How you know your system is improving?


Fellow Audio Junkies - 

Over the last few years, I've invested in my first high end system. It's been a far costlier affair than I'd initially conceived. I started off simply wanting to listen to music in my home. At this stage of my life, I was fortunate to have some resources to invest which led me down the path of reading forums and reviews, while also having the opportunity to visit a few audio stores to demo equipment.

And down the rabbit hole I went... Once I realized all the nuances of equipment and their impact on the listening experience, I became fascinated with creating the most satisfying musical experience in my house. I ended up purchasing several amps, three sets of speakers, NOS power tubes, and a myriad combination of power cords.

With each investment, I would often remark to myself "yes - I hear an improvement..." But sometimes a doubt would cross my mind. Is this some sort of confirmation bias I've got going? Am I just throwing money away? Do I need to see a shrink? 

Admittedly, I was largely convinced things were improving, but a small part of my brain recognized I might be have been chasing windmills... 

Which brings me to this question: "How do you know your system is improving after you've made a system change or hopeful upgrade?" 

For me, a moment came last night when I put on a piece of music - Beth Orton - and played a track that a year ago sounded muddy or poorly recorded. There have been several system changes since I last played that Beth Orton track. As I began streaming over Quboz, I could hear details in the music which had been previously fuzzy and hidden. The tone of her voice was more real. Guitar strings came out of the fog... 

I guess the concept I often read about here, "using a test track" had become my new litmus test on whether my system was improving. It was inadvertent, but I think I'll default to this approach more consistently moving forward, going back to a few tracks that have proven to be challenging with the current system and giving them a go when a new component gets added. 

Yes, I know... nothing radical here. But would welcome how many of you benchmark improvements in your own systems! 

128x128bluethinker

Showing 6 responses by mahgister

Always patronizing my english clumsy mastery from the first time you read my post till today instead of giving any argument...

You are as usual unable to answer my argument each time and i presume it is so annoying for "the great corrector of text" that sarcasm is your last resort... Enjoy...

You are really a stiff arrogant prick...😊 I am perhaps arrogant myself but not stiff   ...

Anybody can read my clumsy post with more fun than your stiff corrected text ...

You let aside this among other point :

«I love McIntosh amplifier as my mother soup because it is my Taste» -- Anonymous subjective deluded audiophiles 😋

«I hate McIntosh amplifier because they measured bad on my tool»Anonymus objective deluded audiophile 😎

 

 

I’m trying to follow, so is this what you said, basically? (I tried to rephrase it.)

 

Are you serious ?

How am i supposed to take the "correction" without any warning thats it is there only to help me, since for more than a year you mocked me or my posts , never giving any counter argument to my posts for the sake of good faith discussion as i already asked you for many times even after apologizing to you for my clumsy syntax?

Now suddenly after more than one year of harassment i must take your last "correction" truncating my post and without any word of explanation as a good faith gesture?😋

( the last harassments about my posts concerning an acoustic revolution just days before your unasked for "correction" are not cold yet by the way in the thread about "sound experience is a mystical facts")

Any person of good faith explain himself BEFORE correcting someone else or during the process of doing so, especially after mocking him few times just days before.. 😊

It is not what you did poor dude...

You bait me knowing perfectly well that i will react as i did ...😁

You are an hypocrit for me .... Prove me otherwise and i will do what i did in the past about my clumsy syntax i will apologize...

Your  now public show of good faith and protestation  was intended for the other posters here not for me ...😊

After one year of your "good faith" , i am no more interested to you as a thinker...

Do what you do as one of the "best corrector in the world" correct syntax...😊

QUESTION: What is arrogant about asking someone if I am understanding them?

And dont lie in front of others they are not idiots:

Putting a corrected truncated new post as a better version of the post of someone WITHOUT EXPLANATION after one year of harassment about this one person posts is not good faith question... You never ask me a question poor dude...

Go back in your hole !

By the way i dont entertain grudges but i cannot stand hypocrital person...

Sorry ...

it goes with one of my human defect i am spontaneous in my reactions...

i apologize to all for that as well for my clumsy syntax...

 

 

 

 

both @hilde45 ​​​​​@mahgister are two of the more thoughtful members on this site. I enjoy reading posts from both.
This supposed rivalry is downright silly.

 

Since more than 1 year nothing will do...😁

I even apologized for my bad english many times... In private and in few threads...I think that he was wise and interesting person for discussion.. I dont think that anymore.....

