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The Horror

After getting  back home from “The Show” in Costa Mesa, California this past weekend, I walked over to my stereo system and turned it on. And silently wept. I had held out a feint hope that my cross-over modified 1.7i Maggies and mighty Parasound A21+, fed from a Prima Luna 300 tube preamplifier could somehow manage a slight shimmer of resemblance to the robust setups I witnessed at the SHOW. Not—- on— your —-life. Not even close. I slumped into my over-stuffed couch and stared long and hard at the thing I created: an anemic concoction of false hopes and wishful thinking. The horror, the truth: entry into serious audiophile listening begins with purchase of speakers that cost the price of the car I had to finance for 4 years, closely followed with the added expense of beefy sophisticated electronics and wiring, not a gaggle of cheap wanna-be plastic and tweeks. I so wanted to belong, but that’s turned out to be just a fever dream I’ve got to wake up from. Maybe one day, if ever I have the nerve to rob a bank, find Jimmy Hoffa, or survive a head-on collision from a sleepy Amazon driver, I might make it. Maybe. Feel free to play the violin with two fingers.

audiodidact

Showing 1 response by pwdmark

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pwdmark
33 posts
 

Good post! Most everyone has experienced this at least once. Many are in clubs and share their listening room because as other have stated, room treatment is the most important thing you can do. You can't overcome it with a brand lol.
I really appreciate that for the most part you stuck to well known brands. If more followed this in their basic system there would be far fewer issues. 

An ARC pre, a class A Pass amp, and B&W, Focal, KEF (even Tekton)... or many others will sound great in most rooms treated and tuned for that system. 

Go crazy with a DAC... Lampizator, Mola Mola, Nagra...

And your TT if you want to put $50K into that. 

I loved the references to F1... Well let's take it down a few notches. Guy's that club race on weekends put all they can into theirs car. But I assure you.. The car is a proven winner. Mustang, Camaro, Porsche... But what they do with the motor and suspension makes or breaks the deal. 


 

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