How good is good enough?

So.....what's your question?

🤔

How good is good enough for you?

Well, in that case, I am very happy with what I have and how I have it set up. I have no desire to change anything right now. IOW, I'm not lusting for anything. I'm content. So.....all good here.

It's two-fold. 

When the music sounds spectacular, I am done. I just want to listen.

When I see a gear and start thinking about what it might do for me, I am back to being not done. 

I'm satisfied with my system and can't fathom seeing myself drop 6 figures on anything audio. 

There is a very excellent book on Getting Better Sound by Jim Smith - i buy them used and carry a gift copy in my traveling setup box… Lots of things to do improve your system / enjoyment without spending $

So, i am NEVER done…. Lord help me if she discovers, i’ve hidden absorbers behind the wall arte….

I think that I am probably a tad diagnostically OCD, and due to that I will never ever be truly happy knowing that there is always something I could do to improve some aspect.

However, I am at a point in my life and disposable income that reality dictates that even if it is not "good enough" it is going to have to do.

I am also forced to learn the art of making more with less. Necessity is the mother of innovation, being broke is the father of creativity

Without going into dollar amounts, there is a limit on what I will spend on "anything". Just because I could afford something doesn’t mean that I will buy it. The cost limit applies more to some of my countless hobbies and less to others, but applies to all of them, nonetheless. They all reach a point of diminishing return and satisfaction for the dollar and that point varies per individual. They key is to have the wisdom to know where that point is and enjoy what you have.

@ellajeanelle ,

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference."

I'm currently happy with my modest system. I tend to spend time listening combined with playing around with room treatment and speaker placement. 

I don't see myself spending any large sums on equipment for some time but I am thinking about building a set of speakers. That is not in the pursuit of the end-game speaker but more of something to do on the weekends. 

I've noticed myself laughing more and more after reading the prices these days of new equipment in the magazines. 

I become more surprised every day at how well my system satisfies my needs of good music done well, even more surprised how that satisfaction is neither diminished or enhanced by how much or how little was spent. In the words of Delbert McClinton, " I need more and more less and less every day". Enjoy the music

I enjoyed my system more when I was drinking more (while listening).

But I will say that now that I am drinking less I do feel physically better.

immatthewj: I know what you mean and am happy for you! Old habits can be hard to break!  

Pretty happy listening to Cal Tajder and Eddie Palmieri through 2a3 SET amps at the moment.

I am an audiophile. I want the very best sound I can afford and am happy to allocate a disproportionate amount of my disposable income to achieve this.
 

Typically I do an upgrade cycle every seven years and just really enjoy the music in between upgrade cycles. During the hiatus I stay up on Stereophile, The Absolute Sound, and HiFi+ as well as casually work on small positioning and tweaks to improve the sound. I also help friends put together systems and occasionally go to high end audio shows.

It's good enough when you hit your limits:

Room and credit

Ya do what ya gotta do when you can do it!

Spend as much as you can truly extend ,especially the most critical 2 pieces 

the front end like Dac quality ,streamer LPS power supplies 

and Good quality Loudspeakers.

I'm done.... maybe.

As for audio equipment, after 50+ years of budgeting for modest updates or incremental upgrades I’m 95% sure I am at “good enough”.

Myself , like Tomic, I’m never done, but the pace forward has slowed to a crawl  because what I hear in my room doesn’t demand more to my ears. What I search for is the music. Enough said. I’d rather go fishing, surfing. Haha, lol. 

Good enough is when you are emotionally involved with the music.  

I am married to an economist, we both believe in the concept of marginal cost versis marginal gain.  Now that I am 75 and my hearing is slowly declining I believe there is no future in upgrading my system.

It is not uber expensive, but would cost about a new Honda Civic to replace.  I am in my happy okace and spend my energies listening and no longer worry about gear changes.  Revel in the present!!

Utility functions for luxury goods are difficult to define…..Don’t let the “ dismal science “ squeeze the  joy out of that Civic sized investment….

Just an Econ dude $.02 adjusted for deflation 

My system is in the lower 5 figures (under 20K) and most of it was bought used. I got JBL XPL 140 speakers, Lexicon MC12 preamp, LX7 amp, Modwright/Oppo BDP 95, JBL 2241 Sub, Crown XLS 1500 sub amp.. I heard a 6 figure system with Wilson Sashas and It didn't grab me at all. My System murdered this high dollar big name set up. This is my end game system and I ain't worried about it. I am still doing tweaks on it, but I'm done shopping.

huh?

