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OMG. What now?

After all the listening, the buying, the seeking, the reading, the tweaking, the testing, the critiquing, the latest trend, and the old forgotten mend… my system sounds wonderful - to me.

I’m enjoying the music without thinking about this thing, that thing, the worst thing, the next thing, the best thing… another thing. But I just know there’s something better!

That’s it. It’s the ultimate blessing or, dare I say it, the ultimate curse. I’ve reached the end of the audiophile’s dilemma. Or have I? What now? So,

1. I’m not using a preamp between my digital source and my amp. Both are outstanding, so do I really need one?

2. Where’s the best place to sell my used stuff?

3. What’s the most obvious “weak link” that’s holding my system back from a yet undiscovered audiophile music nirvana?

We all here suffer the same neuroses, so any help is appreciated.
 

 

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audioman58's avatar
audioman58
3,878 posts
 

A Quality active preamp is always better then a direct source in dynamics and soundstage depth.i owned a Audio-store for years as well as Audiophile for 40+ years.

nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,576 posts
 

Don't listen to him....you're fine with your system as is...

All the best,
Nonoise

closenplay
54 posts
 

@hilde45   Spoken like a true psychologist......recovering or practicing? 👍

 

hshifi
572 posts
 

Hello,

That is really great you are happy with your system. One thing I have noticed is new tweeks come about from time to time. If you don’t want to try new stuff then by all means just listen. I watched a YouTube video about cleaning the air in your listening room with a HEPA filter system. Very interesting. I am sure 10-15 years ago a few of us were happy with the system. Then the new cool stuff comes out. If you get the chance I would try a preamp. Even if it is passive. I know some of these new DACs have killer volume control like Playback Design or Lumin. When you have a nice preamp it becomes the soul of your system. ISO acoustics for your speakers or adding a sub or three. If you are done for now you are very fortunate. 
For the Hepa filter I am going to tape a 20”x20” Hepa filter from Home Depot to a cheep box fan since you do not run it while listening to music. It’s not a permanent solution but it will provide the same results as long as the filter goes down to 3 microns. I hope it works. I love cheep tweaks. 

hshifi
572 posts
 

Hello,

A couple more things. This was in the other forum. Tighten the screws on your gear. Especially in your speakers like your woofers and midranges. 
Also, one thing I forget to talk about is our turntables. Have you checked to make sure your platter is level. I use a ball bearing instead of a regular level. A rolling ball of steel is way more accurate then a level in two directions. What most people don’t realize is the foundation of your home can settle or even worse move because of frost. In the northern hemisphere your houses foundation will shift up unevenly. So if you setup your turntable in the winter you might have an uneven tt. My friend showed me a Clear Audio bubble level that he used to set up his $25k tt. Not good enough. The ball bearing just slowly rolled to one side. He was very surprised. That messed with everything including anti skate. 
one final tweek. Unhook or unplug everything. Clean the connections. Plug everything back in. I hope this helps. 

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