I to have often reflected back on my JBL/Technics turntable days when the release of a new album from my favorite artist was the highlight of my day and I would spend hours on end playing the album over.
I have often threatned myself with the ultimatum that if this "one last upgrade" didn't get me were I want to be sonically, I was going to sell my rig and go home theater and simply play my music through my ht system.
The main problem,IMHO, was and still is the introduction of the cd as our primary source instead of vinyl.
CD has taken away the soul of music.
Maybe I keep buying and auditioning components to try to get that analog feeling back.
To answer your thread more directly, yes, I find myself critically listening vs. just listening and enjoying.
And yes, I'm wondering if it's that elusive carrot being dangled in front of me.
I'm becoming(or should I say I am) numb at this point with front cover claims of "new standard","unbelievable sound" and "performance that belies its price point".
I use these claims to add that praticular component to my audition list, nothing more, nothing less.
I have often threatned myself with the ultimatum that if this "one last upgrade" didn't get me were I want to be sonically, I was going to sell my rig and go home theater and simply play my music through my ht system.
The main problem,IMHO, was and still is the introduction of the cd as our primary source instead of vinyl.
CD has taken away the soul of music.
Maybe I keep buying and auditioning components to try to get that analog feeling back.
To answer your thread more directly, yes, I find myself critically listening vs. just listening and enjoying.
And yes, I'm wondering if it's that elusive carrot being dangled in front of me.
I'm becoming(or should I say I am) numb at this point with front cover claims of "new standard","unbelievable sound" and "performance that belies its price point".
I use these claims to add that praticular component to my audition list, nothing more, nothing less.