O.C.D. Speaker placement

Enjoying the music is what the gear is for.

Great gear, set up poorly never gave me musical enjoyment.

Poor gear,set up poorly is even worse.

I've been listening and enjoying the music(and playing it)for over 40 years.

What I found out very early on, was that the level of musical enjoyment was determined by the effort I put in.

As such,the more I paricipated in the hobby, the more enjoyment, the closer I got to what it sounds like when I play live.

I disagreed with HP years ago, no system I've owned or listened to every came close to the absolute sound.
But some gear was better than others at the illusion of a live performance.

Also, those same components could get you even closer to the ideal when you tweaked them with better cables, fuses, power, racks and room tuning.

The "we all need to listen and enjoy the music more and worry less about the equipment"types I feel, don't listen or enjoy the music as much as those of us who do sweat the details.Not to say they aren't content, just saying I wouldn't be with a compromised set up of stock gear, with no power conditioning or room treatment.

All the access to all the music in the world is only as good as the gear it's played thru and how that gear is set up.

I can be pleased listening to music in my car,but I know that's not as good as it gets.

I've been spoiled.I've had friends who've enjoyed great systems and the sound of the music thru their systems was much better than mine was in those early years.

So my journey started about 40 years ago,and TAS influenced me. Had it not been for that and other mags I would be richer in the bank account but would never have had the enjoyment of listening to the music thru system that let all the music thru not just some of it.

Owning thousands of cd's, lp's,and downloaded music mean nothing if you are only hearing a fraction of what's been recorded because of compromised gear and set up.

As much as I admire the car collection of Jay Leno, he can only drive one at a time.
So best to make that drive the best one that you can.

Best to listen and enjoy that one selection of music as best it can be reproduced.

I think the trend today towards mediocrity and not perfection,is a major reason why things have gone downhill in more ways than just music.

For me,it's more about the pusuit than the end of the hunt that gives me pleasure, not pain in this hobby.No worries here,just anticipation and excitement about what's over the next audio hill and into the promised land.
If I have any worry, it's that I may not live long enough to enjoy the treasures yet to be discovered.

Everytime I've ended at where I felt it was as good as it can get, I'm over and done, and it's time to just listen to the music, I got bored shortly thereafter.

It's why the merrygoround never goes out of fashion, and dogs have so much fun chasing after their own tails.

If there was no fun in it, then both would have vanished long ago.

When the fun of this hobby is over for me,then it will be time to join the "for listeners only" club.

Earlier in this thread someone suggested twice that you purchase "Get Better Sound", by Jim Smith. He is very well thought of in the industry.
Not only does he give good guidelines, he describes how to evaluate the results as well as any meticulous listener would want.
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Bravo Lacee!! No disrespect, but are you female or male.

You hit the nail straight on the head.

It's funny that this thread hasn't died off yet and, being the o.p., my view on this question has changed quite a bit since I posted this question.

I believe that great sound from our equipment isvery very important but that 1/4" here or a 1/4" there isn't what makes the difference between good snd great sound. I don't buy into that anymore even though Ido believe placement IS important but I believe that the quality and synergy within every single piece of the chain is actually more important than laser precise placement.

My current set-up sounds better than ever simply beacause of power cords, interconnects, power conditioners, and room treatments than I could have ever obtained through just speaker placement WITHOUT the aforementioned.

Thanks for the kind words,it's always a bit humbling but also gratifying to know that what I've said makes sense to someone other than my(man)self.
Sometimes ,in the past on another site, those same sentiments about how I treat music reproduction were mostly met with disbelief,and hostility.

My only intention when I post is to inform others about some things that over the years have opened my ears to even more appreciation of what this hobby was and should still be about.

And for me until the day I give out, that's been the quest for better sound,even before the book,I had a few mentors along the way ,who bucked the accepted "wisdoms" of the day and practised what some still refer to as the stuff of fairy dust.

For me and I hope for others who may have lost their way, deluded by the now so common "it's not about the gear, but just the music" rants,it is so much more about the music when it's also about the gear, where it's used, and into what it's plugged into.

I may be just another curmudgeon who clings to the old ways,but back then, people tried to help others interested in this hobby get better sound,,and for free.

Now it seems to be the norm that anything said to bring about a change for the better in this hobby is just more fodder for the "prove it with science,double blind,perfect specs,it's all snake oil,myths perpetrated by the Evil High End"crowd.

Yes they were around back in my fomative years,but they were a bit more polite,again,my bad for being so old school.

No one is forcing anyone to buy tube traps, to run dedicated lines terminated in expensive connectors and gear decked out with designer fuses and demagnetize cd's and lp's that have been cleaned on a VPI.

Some of us are only saying that these things have helped bring more musical pleasure from the gear and music that we already own.

Proper speaker placement enhances these things even more.
Improper placement,and a lack a daisey attitude to system set up, is a recipe for the "nothing makes a difference"sentiments of discontent and jaded disillusionment.

If some folks don't want to go where I go, that's fine with me.
I'm just saying I'm glad I went down that rabbit hole way back when.And I'm all the more content with doing so.
My musical experience has been more uplifted and enjoyable.

I have no regrets about where I am in this hobby today.
I've set up a decent system in a decent room and taken care to go a few extra steps along the way.

I have no malice towards anyone who just enjoys the music system as it is out of the box and into the wall.

I would only ask to be given the same respect for my practises from those who fit the above description.

Again, I am from the old school.