When I was in high school, I had a job in a tobacco shop. One day, the owners asked me.. “what is the best cigar?”. I rattled off the names of some high end makes. Cohiba. Montecristo. he shook his head. After I had named about a dozen and he’s still shaking his head, i got annoyed. “OK. what IS the best cigar then???”
He smiled and said “The one you like...”
At first, I thought he was being a smartass, but he was trying to teach me something. We had people who would come in to buy $20 cigars and people who liked $2 cigars. In the end, the only thing that matters is that people found something they liked.
One of the things I despise about the audiophile community is their willingness to dismiss anything that is not esoteric or expensive AF as patently inferior. Many expensive hobbies do the same thing, but music is so subjective and sound is so personal...that it has to boil down to what makes you smile.
The joy of listening to and being moved by music is really the goal. The hardware is merely a means to an end. When the vehicle becomes more important than the destination, everything goes to hell.
My only advice to the OP is this. Experts are fine, but their ears won’t be listening to your system, you will. Trust your ears and try to find someone who is willing to float the idea that the “best” thing for you might be something different than the “best” thing for them.
He smiled and said “The one you like...”
At first, I thought he was being a smartass, but he was trying to teach me something. We had people who would come in to buy $20 cigars and people who liked $2 cigars. In the end, the only thing that matters is that people found something they liked.
One of the things I despise about the audiophile community is their willingness to dismiss anything that is not esoteric or expensive AF as patently inferior. Many expensive hobbies do the same thing, but music is so subjective and sound is so personal...that it has to boil down to what makes you smile.
The joy of listening to and being moved by music is really the goal. The hardware is merely a means to an end. When the vehicle becomes more important than the destination, everything goes to hell.
My only advice to the OP is this. Experts are fine, but their ears won’t be listening to your system, you will. Trust your ears and try to find someone who is willing to float the idea that the “best” thing for you might be something different than the “best” thing for them.