Not impressed

The only truly high end sound is the one each person puts together that floats their boat anytime they listen.

+1! Good post Mapman. Not one of my components cost me more than $2900, yet my system satisfies me more than anything I've ever heard.

I HAVE a six-figure system in the living room- Hurray for me, right?
BUT WAIT-
I also have a Tivoli radio with dual subwoofers on either side of my bed to relax
at night and listen to broadcasts; with my head in the middle i get almost as much satisfaction and enjoyment from that system as well.
now i am slowly beginning to investigate computer-audio (to keep up with the Jones's of course), but every time i think i am going to get an I-PAD and all that
other stuff i fail to launch, even though i can afford it. tell me what, WHAT am i missing so badly that i HAVE TO get more things?
So in conclusion, you're right. this hobby is primarily for equipment freaks, not necessarily music lovers.
but IF YOU ARE BOTH, well GOOD LUCK, and let's have a pint together and listen to some Coltrane (and Chopin, and The Clash, and Bob Dylan, and...)

Dj,

What does you system consist of today?

Good Listening

Peter

Keep on trucking !!

Can't blame anyone for feeling that way really. So much hype, crap and noise to cut through in high end audio.

The only truly high end sound is the one each person puts together that floats their boat anytime they listen.

So if one feels that way about high end audio but just wants to enjoy their music learn to just stick to the nuts and bolts, starting with your room's acoustics and how to best use that. Or forget speakers altogether and just go with any decent quality headphones to keep it simple and as inexpensive as possible.

Or find a suitable vendor. SO many good ones out there accessible eletronically these days! IF you look only here, you might miss many of them. Google and end user reviews from like minded people are your best friend. Amazon can be a good place to start for a lot of that.

Or ever consider any of the newer fully pre-integrated products that attempt to set a high bar for sound quality, like Dynaudio Xeo? Not a bad option to consider if one wants to leave the integration needed for good sound completely up to a company known for the same.

As you can see, you will get little sympathy in these parts if you are not impressed. It's like going to Hollywood and not fawning over perfection like Bradgelina or J'lo..

It's a hobby, spend some money, kill some time.

At the end of the day, are you happier? Do you enjoy the process and the result? If not, find something else to kill your time.

Get an ipod and a pair of Audioengine A5+ speakers, rip some tunes, sit back, relax and listen to music.

... or a boat.