I'm interested in hearing from or about music lovers who have dropped out of the audio "hobby." I don't mean you were content with your system for 6 weeks. I mean, you stood pat for a long time, or--even better--you downsized...maybe got rid of your separates and got an integrated.
(I suppose if you did this, you probably aren't reading these forums any more.)
If this sounds like a cry for help, well, I dunno. Not really. I'm just curious. My thoughts have been running to things like integrated amps and small equipment racks and whatnot even as I continue to experiment and upgrade with vigor (I'm taking the room correction plunge, for example.) Just want to hear what people have to say on the subject.
Since I last posted in Oct 2001, I've went thru a whole lot of audiophile stuff, but I'm NOT an audioholic! Actually I'm probably in denial, though the last component I bought was 19 months ago and I've dropped my subscription to audiophile rag's, and I'm no longer reading internet audio rag's either.
I've started a subscription to a new classical music magazine, and am thinking of a few others music magazines as well. Bought lots of CD's lately. Think I've overcome, at last, any interest in going to SACD's & players. Now if I could just convince myself that I couldn't get a better result with a new amp (the sound of which I'm having a hard time describing) I would stop coming here to check the Ads and my withdrawal would be about complete.
I'm not an audiophile, I'm not and audiophile, I'm not an audiophile!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Newbee, I am praying for you....and me too. My first reply was in 06/01, and now I am under the impression that the answer is NOT AVAILIBLE. One cannot get off the merry-go round, unless, as Cyclonicman suggests, one gets off the merry-go-round and on the ferris wheel.
The only chance you MIGHT have is to avoid all print media, any Hi-Fi shows, and ALL internet audio website's. Maybe then you can escape....however, if you are here, responding to threads, there is no hope whatsoever.
It doesn't work to relocate from one temptation to another. Any AA person will tell you that there is no geographical cure. First you have to admit that you are powerless over audio. Then watch your behavior - you will find yourself rationalizing and finding ways to cheat or bumping up against circumstances that have to be considered unavoidable. These are signs of denial. (Yeah, I know it's a river). Some of you will turn to religion to escape your bonds. Others will transfer to another obsession like computer audio.
Ultimately, the only way out is through. You have to confront your self and your fears. You must give up your suckle. Wean yourself. Pull the plug. There is no gentle way.
In my opinion the best way to get off is simply getting divorce. That is right. Just let you x wife have it, and wish her luck. No doubt her new boyfriend will pick up where you left off.
1. I think it's useful to ask yourself, honestly, whether the $1000 you're considering spending on new cables would be better spent elsewhere (and doing this with someone who will call bulls*** on your reasoning is helpful). Will that $1000 be enjoyed more on the cables than on the myriad of other things you could spend it on? (E.g. with me, $1000 would let me spend more time in Europe, and that is a pure joy for me.)
2. I also think, as many have noted, that it's useful to ask if you're listening to music as opposed to your system. Is your system allowing you to enjoy all the music you really like? Or do you spend too much time listening to the system and how it is reproducing the music? When I do the latter, I stop buying stuff.
3. Nuclear option: Read Peter Singer (e.g. _Famine, Affluence, and Morality_ here: http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/1972----.htm). That'll do it, for sure.
I have never understood this thread. I have not spent 40 plus years in this hobby because I wanted to get off. I have often thought that my reproduction of music could not get better only to have this crushed by something new. Given how much better my sound is now than even five years ago and the thrill of hearing a quality performance in substantial realism when I want to hear it hardly causes me to want to drop the hobby.
Get yourself this or that gear is not the point. Our tastes are too varied and the one man's heaven is the other man's hell..and as Tbg so rightly says, why get off at all. This IS our hobby and our passion and that's all there is to it. What most of us do reach however, after a long learning period which may have cost plenty, is that level of contentment, where the need to experiment further and to spend more money gets down to practically zero.
