When Did Your System Disappear?


As we upgrade our audio systems, things (hopefully) keep sounding better and better. I have found that after a certain point, the system completely disappears. It’s no longer a pair of speakers, amps, preamps, sources, etc. Music is created out of thin air floating between and behind the speakers with little to no colorations in the sound. The regular audio verbiage can be thrown out the window because all you hear is the recording. If something is bright or harsh or bass heavy, it’s the recording not your system.
I noticed this when I modified my source and preamp to accept better power supplies. Using a combination of linear power supplies and large SLA batteries took my system to a new level where the equipment just disappears. Of course, this wasn’t the only thing that helped. Up to that point, every component has been experimented on to achieve a high degree of synergy. Interconnects, power cables, speaker cables, etc. all play a role too. Everything matters. 

My question to you all is when did this happen in your system? Did it develop slowly over time or was there a definite change that occurred with a certain upgrade?
mkgus

Showing 1 response by timothywright

About 2005 I got tired of looking at 1,500 LP in addition to C-90 tapes, CDs and DVDs. It made my listening room more of a warehouse than a home. My tape players were beyond repair. AM/FM has become a wasteland, exit my Carver tuner.

 

It was time to digitize everything. I now have two Oppo optical drives and now access about 30Tb of movies or 2Tb of music from 3 NAS that mirror one another. Life is simpler and choices quicker to execute. No more take out and put away/refile.

 I still have all the original CDs and DVDs as proof of ownership. I believe it would be wrong to rip a disk and then sell it. If I sold a disk I believe I would lose all digital rights.

 Speakers are Magnepan 3.7i and about 6’ 4” and five feet away from the back wall.  Often people will be in the room for some considerable time before they ask me: “Are those speakers?”  They are hidden in planar sight.