music, a Panasonic transistor radio, a console player. I used to take speakers out of old TV’s and consoles left out for the trash etc. and hook them up to my radio, whatever. I bought a Panasonic cassette player with money I saved from my paper-route (remember those?) and added a little oiled walnut Radio Shack “Minimus” speaker (and the obligatory speaker cord) so it sounded like something close to music. I was in heaven! That was my introduction into audio.
Then I convinced my parents into a small system from “Tech Hi-Fi” a Boston based dealer in the early 1970’s. That’s when I decided I hated records because they were so maintenance intensive and I knew that $35-dollar cartridge on a BSR “changer” wasn’t doing any justice to my vinyl, and is why I was an immediate advocate of CDs because, even though they sounded like shit, they were easy to keep clean and weren’t ruined with every playing. Of course, there were many items purchased and sold etc. Rinse, repeat, rinse repeat, you get it.
Fast forward to today. I’ve decided speaker wire and cables claims are absolute crap. . Of course, components sound different, especially loud speakers. However, electronics not so differently as the industry would like us to believe. And yes, a not so good measuring piece can sound better than a not so good sounding piece.
What I’ve finally discovered in my 60’s is that it all about THE MUSIC! I like music now; not equipment!
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It has been worth it for me. Although early in my audiophile journey I did a lot of upgrading, about 40 years ago I assembled a core system that has proven satisfying. I've had to upgrade parts of it, and particularly I have had to upgrade the digital side of my system, but now even that is quite satisfactory.
I can simply listen and enjoy the music without having to be critical about this or that detail. I really believe that for my system the biggest shortcomings are in the recordings themselves--I have found few convincingly realistic recordings, but the difference between them and the rest have convinced me that one's reproducing gear can only go so far--you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear.
But if the acoustics of your room are not good, you either need to address that or focus on headphone listening, which I can enjoy while realizing it misses some of the elements that loudspeakers provide.
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No regrets.
I am a lover of music, though not a musician.
The better the quality of the sound the closer I am to the performance.
In rural VT I rarely get the chance to listen go to the concert or recital hall, and, indeed, the behavior of audiences in NYC concert halls increasingly detracted from the experience. People on their phone during the performance, and ALWAYS applauding before the piece finishes. A particular way to piss me off. I wish people would abide by the rule that when the conductor is facing the orchestra you are silent. You applaud when he/she turns round to face the audience. The decay of that last note is a meaningful part of the experience, and something delicious to be enjoyed.
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Music lover here. No regrets. Wish I could do even more.
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I am really sorry to hear about your journey. Mine has been similar in length and certainly intensity. However, I am retired and 73. My journey has been exactly the opposite. It represents the best investments I have ever made and has brought me endless joy along the way.
I traveled extensively throughout my career... first as a geologist when I would frequently spend 8 to 10 hours a day driving... so I had a top of the line headphone system for days (the Sony Walkman Brick with Dolby C), an amazing portable system for my motel room (three weeks in the field, one week home), and an evolving main system and record collection at home.
Later as an executive I traveled extensively globally and used my evolving portable headphone system. While further developing my home system.
Before retirement I did a big upgrade in case I could not afford another after... really great. Fortunately, after retirement I was able to do a much larger upgrade, achieving the sound I never thought possible. One key was in my fifties and sixties was season tickets to the symphony seventh row center that helped me calibrate my ears to real natural sound.
Now in retirement my system gets two or more hours of use and is one of my most prized and fulfilling time each day. The culmination of over fifty years of study and investment. This pursuit has been sooo rewarding. I am very fortunate.
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Yes, because I no longer want anything. I understand that there will always be something better than what I have and I'm okay with it.
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It has been in my case. The end result has well exceeded the endless search for the best sound to my ears in the best possible listening environment. It's obviously not for everyone. The commitment has to be real to get there. It's a great way to spend my time in retirement. I never gave it that much time and attention during my working life and the quality of my systems then would speak to that.
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death is the only offramp and then….. ?
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I think it has been. I've been on this Merry-Go-Round for only about 25 years, so a lot less than many people here. But an important point to remember is that this hobby is for a very select few for whom auditory satisfaction is a source of contentment. We're also Gearheads to an extent and we just like tinkering with things. We get an aural pleasure that the vast majority of people don't really care about and find elsewhere. Having said that, as I've posted earlier, I restored, refinished, and rebuilt a very old pair of coral speakers several months ago and only the other night did I finally take them off my listening stands and put my reference 3A's back up. I just would have been very happy with these essentially free speakers as opposed to much more substantial (and more resolving and clear) De Capos.
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Once I heard an 8 track I never looked at them seriously.
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Other than pissing away money on cables, I think the upgrades that I've made have been worth it. I listen to music for a couple of hours every night. I've got other hobbies that don't produce the satisfaction that I get from listening to music.
I do, however, feel that I'm at a stopping point. I'm happy where I'm at and don't feel like investing any more money to get that tiny bit of improvement.
You didn't mention 8 track tapes. Surely, you didn't skip those. I didn't. :)
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Definitely worth it...you can thoroughly enjoy what you have while looking at your next possible upgrade...love your music while having fun with your gear...
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A hobby is always a discovery journey, and there’ll be moments of joy as well as of disappointment. We’ve all been there.
I have gone the opposite way - about 4 years ago one of the components in my expensive setup had to be serviced. So I set up a system that was 20% of the cost with spares I had. I decided it sounded fantastic. When the other component came back, I didn’t bother to put it back together. I haven’t sold the more expensive system components yet, but shall do so soon.
I still care about audio, but found out I obsessed about it too much for too long. Now I just enjoy music that sounds amazing, and feel free having unburdened myself from the audiophilia nervosa that still lived on in my system.
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@craigvmn
I’m assuming this is a rhetorical question.
Perhaps examine your expectations and carefully consider whether they were/are realistic.
Perhaps, at present, you are seeking "something else" that simply cannot be achieved via audio?
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