Actually, come to think of it, in my opinion the merry go round is not a good metaphore for what we are doing. Going round and round implies no progress. You may change your position within that given circle but you get no further. I find this too pessimistic a view for what we are intelligently doing, because progress towards a goal, as subjective as it may be, (although there is such a thing as the absolute sound) is possible. I would prefer the image of the spiral , because this would not imply the futility of our efforts to progress. The top end of my spiral would be what I hear as the "abolute" in my favourite concerthall in my favourite seat. Sometimes , when experimenting, trying new gear or tweaking, you slide forward and upward on this spiral, sometimes you slide back. On a merry go round you don't get anywhere, just have movment ( speak, different sounds as you change gear or tweak) but you don't get anywhere and you should in fact get off it by trying to figure ou how you would like your gear to perform in aural terms and relentlessly strive for that. Then you've left the carousel (or treadmill in other terms) and are on a spiral with a definite goal or end and if you think you're close to what you'd like, you can stop struggling upwards, only watching out not to slide back.
Yes Tvad, LOL. Getting lots of inspiration from the "real" but how to implement at home with ones limited means pocketbook- and technologywise.....still it is possible to a certain degree, though not in the state of addiction, speak carousel- or threadmillmode.
Jmcgrogan2, I suspect few are so threatened. I do think, however, that when your children are young you have to hold back, if for no other reason than they may get into your system or cost a lot of money.
I think "getting off the merrygoround" is deliberately pejorative. Most don't want to get off, but often do have to cutback.
The ultimate merry-go-round is life, living on this planet we call earth that spins on its axes and there is only one exit, I don't have to mention what that is. Given that if being an audiophile means having to entirely give up this hobby then I'm on the merry-go-round ride indefinately. Yes we are in a recession and we all survived the recession of the 80's and we will weather this storm now. It is normal for the economy to rise and fall over a period of time. I have great hope that are current leaders will move the economy in a positive direction.
During these tougher times we can tighten our belts and hold onto what we have till things improve. In the meantime enjoy your music. Music is and will always be a media that can be enjoyed by all peoples regardless of background.
Man that was deep. I'm just looking for some cool audio gear. Sometimes I'm on a merry go round, and other times a spiral (not saying which direction). But it's always fun, and that's really the point (to me).
"I think "getting off the merrygoround" is deliberately pejorative. Most don't want to get off, but often do have to cutback"
Exactly
Happy listening and as Phd so rightly says, we WILL enjoy our music. Perhaps even more intensely and deeply during the bad times we have now. Cheers, Detlof
If You get off of the merry go round & try another ride, you will eventually be called back to the merry go round, so, Best to just stay On it, & remember...Listen to the Music, Not the Gear.
I think most people on here would agree they would not want to get off the merry-go-round. Perhaps some people would only consider it if their family suffered a financial tragedy and it was a necessity to let the hobby take a backburner.
Listen to the music, not the stereo. If the stereo does not let you do that you will never be free! Many audiophile components are voiced with a particular sound. This can be exciting at first but after a while the colorations get tiresome and it's time for a new "sound". It's all a plot so beware ;-))
Cdc, I like your plot theory! It places the blame squarely on the manufacturer & not the user. I think if you become too critical of your system you need to also look at the quality of the recording because even the most expensive systems cannot make every recording sound good. In fact such a system is more likely to reveal the flaws. My preference is a system that will sound good with all types of music.
Detlof, I don't know how but I missed your analogy of a spiral. Your right, the merry go round does sound indfinite. I think you can spiral up as well as down. I definately want a ticket to the spiral! When your done with that, how about a ticket to a state of the art roller coaster. You get on, you will have your ups and downs however when its over & all things being equal, you get off & that is a trick in itself. I think its important to to keep a sense of humor & reflect back to how ridicously as audipohiles we sound sometimes, at least to non-audiophiles. One thing I don't like is a snobby audiophile & you sir are not one of them. I can always appreciate a good transaction but some of my favorite people (friends) have left audiogon & moved on with their life but I still make an effort to stay in contact however I have managed to find a heathy balance.
Cdc, I'm afraid the counselor is now caught up in the merry-go-round. As soon he is ok we will sign you up! You already know how addictive this has become.
