I've been "into" home theater for a long time, but less serious about 2 channel listening. One day I wandered into the one local hifi shop in the area and the owner demo'd the new (at the time, circa 2010) Klipsch RF-7 II speakers. He queued up Black Cow by Steely Dan and being a home theater guy, the first thing I asked was "where are the subwoofers?". There weren't any. It was the best sound I had heard up to that point and it started me on a quest for better sound quality for music, which I have always loved but never made it my first priority. Say what you will about them, but I still have a lot of Klipsch speakers and listen to a modified pair of Heresy I and also a pair of modified KLF-30 on a daily basis. I've moved beyond Klipsch in my main system, and continue to learn and improve my system(s), in large part with the help of all of you here.
What was your first big eye opener with regard to audio?
Hello friends,
what was the most fascinating thing you did with the compilation or optimization of your system in terms of SQ or performance, that really got your attention in either a good or bad way?
what was it that actually impressed or surprized you once it was in place?
or what DIY project was it that once done really gave your audio system a big shot in the arm SQ-wise?
maybe it was simply finding out just how much some items could cost
something always seems to take place that changes our philosophies or understandings and maybe even our approach to arranging a fine audio system.
what was your’s?
Perhaps it was buying a quality rack, platform, or maybe a pr. of amp stands?
rolling tubes? adding iso footers?
biting the bullet and bringing in a decidedly more expensive or merely a different electronic component? DAC? Line stage? Mono blocks? Speakers?
what amazing things could be done with as little as 8wpc?
for example, my ‘eye opening’ events came two fold. adding power line conditioning and using upscale wires/cables, or power cords.
which of these came first I’m not sure but all of them came with a huge amount of prejudice on my part as to them doing anything positive to the quality of the sound, but indeed they did!
other things came along with nearly the impact or mind altering impact but those were the initial items that paved the way for me to keep an open mind with respect to building an audio system and preserving its synergy.
what was or has been your epiphany? your most surprising ‘move’ in audio land?