Everyone I list rel and gato in my posts as well. I listed my system i have not in this post asked anyone to try or buy anything. This post is about the journey. What you have and how you got there. What do you like to listen to etc.
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@ozzy I do not know you or @calvinj from Adam but my deductive reasoning skills tell me his CAPS LOCK was depressed while typing his post. only 4 words are lowercase. Calvin maybe you should disclose that you are a dealer and that would resolve this issue.
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@jacobsdad2000 yes. Sold him some infigo cables. He wanted to try the speaker cables and our owner of our company took a while to produce them because we of course are a new company. I didn’t get to get them to him fast enough. I had another customer who asked for a demo first. He got mad and had been going after me ever since. I don’t say much out of respect for the owner of our company. We allow customers to demo cables etc. I’m just tired of it honestly. Man I’m not going to say anything bad about @ozzy he bought a lot of cables from us. The world is too big to be negative. Man I just wanna enjoy the hobby. Yes I work for infigo but I’m an audiophile for life first. Time to move on from the negativity. Man it’s pretty obvious at this point but I have a lot of people who know me and that I’m a good guy. Thanks. |
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We all come to this hobby for the same reason...
We love music...
Then some seems to decide to stop upgrading when they reach some minimal acoustic satisfaction threshold...For money reason only or like me because they can listen music now without being bothered by sound defects or lacks or unbalanced acoustic problems coming from the gear or from the room acoustic or the two ...The reason why i am not bothered by evident S.Q. problems no more is a good synergy between well chosen components and embeddings controls well done...
Some others , because of no lack of money, goes higher toward an optimal acoustic satisfaction treshold ...
In these groups there is those who had learn what to do in basic acoustics and embedding controls , and those who put great faith in price tag only and dont take the arduous amount of time to learn ...
Beginners must know that most audiophiles will be in the obligation to go on the first road with a limited budget... Then if they want to enjoy the minimal acoustic satisfaction threshold , they had much to learn about synergy first and mechanical,electrical and especially acoustic controls BEFORE upgrading if possible if basic synergy between components is there for sure....
The other group with no limit in money or way less limit must know that the price tag is not linearly related to S.Q. and they too will be in the obligation to do studies and experiments if they want to go even to the minimal acoustic satisfaction threshold and pass it toward the optimal acoustic satisfaction threshold ....
In any case we must experience natural timbre, spatial acoustics differentiation qualities and immersiveness to SOME BASIC LEVEL ... At least on a minimal level as i am or at the top optimal possible level ... But you must know this, at any price the learnings curve, the acoustic studies and the experiments are the same ...
As say the geometer to the pharaoh , there is no price in gold a pharaoh can pay to know geometry save the study work itself ...There is no royal road...
Price tag and money dont even buy the minimal acoustic satisfaction threshold in many case then certainly not the top optimal acoustical satisfaction level ...
Sorry to blew the balloon...
Many musicians dont bother with a serious quality playback system because music perception transcend sound qualities perception ...And the truth is that a minimal acoustic satisfaction level is enough for most people anyway to enjoy music with a relatively very good sound at low cost ... Optimal level of acoustic satisfaction cost a lot in money and in time invested anyway...
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@Bigtwim “ My first "system" was a crystal radio with an ear plug at age 8. 60 years later I’ve learned a couple things. I’ve owned a few pieces of equipment. I went 20 years without changing a thing. In the past few years I’ve put together the system I’ll take to the end. “ hmmmm……. You could be the twin brother I never new I had. That is a total description of my audio life, right down to the crystal radio kit my uncle gave me for Christmas when I was 8. I remember, when I got it assembled, I taped it to the headboard of my bed. I didn’t have any money for a proper antenna, so I found a long spool of bare wire, connected it to the antenna input and used nails to hang it around the perimeter of my bedroom ceiling. Then, almost every night at bedtime , I would grab the single earphone and listen to my radio. Like you, my system was basically unchanged for about 20 years and then about ten years ago, I got the audiophile bug. I have recently finished my audio system and now my system is just about listening pleasure. I haven’t remembered the crystal radio in quite a while. Thanks Uncle Dick, for the incredible Christmas gift; and thanks, my new twin brother, for reminding me. Cheers, Tim |
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@calvinj You are much better than I at controlling capital ependitures. |
@bigtwin i also had my previous system for 8 years until I changed to Infigo last year. I’m really enjoying what I have and I’m going to keep it for a good while. |
@everyone your system is truly a journey. Our audiophile journey starts when we are young as for a lot of us. We get older, make more money and buy more expensive gear along the way. Learning more about the quality of the gear we purchase along the way. For some of us our ability to afford more expensive gear coincides with the additional knowledge we have gained to allow us to have systems better than the ones we had before it. |