Appreciate the sentiment and can relate to your statement/question.

My 2-channel journey took me all the way around to the most enjoyable system I've ever experienced. And when you say "Big Fish", let me shock you with minimal system components - both of them (if you count active speakers):

1) Old Samsung Note 9 (with a broken screen) sitting on a continuousely charging DeX cradle that also has HDMI and USB outputs and a dongle that strips (S/PDIF coax) audio off the HDMI output. <-- Yes, that is the extent of the "gear".

2) Speaker system: Pair of DIY Linkwitz LXmini and pair of DIY Linkwitz Phoenix(alt) open-baffle subs with a Hypex FA123 mounted in each. These receive the digital signal with their coax inputs, provide crossover and DSP tuning duties - driving all 6 channels actively.

The HDMI is connected to a TV for displaying/selecting streaming sources, Note9 is controlled with wireless keyboard/trackpad. Turn the system on by switching on the TV, phone automatically awakens in DeX-mode by default. Soon as I begin playing something (usually AmazonMusic or YouTubeMusic), the Hypex amps signal-sense and auto powerup - all from the couch. Another beauty of the system is... there is only ONE digital-to-analog conversion, and it's at the very last stage - just before amplification (avoiding analog-to-digital conversions altogether and avoiding multiple digital-to-analog conversions) and literally in the speakers.

I've been through so much gear, so many speakers, cal mic measurements with REW, Dirac, etc. (all a great hobby experience and learned a lot) - years of that to end-up here... thoroughly enjoying the "non-system" that I built from the plans of a genius (Linkwitz).

BTW, I still have most of the gear (stacked in the basement) and some of the speakers (GoldenEar Triton One's were repurposed to HT as an example), and if I thought it would improve the 2-ch sound, would readily reinsert - but experience and measurements have shown it won't/doesn't. Also, the 2-ch room has no treatments... unecessary with OB-subs and omni/dipole cardioid speakers.

The system is essentially non-existant except for speakers, powers-up without touching a unit or warm-up time, videos or not (as wished), and excellent spacial sound without a bad seat in the room - I even moved the sweat-spot Eames chair & ottoman to the granddaughter's room (for when she visits).

I'll add that I also have a full rack of gear (sitting here next to my desk) that can be rolled in if I were to want to play an LP or CD/DVD/BluRay, class A/B amp, experience Dirac, hear the (benefits?) of Denafrips DAC w/upgraded PS, or the (amazing?) improvements of a capacitor-riddled power regulating AC filter. But you know that hasn't happened in over a year now. That rack of gear has become an extension of my desk - another horizontal surface to stack papers. 

It's good enough until it isn't. I'm done until I'm not.

One piece of upgraded audio gear is too many and 100 is not enough 

Once you get the room right, size, soundproofing and acoustic treatments, it will be much easier to get over that upgrading equipment need. With an average room, the upgrade equipment bug will never leave you. At least it has been my experience with the house of stereo. Complicated, expensive and lengthy project but I have never regretted it. You get what you pay for is as true as anything in room acoustics.

I’ve spent enough money on upgrades that provided a barely detectable difference (note: not necessarily improvement) despite reviews and recommendations that promised otherwise. So, any future upgrades will be out of shear curiosity or gadget-interest more than an expectation of audio nirvana.

I am done.  Until I change my mind 

It stops when you find out what makes sound do what it does.  It is not pricing that dictates sound, it is design and parts quality.  You can upgrade your existing components using better parts that the manufacturer used and get fantastic results without spending that much compared to what are considered reference components.  We do this all the time probably 5 units each month.  Even $20K units are improved greatly.

For me acoustics was more important in my learnings and in sound quality that the price of capacitors or the price of crossovers ...

For many it is the opposite...

But it is better to have perfect room acoustic with less good capacitors and crossovers than the reverse...

Any showcase with hundred of thousand dollars system mediocre sound quality is proof of my claim ...

Most audiophiles are focussing on gear, not on acoustics as much... They conflate acoustics understanding and experiments with few panels on a wall ...

"Good enough" for me is unstable at the moment because I'm curious about different types of speakers, amp and DAC topologies and architecture. 

Historically, I've always felt that reading and participation in forums like this always created some level of FOMO, which lead to purchases. I usually don't keep my speakers and equipment if upgrading or trying something different. I've learned that this is actually the counter balance to FOMO since purchasing, and especially selling, on the used market is kind of a pain. 

@witchitadog

To constantly strive for better sound is an endless quest, not necessarily based on the quality of our set but on our personality.