I have not dropped off per say but circumstances have changed things for me. First let me say that I had it great. My work schedule allowed me an hours time most mornings for dedicated listening. I would go to the gym for my morning workout and then after showering, breakfast, and dressing for work, I would have 45 minutes to an hour for sitting in the chair and listening intently. Then my work schedule was moved up a half hour and all was lost. 95% of my listening is now of the back round type. I have also taken up another hobby. My system sounds great to me as ever but I no longer am scrutinizing so much that I feel the need to upgrade for "something better". I am saddened by my lost dedicated listening time but for me the cure for upgradeitis was another hobby. I still love audio but it's no longer an obsession, just an enjoyment when I can listen.
Zar, that story sounds vaguely familiar, LOL. Life does go on once you get off the merry-go-round. I would actually say that I am happier now that I have others things to obsess on. ;D
I used to have five passions-audio, catamaran racing, sports cars, being a good professor, and my family. I now have but two-audio and my family although my kids now have kids. I find people with no passions boring. I have absolutely no desire to get off the audio merry-go-round. I do a lot of listening but as relaxation and often not dedicated. What I love is when the reproduction is so real that I have to put down my book and just listen.
Between 1992 and 2007 I spent an average of $5-8,000 per year on this hobby, er merry-go-round. Looking back over those expenditures, I can certainly identify a few that returned much better value than others. But at the end of 2007 I decided to "freeze" my system and put all that money into an account for going to live performances.
If anything, I now spend MORE than I used to, but now it goes into tickets & travel (to Music Festivals, catching musicians in their home towns, etc). Now when I look back at my spending, I can say, "Oh that's when I saw Lyle Lovett" or that was the Caramoor Extreme Chamber Music series, or that was our third trip to Tanglewood. Many of those events have given me much greater pleasure than my stereo system ever did on its best days.
Of course, it is still nice to come home after work and listen to some music, but the desire to upgrade my equipment is mitigated by the thought that I could be using that same money to go see Rachael Yamagata or Vienna Teng or Yo-yo Ma in concert.
Works for me! My system has been very stable ever since.
1. Finally meeting at least some of my expectations for good audio playback. Yes, I can find things wrong with my system, but on the whole, to my ears, it does more things right than wrong.
2. Having components of more or less equal perceived quality. This prevents me from obsessing about "weak links" in the system, which are maddening to an audio addict.
3. Redirecting my compulsion into finding new music. Maybe that's still an addictive process, but it's a lot cheaper, and ultimately, more fulfilling.
Suffering from too much GAS? Sadly most audiophiles here seem afflicted with too much GAS.
This is the correct technical term for what Drubin describes as the "merry-go-round" affliction. I am surprised I have never seen this popular term used here on Audiogon. Are audiophiles out of touch and in another world or are audiophiles simply not musicians or musically adept, for the most part?
Shadorne, as I have said before, I have no interest in stopping making improvements and I have been doing this for 45 years. I am or was a musician and merely seek what I use to hear repeated at my leisure. I just get a thrill at realism.
I must say that I knew an excellent pianist who had a simple Webcor portable record player. He said that he really didn't listen except to certain key places for the recording player's interpretation.
This is why I just cannot understand the so-called objectivists.
Shadrone, Unless GAS is an acronym for something, the only GAS I see which keeps folks going round and round originates with manufacturers, reviewers, salesmen, and a few (too many) proud owners of something they bought. The latter can be forgiven though. The former are on the treadmill making the merry-go-round go round! They like to keep it going as fast as possible so ones fears injury if they try to get off. :-)
It's all predicated on the immature fear that we are missing something. Is there more to be had? Can I make it all mo betta? It's like striving for a higher high and needing to perpetually "up the dose". No wonder it feels addictive and no wonder we feel like we are going around and around. No wonder we all knew exactly what drubin was saying when he used the term "merry-go-round".
Thankfully, I did not get off. In the last year, conservatively I would say that the realism of my music reproduction has improved by 50 percent. I would credit the breakin of my Weiss Dac202, the new technology in the StillPoints Ultras, John Tucker's new Exemplar Portal cables, the Bergman Sindre tt and Ortofon A-90 cartridge, fullest use of the Syn. Res. ARTs, and the new H-Cat X9 circuit in the amp, phono stage, and line stage. What a year!
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