How good is good enough?


Most of us here cannot afford six figure prices for each component (assuming that will bring the best sound.) So how far do we want to go to improve our systems? There are always bigger fish. When does it stop? It stops when we say it stops, when our gear brings us satisfaction. To constantly strive for better sound is an endless quest, not necessarily based on the quality of our set but on our personality.

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If you want to spend your time listening and in fact actually do then it’s good enough. 

I think "good enough" has to have some connection with gear quality and also with gear prices. While there's a good reason to be somewhat skeptical over price tags, I believe there is a correlation between price and performance. Everything matters -- parts, design, etc. Gear matters -- gear creates sound and so the notion that it's somehow opposed to acoustics creates a false dichotomy. The fact that there are some who are into very expensive gear or into audio jewelry does not prevent the simultaneous acknowledgement that better gear sounds better if also accompanied by appropriate room acoustics, etc. 

Here is a true story from the web. A guy has two systems, one cost a million dollars.(the speakers being the most expensive pieces).and the other is a modest system. Groups of people heard both and most everyone liked the sound of the modest system suggesting the million-dollar system was more  analytical, and not  as musical.

No need for blind test (with youtube) except for statistical confirmation of this simple fact you can experience eyes opened easily in many case of unbalanced costlier system in a bad room ...😊

it is precisely a thread of this audiophiles pursuit of all the best amplifiers and speakers coupling of high end products that convince me many years ago here , that i must awake from my own system frustration and learn basic acoustics by playing fun in my room instead of passively being angry because i could not afford a 50,000 amplifier coupled to 70,000 speakers which by the way did not appear to me so astounding but mostly only more detailed ...

I did not like so much the sound timbre impression of this apparently "lucky" man playing with very costly products in a non dedicated acoustic room ( he added panels some days) then i decided to had fun my own way learning the basic with some Helmholtz discoveries among other things in my room ...This informed me really about sound in a concrete way ...I even modified my headphones and my speakers with small or greater success every time... ( you dont modify costlier products😊 if you dont like them, you sell them and "upgrade" as audiophiles says.)

 

Even if you cannot judge positively spatial qualities and immersiveness levels as such without being there, we can judge through some negative timbre impressions, some lacks in body and fluidity etc  with youtube in some case of well recorded video  and guess enough about the negatives aspects of timbre as we perceive them if our system is minimally relatively well balanced in his frequencies response already to begin with ...

Some youtube very costly system sound not very good and gives to me no urge at all to buy a costly system at a fortune cost only to hear more details in my face with a not so good natural timbre , probably others acoustic problems we can only guess if our system is balanced ...

Timbre is basic , spatial qualities comes after to be solved if we are already near to this balance threshold which imply the gear pieces synergy, vibrations/resonance problems under controls and clean electrical alimentation ... Immersiveness may result from balanced natural timbre and spatial qualities of sound well done through the recordings trade-off for sure but with a dedicated room or at least a well done acoustic treatment ... All that dont occur by luck or only by digital EQ...

The only absolutely necessary DSP is the BACCH filters once room acoustic is well done, because with it you have HRTF measured and inner ears measures and compensation filters for undesired crosstalk and stereo system negative effects ...

 

 

Here is a true story from the web. A guy has two systems, one cost a million dollars.(the speakers being the most expensive pieces).and the other is a modest system. Groups of people heard both and most everyone liked the sound of the modest system suggesting the million-dollar system was more analytical, and not as musical.

To me an audio system becomes "good enough" once one has acquired the experience to determine what most pleases, and puts together a system that best delivers on that, at a budget that doesn't derail other important aspects of one's life.