1) In n Out Burger is the best fast food in the world, and Father's Office is the best Burger in LA (thanks BongoFury).
2) Widespread Panic and Arcade Fire are great bands.
3) All Digital is the wave of the future through downloads and analog is dead.
4) Analog is back to audio dominance and will continue to grow, digital is a trend and will die off except for convenience sake.
5) Don't ever say anything derogitory regarding certain types of gear that are defended by thier ______-mafia gangs. Especially___________________________.
6) Expensive Power cords are a still the biggest snake oil in audio.
7) Speakers are the most important place to start building a system.
8) Analog sounds better than digital.
9) Blu Ray is dead in the water, downloads for all media, video and audio is now the standard and will only continue to grow.
10) This is not a hobby, but a terrible affliction/addiction, and I need to change out some more gear.
You may have to disconnect all the cables in your system, or move gear, but get your cables arranged in an orderly fashion with an emphasis on separating them from each other as much as possible. It makes a difference.
Macdadtexas, I like your observations and I'm sure more will be added to the list.
Regarding point number 10, you might want to try a Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2. It may challenge your analog rig and give you something else to ponder. At least that's been my experience.
My next step is to get a laptop so I can bring my computer music files to the DAC-2 (via the USB input) in my large-room 2-channel system. I already have a wireless computer network in the house and an external hard-drive loaded with music files, so I'm half-way there.
I have learned that whatever the majority thinks is easy will be difficult for me. Whatever tweak that made a world of difference in the other guy's system will make no difference in mine.
Plato, great post. I have heard the Wyred DAC and love it. I am helping a non-audio-fool friend put together a higher end system, and had him buy the Wyred DAC2 as the centerpiece. That said, in my system I liked the Bryton BDA-1 better than the Wyred, I thought it had a deeper soundstage. But that was my system. The Wyred is as good as advertised.
MickeyF, excellent post. I hate cats, and rim drive.
1.There are always at least two A'goners waiting for me to list an item for sale, so that they can list the same item for less at the same time.
2.Most items for sale on A'gon have the magical quality of staying "new' or "like new" or "still in the box" or "only opened to take this photo", even though they were purchased 5-10 years ago.
3.The majority of A'gon items for sale are "Reference quality", "sound better than the newer, updated model", and are used by some famous reviewer (usually "Mikey") in their personal system.
Happy New Year dear audiophiles! May we all retain our senses of humor, even as we continue to be driven to the brink of insanity by this crazy hobby of ours.
The 'Feil has hit on all cylinders today. My favorite points there are the censorship (I get moderated a lot, and can't figure out why most of the time), and the cartridge hours.
Ironically I just sold 2 cartridges, the one I sold on here, literally had never touched vinyl, the other I sold to my friend who is a scientist, and he checked it out on his microscope before he bought it. It had well over 300 hrs on it at my house and I bought it used. Makes me really believe in how well made Grado cartridges are, especially if you take the time to set them up correctly.
1. More often than not, when you're involved in a transaction, the other party is a terrible communicator - as if they never even got your e-mails, etc. Then, they never even let you know if the stuff got there.
2. Some people truly do not have a sense of humor around here.
3. Disliking jazz is a big no-no - you can't possibly know a lot about music or have the same insight, deep appreciation, etc. if you don't spend much time listening to Miles, Coltrane, etc.
4. There are still a lot of quality folks around here. So amen to that.
" Night and Day " subjective improvement from fanbois often mean more subtle difference. And other thing like explosion from pitch black background... Whatever.
1) A'gon is a great place to learn about audio. :-D 2) A'gon is kind of like a virtual 12-step meeting for people who are addicted to system tinkering. ;-) 3) Selling and buying from fellow A'gon'ers is generally a very pleasant experience. :-X 4) There's a chance that somebody on A'gon will fail to mention that they've affixed 4 enormous patches of velcro onto the bottom of each of the monitors they're selling you. :-/
the only platform in High-End Audio where serious discussions about gear but also about philosophy etc. is possible. Congratulation!
as we always tend to be very critical where else do we get valuable side information, in the glossy magazines? from sales, marketing and distribution people?
in most cases whenever some distribution guys or gurus who defend their own products appear on the scenery the discussion appears to become very narrow minded. Hopefully this will change a little in 2011.
i learned that hi-rez files on the internet are the latest and greatest thing, but i am still confused on how to get them to come out of MY speakers. trying a search on the forums doesn't come up with much of anything. SO, do i get a Mac Mini, a Squeezbox, a sound card, a specialized DAC, a router, an IPOD, etc...? I already have a macbook pro, a preamp, an EMM CDP, and an Airport Extreme. SO where do i go from here? i am looking for the simplest and (yet) the best sounding arrangement possible. thanks for your help.
Though the goal of the buyer is often to get better sound, like most things, a lot of the perceived value of hi end audio gear clearly has to do with its appearance, rarity or value as a collector's item or status symbol.
From the ad's I've learned that folks don't use their stuff much. Funny, after all that expense you'd think they would use the hell out of it.
From the questions posed I learned that a lot of folks don't understand the function of Google or other search engines, including A-Gon's.
The most enthusiastic supporters of a particular piece of equipment are often novices who really haven't heard much else, or so it seems.
That tube based systems are a substitute for Advil. That SS systems are the cause of the need for Advil. That most folks want tube sound but don't want the 'hassle'. That SS manufacturers tend to declare that their component has a 'tube like' sound (as do some end users and reviewers). That no one proclaims that their Tubed devise sounds like SS. And, lastly No one ever sez their analogue sounds like digital.
That a lot of 'philes caint spel. Deelers too. Kace in point today. A deeler sez he did a comparison of subs and this one here fer sail 'one out'. Sheesh, just sezzin'.....
All turntables of the same class sound different though they should sound similar. That means that they all distort big time in different ways. There is no such thing as neutral sound reproduction or production. MM cartridges have more substance and MC more resolution; both sound like junk compared to reel to reel. People who can hear best never become audiophiles. Tube amplification will always be superior. Cleaning records with anything but pure triple distilled water changes the chemistry of vinyl and should be avoided at all cost. It is impossible to get a clean and stable current. Many audiophiles who are in their fifties still listen to Beatles. No room is good enough for listening even a concert hall because it is still a box. Japanese can do midrande better than anyone else but have no clue about bass.
Just outta curiosity, since, prerecorded reel to reel is about as common as flying pigs and predated digital, I wonder where all those magic tracks come from?? Surely not those junk catridges on multi-distorting turntables???
You just have to have connections in the industry to get those magic tapes. Some audiophiles never even bothered with vinyl. Other than that, yeah, it's tough shit.
I would think if you had those connections, you could make a pretty good sideline here outta selling rtr machines and those bootlegs. wtf , my wife would love for me to add another guargantuan piece of 'memorabalia' to our living space.
Mickeyf and Inna - of course a fantastic copy of a master tape which was recorded well (!!!) is unbeatable. I like listening to well recorded master tape copies pretty much - and yes you get some software but good tapes are limited. We have to be aware that vinyl carries the biggest music resource on this planet and there are exceptional good old recordings and pressings out which transferred by the right analogue chain makes your heart beat, or... not.
Nice post Elizabeth. I especially liked number 10 "that endless debates NEVER solve anything, that listening for ten minutes DOES solve." Happy New Year!
That not reading A'gon forums makes my system sound better and I listen more. Reading A'gon makes my system sound worse and I listen less. Come to think of it, the same can be said for some other audio rags.
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