@drrsutliff i like the gryphon stuff I have heard at shows. Very musical. |
@tattooedtrackman im a big fan of audio research as well they make some really great gear. I had a preamp of theirs for a dem for about 3 months a few years ago. |
@sierratrails looks like a pretty nice rig you got there. |
@carlsbad2 i had the same system for 8 years straight until my latest change in dac and amplifier and cabling. I think this is going to stay away. It plays well with my Ahmad Jamal, Kendrick Scott Oracle,Duke Pearson, Buika and Cecile Salvant. Just gonna let it play |
@calvinj My first "system" was a crystal radio with an ear plug at age 8. 60 years later I've learned a couple things. I've owned a few pieces of equipment. I went 20 years without changing a thing. In the past few years I've put together the system I'll take to the end. But I stand by my words above. Far to many people on these sites need to preface thier remarks with IMHO. IMHO. To answer the OP's second question, I can't get enough of Joe Henderson. |
Right now I have Audio Research Ref 750s. Audio Research Ref 6SE. Rega Isis CDP. Krell B&W Bass alignment filters. ( 2 ) balanced. B&W Matrix 800 speakers Quad wired with Straight Wire Crescendos. Straight Wire Crescendo XLR interconnects. Timbernation custom audio rack and amp platforms. Back up amp is a Krell FPB 600. Maybe upgrade to the Audio Research Ref 9 se CDP. |
@carlsbad2 yup I agree with you but running out of gas and cash. Lol. You can always find more if you look hard enough. Lol 😂 |
@phishhhhh4 be sure to also join fellow Vandersteen owners on the Vandy forum i bet your system sounds great |
@akg_ca i definitely understand how u feel I thought I would never spend this much but as I heard better I wanted better. Audio has really made great advancements |
@phishhhhh4 imheard the vadersteen treo at a local shop. I actually enjoyed them and I loved the design. How long have you had them. |
@bigtwin i started with a 1500 system. Def tech. I moved up the ladder of my last 20 years. Sometimes swapping out things month to month. Over the years I learned more. I heard better systems. I went from def tech, to b&w, Sonus Faber, Vienna Acoustics, revel, to Gato. I went from classe, mark levinson, EAR, Esoteric, Veloce, Kr Audio, Soulution now the to the company I work for which is INFIGO AUDIO. Learning more each time I moved up in price. Sometimes it wasn’t just about money. I realized what I listened to and what equipment performed best. Now my system is 50 times retail of what I started with but I’m in a good spot now and will probably keep what I have for a long time. I learned more about soundstage, depth, detail, transparency, low noise floors etc. It’s not always about money. We grow in this hobby. As we get older we know more and sometimes have more money to spend. My Gato speaker for instance retails at 14k. I have not found anything better to my ear unless it was 2 to 3 times the price for my room, system and listening habits. Synergy is also important. We all learn and spend in this hobby based mostly on our ears. Just enjoy as much as you can. If you ann afford it try it and enjoy. If not get the best you can afford and use what you know to maximize what you have. I do get tired of those thinking that the guys who spend a lot on audio are a bunch of inexperienced delusional audiophiles. Most of us got the resources because we were smart enough to create the income to do this. If you don’t spend a lot enjoy your system. But don’t judge this of us who do spend a lot. Cheers everyone. |
@ozzy please stay off my thread this isn’t about infigo. I’m trying to find out about systems as well as music. I will not post on your threads moving forward. I was an audiophile before infigo and will be one after. |
mostly I gloss…. but every now and then a hint of of gem might emerge…like @magister actually knows Stax existed… |
I never said anything against those who spend big money and know how to do it... And there is many of them here... For example ghdprentice or mike lavigne and others ... Read my posts in their context thread and answering some specific other posts... If you think that what i said is directed to you personally then there is nothing i can do ... Many knows that price tag had no direct relation to good sound ... There is many other factors... If my description fit you too much i am sorry but it was not adressed to you but to beginners because they must learn that all audiophiles dont have costly gear and they must know the truth about what to do BEFORE giving too much way too soon in their journey ... And they must learn that this hobby is about music and acoustics and learnings and experiments more than about the higher possible expanse and so called upgrades ... By the way you are wrong.... There is not two path: one expansive and the other low cost... There is ONE PATH: acoustics science and embeddings controls of mechanical and electrical and acoustical for ANY SYSTEM AT ANY PRICE .... It is you because you felt to be wrongly my target that confuse thing... Not me ... Pass over my posts if you dont like them...Beginners need to hear another voice that dont enumerate branded name of always costlier piece of gear to buy ...I am not against enumerating the possible pieces of costly gear and their qualities... it is useful ... But my insistance on acoustics for example instead of gear upgrade is useful too ... By the way i am one of the rare to claim that audiophile level experience is possible at ANY COST in a minimal way for sure if we learn what to do ... I never pretended that my lost cost speakers beat the best there is over them ...I pretend that they are transformed by the way i used them as any speakers at any price can be ... Read this thread and others and you will read people bragging without end about gear piece they just purchase ... I prefer to say other things which are forgotten if you gave me the permission for sure......😊
my best to you ...