This is another thread about when a certain quantity of quality sound is "enough."

Having heard this question umpteen times, I have lost respect for it. After a certain point, sound really doesn’t get much better -- at least not as much as it gets different.

Compare an expensive Audio Note system with an expensive system built around, say, Wilson. Or Magico. Or Magnepan. Or whatever. Is it really reasonable to say one is better -- in terms of quantity of quality -- over another? This is an absurd question. It’s asking whether Picasso is better than Rembrandt.

These are children’s questions because they are absurd. They’re absurd because the act of asking already presupposes that criteria can be settled in advance, with examples marching in afterwards to be judged like contestants in a beauty contest. It is a Sisyphusean question.

To my mind, the question redounds why some think it can be asked and answered. The question becomes, Why are you (we) Sisyphus? when it comes to asking such impossible questions?

the best i can afford

Very good post!

My answer will be because we refuse or do not understand why we must learn minimal basic acoustics concepts and how experimenting with them ...

We condemn ourself to consumerism in the pursuit of an illusion related to the gear marketing which is no no more an acoustic question but reduce to a psychological obsession ...

Am i wrong ?

It is my experience observing myself ...

To my mind, the question redounds why some think it can be asked and answered. The question becomes, Why are you (we) Sisyphus? when it comes to asking such impossible questions?

I'm not sure that the concept of "good enough" is what drives most of us in this hobby. Passion and curiosity pushes the limits of practical thinking. 

I’ll be done when my wife says so! After bringing home speakers almost as tall as she is, the wife doesn’t want any more.  Especially a pair of Maggie 3.7i’s😁

My goal was from the beginnings to create a system for music...never to use few music albums to test my system ...

I own 10,000 albums...😊

I invested in music and books (i will not reveal how many books😊 ) not in a hundred of thousand dollars system gear...

I discovered that some acoustic controls with basic good gear is enough ..

I listen music all day long and come here to speak with unknown friends...

I spoke too much, but i hope to be useful in a way if not entertaining ...

For me this " how good enough is enough question" related question is interpreted as a money related question by most...

Most dont understand that minimal satisfaction threshold, once synergy between pieces of gear is reached come from acoustics control over the speakers/ears/room ...

Price tag is secondary even if for sure for example the Microzotl pre-amplifier i returned last month because there was no synergy with my AKG K340 is way better and not in the same ball park than the last tube pre-amplifier i bought few weeks ago for 50 bucks but which had synergy with my 100 bucks speakers which is why i bought it for ( my Sansui alpha was better than the very high quality ZOTL for the K340 then nothing will replace it for the K340 ) ...

I would have keep the 2000 bucks amplifier if the grin on my wife face had not speak otherwise for sure... But how wise could it be to keep a 2000 bucks pre-amplifier for some 100 bucks active speakers? ( they are stunning now after my modifications on their design trust me )

Audiophile experience is about synergy and acoustics (not mere room acoustic) not about price tag and not even about top design ...😁

Audio hobby is good if it make you more creative and at the end serve music not sound quality obsession grounded on gear design marketing more than in acoustics ...

I can't say I'm never upgrading anything more, but I've reached a point where spending more money on upgrades is not really going to improve my listening experience. Most people including your friends and family will never care if you spend their inheritance on a really expensive system because you want to sit there and replay the plucks of a string instrument to impress them with the realism of your system. They will not care, most people will not care about slight differences in your system or music. I'd almost say nobody cares, but nobody in my orbit cares about my system or would even want to sit and listen. It's about me, and I sure will not have my life enriched in any way because of some slight difference in sound and we sure don't sit around talking about the spend. Most people on the planet want to enjoy the music as background and do not want to sit and hear you ramble on about swapping tubes, amplifier architecture, etc. Once you realize nobody cares about what you bought, you'll be in a better place. Once you get past the obsession of buying things, you'll feel better. A huge expensive system may be amazing, but it will add nothing to your life, maybe the opposite.

Sometimes it’s the chase that’s the most exciting 

We all know you can get a surprisingly musical sounding system for a few thousand dollars, a really nice set up for $10K, $20K, 30K etc & if chosen correctly, amazing sounding systems for whatever you want to spend w/ not much limit. 
 

Doesn’t it essentially depend on both how much music reproduction means to us in conjunction w/ the number of 0’s in our bank account?

We all drop a couple $’s without thinking about it, maybe $5 or $10 the same but perhaps not so much w/ $50, $100 or $200 but that’s just pocket change for a person w/ many millions  in the bank.