He is coming back more arrogant each time...

He never replied with an argument to any of my post answering his reasoning..He decided then to use sarcasms and patronizing as he just did correcting my writing or complaining by my number posts,he harassed my postings about an acoustic revolution right now , just 2 weeks ago with no reason to do so and he never read one anyway..He is too dumb it seems to understand the 6 articles i posted about an earth shattering revolution in acoustics...

Why is it doing this with me and not others?

Many others wrote a not so good english here...

The reason is simple this dude who boasted to be a very world well known corrector, as he said, is an arrogant narcissist who cannot support that i cited and used many philosophers or scientists and any content over his head...

if i am wrong why only my bad english posts and only my posts could attract his arrogant patronising sarcasms ?

I apologised to him at least 6 or 7 times to make a friend for discussion sake,since more than a year even in private...I will not do more...I am no more interested by this empty head patronizing corrector...

it is an hypocrit who calculated well his replies...He knows that i reacted thats my character...

 

😁😊

By the way in my 8 years here i only encounter two narrow minds...

One who is no more here who accused me of killing people ( science gave me reason now) and our "corrector"...

It is a good score... Even in heated discussion everyone here is likeable... Anyway i entertain no gruges against anyone... But i reply if someone say that "tastes" is the center of audio which is not even wrong and misleading ..I gave arguments not mere sarcasms...

😊

 

 

 

 

You have to know where the target is in order to hit it. Also the target must be real not just a pipe dream that can never be realistically achieved.

The problem of knowing what the target is goes back at least as far as Hume's argument that "taste" depends on educated critics who help the rest find the way.

 

 

Taste is a factor implied but completely secondary .😁

Anyway "taste" must be trained: ask a musician, an acoustician or an experimented audiophiles.

Because the target in optimization process is some specific balance between all acoustic factors and some ratio aimed toward a specific acoustic concept with the gear limitations used in a specific room ...

The main core concept is "timbre"...

After it is the "spatial characteristics of sound which information is encoded with the "timbre " perception phenomenon .....

After that "listener" envelopment factor and the source width auditory ratio are important to create...It is written as : LV /ASW in acoustics articles. There is almost no reviewer who spoke about that. guess why ? they sell a product they dont teach how to properly use it with acoustics nor they teach us how to optimize a product working toward his peak quality.

If you dont know these acoustics concepts and experience you dont know how to optimize your system/room and you will resolve the problem by the throwing of money i9n useless upgrades( half at least upgrades are completely useless in any audiophiles life ) And as a children in fron of a soup bowl unable to appreciate the cooking refinement you will say : "i dont like it , it is my taste " ...taste must be educated and trained...

it is not Hume we must consult here about"taste" but Helmholtz...

Then you are not even wrong here because "Taste" must be trained and play a role as gear marketing dudes and reviewers know very well and use this fact to attract us toward their product not toward knowledge in acoustics.They know how to frlatter the consumer in the right way, the way that suit them : expanse and expansive. They will never spoke about acoustics importance. They will sing the word "taste" in chorus.

 

«I love McIntosh amplifier as my mother soup because it is my Taste» -- Anonymous subjective deluded audiophiles 😋

«I hate McIntosh amplifier because they measured bad on my tool»Anonymus objective deluded audiophile 😎

 

You have to know where the target is in order to hit it. Also the target must be real not just a pipe dream that can never be realistically achieved

You are exactly right...

It is why nobody can achieve for example  "listener envelopment" acoustic  concept and experience without knowing what it is and how to reach it  and it will not help here to only upgrade  toward always costlier pieces of gear...

Amplifier or speakers or dac design dont replace mechanical, electrical and acoustical  basic knowledge...

I learned one thing : the way we learn how to install any system together in a room matter way more than the separate piece of gear and their price tags... ( basic synergy for sure matter it is a starting point )

The second thing , there is no way for me to understand with my ears how to improve my system by buying pieces of gear for a so called "upgrade" ...For sure the soundfield may improve with any upgrade but it is not enough at all ...

Acoustics experiments, vibrations-resonance controls and electrical noise floor decreased are the three goals...Nevermind what is the cost of your system...😊

Once this is understood you can be happy even with a relatively  low cost system...

But probably a costlier system than mine will be needed ... Why ?  Because my speakers shine once modified and my headphone shine once modified... Then without modifications the cost for the same S.Q. will be much higher .,..But at a relatively low cost anyway if you learn the basic you will cure upgraditis ... ...