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@hilde45 😄👍 |
+1 @bigtwin |
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Acoustical satisfaction exist at ANY PRICE ... Minimal acoustic satisfaction and also optimal and very high acoustic satisfaction ... And end game SOUND system , independantly of price, is a system able to translate MUSIC in a way we forgot sound qualities or their lacks... People with money to throw out of the windows, or people with no clue in acoustics , or people who listen the sounds of the changing gear on 10 audiophile albums, or people obsessive compulsive with a perfectionism bent which is abnormal, or people fragile and susceptible to be influenced a lot by marketing publicity and reviewers , all those people out of desesperation often or often by their expanse habits buy upgrades on a monthly schedule like dogs pursuing their tails... Other like me , once the search for synergy between components is done , when they have it, their hobby is not expanse of money in upgrade because the higher cost is supposed to be better , no, their hobby is learnings and experiments at low cost if possible and learnings how to listen music with acoustic and learning how to listen acoustic with music... I am happy thanks to what i learned not only and mainly from what i bought ...I am done because music fill my life and in spite of his limitations (speakers) i dont felt any defects on my system now ... My hobby is music now and i begin to think that many their hobby is expanse and upgrades with no clue about the way to embed anything rightfully so that the system could be transformed as any system MUST BE ... Many audiophiles pay, plug and play then pay for an upgrade..I study, debug and dont pay, my upgrade is learning how to create better control over the system at low cost... 😁 It was a success ... I have nothing against people able to afford very costly system , i am not OK with the necessary claim that the higher the price tag the better it is... It is false and not only that, a frequent error is upgrading BEFORE learning how to embed a system in his 3 working dimensions... My post is for the benefit of beginners or low budget audiophiles ...
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@carlsbad2 711 posts
“ … I notice many of those who have declared their system "done" have relatively low end systems “…while those of us with less ability to control capital expenditures know that we will probably keep upgrading. 😎…”
+1 ….big time for those playing in the high end systems sandbox, there is NO END GAME SYSTEM …..there exists only your CURRENT system …. |
Speakers: Sonus Faber Olympica Nova 3 Audioquest Robin Hood speaker cables Audioquest/Mogami interconnects and XLR cables McIntosh MC252 Power Amplifier McIntosh C47 Preamplifier Audiolab 9000CDT CD Transport Bluesound Node version 3 streamer Denafrips Iris 12th DDC Denafrips Pontus 2 12th DAC Denon DP47 automatic turntable with Sumiko Blue Point #3 cartridge SVS SB-2000 Pro subwoofer Furman Power conditioner Anything jazz will do! |
@hilde45 absolutely hilarious …. only thing worse would be all caps embedded…. |
For sure you are right... We all learn the hard way , i am not an exception to this rule ... But my point is about those who are more fixed on price tag than on acoustic basic... And about the fact that we must learn and study basic and experiment a bit BEFORE any big upgrade...Upgrades dont replace understanding ... A low cost system can be outstanding in his own way if there is electrical and acoustical synergy between the components and if all system is well embedded in the three working dimensions ... Mine is ... Thats my points...
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Yes. Tannoy Canterbury GR with VAC Master 300iQ monos and matching Master preamp. The Master amps effected a vast performance increase over other amps. Nothing I’ve ever heard has made so much difference as those amps. The system now matches or exceeds the best sound I ever imagined for that room. I can still play with various phono stages & cartridges for "flavor" changes, and each change is rendered in its best light possible by this downstream. My "sandbox" for experimenting with more gear combinations has now moved to a smaller office system. I don’t have a "go to" artist for testing system changes because it becomes boring very quickly! I just use mostly ordinary LPs that have been in recent rotation (no digital at all! lol). Certainly not "audiophile" releases (which I find horrendously boring)! I suppose I do end up using Blue Oyster Cult, Magnum, and Quarterflash more than average. Also like a lot of 80s / new wave / synth wave and some heavy metal (including hair metal). There is a vast difference between a "good" sounding LP and a bad one, and of course I avoid the latter. But the good are certainly not limited to slow, sleepy female singers (like the usual suspects at audio shows). |
@bigtwin And don't let the CFO know how informal the approval process is. 😂 |
@hilde45 PLUS ONE |
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I don't know if I am done or not. I am certainly satisfied, at the moment. Front End: VPI Titan Turntable, Van den Hul Frog gold cartridge Lumin U-1 Streamer Esoteric K-03XD SACD/DAC Amplification: Phono preamp; Parasound JC3+ Preamp: Evo Luna 400 Amps: Classe Delta Monoblocks End: Speakers: B&W 800 D3 Subs: SVS PB-16 ultras (2) Other: I have a dual hi-pass, low pass, up at pre-amp to divide between amps and amplified subs before amplification. Dedicated 20 amp circuit, well-shielded Furman commercial surge/filter Cables are custom Mogami-based XLR/balanced cables for interconnects throughout system and bi-wired 12g OFC, tinned with silver and tipped with WBT silver plugs Rack: Adonai. Oh, and I'm a bomb shelter with curious acoustics. Working on that. |
Gryphon Diablo 300 w/DAC Wolf Audio Alpha 3SX server DSA (Dynamic Sounds Associates) Phono II Origin Live Sovereign 3 dual arm turntable (Enterprise IV and Conqueror IV) Soundsmith Hyperion, Miyajima Zero Rockport Mira 2 speakers Synergistic Research Powercell SE and L3 cables Adona Rack Might be done... |
