Just wondering what makes people tick in regards to determining when things sound "good enough"?
For me I have a vision in my mind of how things should sound based on what I have heard over the years. Once it sounds that way, I am done. I can still enjoy listening to other sounds or sounds that omit some things I might want otherwise but if I do not get regular samplings of "that sound" I probably start to wonder.
"Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be audiophiles" or "Women don't let your husbands become audiophiles"
I had to return my music server back to the factory to have the hard drive re-imaged (corrupted OS). I have a laptop streaming Tidal, but they don't have many of my favorite albums. One of my buddies turned me on to the virtues of a dedicated "CD transport", so I snagged one and it has put a wide smile on my face.
I was toying with replacing my music server (in the event my existing one needed a new hard drive, power supply or motherboard), and found that Aurender has a very nice unit (my guy sells those). But I think I'll hold off for a while.
I can't believe I'm saying that, "I think I'll hold off for a while"...I guess my wife's eyes won't roll for a while...
Any system is more than enough AND no system will ever be enough. Music is our joy and makes us jump, sing along, dance and play air instruments; Any system is enough to discover new music or to enjoy our favorite songs - I remember listening to cassettes on my Walkman and how effusively happy I was! But curiosity and knowledge lead us on an endless journey through infinite possibilities where no HiFi system will ever be enough. In the end I guess it all depends on some factors that change from person to person: are we in the quest for all the music we can absorb in our short life? Or are we giving full attention to equipment instead of music? And also: how deep is our pocket and what are our priorities in life? I have a nice system and I'm quite happy with it; I now favor music over gear; BUT still plan to improve the system. It's a never ending story...
I agree room is the biggest factor and matching speakers accordingly. Then a well suited amp to drive them and lastly a good quality source which is not hard to find these days, at least with digital.
It all works in the end as long as system (including room) integration and synergy is high. Many ways to get there, some faster than others perhaps.
After that, I think the more minor tweaks that might be done often come down largely to personal preferences.
I have currently have 9 different main listening configurations available in my house in most any room (including outside). They are all "good enough" on their own in that I very much enjoy using each as is, but only one is the best among them that brings the most frequent and biggest smiles. There are ways to make them all even better I’m sure, but hey there is only so much time in the week to sit and enjoy music and maybe dabble here and there once in a while just to try something different if not necessarily better. Too bad!
Oh how I wish I was where my system was "good enough" for my liking. That's not to say I don't enjoy what I have but I'm always pursuing something better it seems. I'm sure I can get there with unlimited time and budget.....is that asking too much? :) Like many, my goal is to duplicate live music.....or as close as possible. I'm loving my tube amp but think I need move to a turntable and dedicated sound room to get to where I want to be. For now I'll continue with the Irish method of sound improvement.....consume more alcohol until things sound REALLY good ;)
1- it’s good enough when you’ve spent more on your system than you did on your Benz 2- it’s good enough when your naked wife or girl friend walks over to you and you ask her, politely, to wait until the album side is over 3- it’s good enough when someone just walking into your home asks who’s playing the sax 4- it’s good enough when an audiophile buddy says "now I understand what people mean when they talk about soundstage width and depth" 5- it’s good enough when you have zero interest in purchasing any more gear and only want to put your hard earned money into more music
For what it's worth, my system is by most accounts, good enough
When recording engineers realize that once you remaster a great analogue recording, you digitize away the inner detail and with it the beauty of the music.
I found that Disney's World's Magic Kingdom Planetarium had apparently the best sounding room. Wonder how much is it? What kind of amp/preamp over there?
When I look forward to listening to it. I do. When it makes me happy to listen to it. I does. When I've stopped obsessing over the next "upgrade". I have. When listening to it brings peace and joy. It does.
Hi czarivey! I don't know about tabs or chords, but I hate typos. Re-reading my post it should have said "It does", instead of "I does" at the end of the second sentence. I hate typos, even more so when they're mine...
Just listened to the remastered Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits during a longer-than-normal lunch break. Thanks to the room treatment from Primacoustic, I was: Looking forward to listening, Insanely happy whilst listening, Not thinking about upgrading, Full of peace and joy. I am blessed to have a dedicated room, a dedicated AC line, the aforementioned room treatments, and an understanding wife.
The audiophile challenge is to get the most music (synergy) out of your system regardless of its price point. So, to the OP’s question, how do you know when you’ve done that? To me, you’re done when the big changes no longer result in a more musical experience. I’ve auditioned a number of different H/W changes that either didn’t make any difference in my system or the differences did not result in a better sound - just a different sound.
Of course, if you have endless time and money, you could start the whole process over again at a significantly higher system price point. Although, I agree with williewonka. A reality check is a good thing.
I read somewhere that audiophiles that DON’T hear significant differences in H/W are more immune to upgrade-itis. They tend to keep their systems for a long time - decades even and focus on the music. Maybe those with the best ears are cursed to relive the audiophile equivalent of “Ground Hogs Day”.
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