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When did you put the most effort in setting up your audio system?

We all have this moment at the time you have put yourself through a lot of things when setting up your audio system. Please share your experience when you think in the past or present, you did put in so much efforts. 

 

To share my own experience, just to compare two different speaker products, I bought both products in new, held on to them for 4-5months. During the time I had them, I changed amps(2 different power amps), DACs(5 of them borrowed, bought and returned), speaker cables(3 times). Even after all these, I couldn't make up my mind which to keep, then let my sister, who wanted to have a pair, to choose whichever she preferred in design. Crazy... Now, I kinda know what I want, but I don't think I can put myself through chasing all those components just to test out two different products in speakers. 

So now, I am more careful choosing speakers with my existing system then take my time choosing different components. I think I know which components I am deeply attached to. 

Feel free to share your own experience. Leave a piece of your audiophile journey here, we all respect the craziness (or nerdiness) with total disregards in common logics. In Korea, audiophiles call themselves mental patients(hwan-ja in Korean pronounciation), who just do all kinds of crazy things to seek for their satisfaction in audio. I want you to join and share this patient journey, haha.    

 

128x128monacousticusa

Showing 4 responses by ghdprentice

ghdprentice
6,471 posts
 

I started on my first true high end system not too long after I got my first professional job after college. I think I spent at least two - three years getting my first system put together. There was a lot of swapping, as this component or that would not really do it. Incessant reading and trying to get the lay of the land. I took out my first loan to buy a Threshold s500 amp ($5K…. $19K in todays dollars). That became my first “permanent piece”.

That held me for about ten years until I got out af graduate school and got a job. Then maybe a year and a half upgrading my system to the next level. Including probably 500 hours into evaluating cables… how they differed etc.

 

Next cycle took less than a year. Next about a year.

 

This last one after I retired… the choice of components really quick, wires quick, then about a year of slow methodical positioning, vibration control, and room treatments.

ghdprentice
6,471 posts
 

@monacousticusa

Thanks for your comments.

My systems are shown under my UserID. There are lots of photos and my components.

ghdprentice
6,471 posts
 

OP,

 

Thanks for your kind words. Yes, I really love Woo. It took me three small steps up the Woo head amp hierarchy to get to my current system.

 

I listen to jazz, world, blues, classical, electronic and rock, mostly. But I will admit I can get lost in nearly anything with my systems. I lent my headphone Aurender streamer to a friend. When it came back it was playing some pop collection with stuff like Michelle Jackson and other mainstream  “hits” that I would never listen to. I just haven’t been able to get myself to change it… a few notes in and I’m hooked. 

ghdprentice
6,471 posts
 

@moguls 

For me, the real fulfillment was the 5 - 7 years between upgrades. I love the time in between upgrades just appreciating the music and what I had accomplished. Then the couple years doing an upgrade… learning, slowly purchasing new and much better sounding components… learning deeply into another aspect. Love that part as well. Overall, I like both enjoying the music and upgrading. 

 

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