Epiphanies in my audio life

The only epithany I have ever had in audio was listening to the greatest systems and then going to a live concert or symphony and realizing how very far we have to go in this hobby.

Similar to your epiphanies, Marc, I had added the below on the Aries Cerat Lampi compare thread, where I had started with the 242 in the Lampi as the epiphany. I replicate that post here with some elaboration and a couple more added.

"Bill can confirm on what his memories when we heard the 242 at his place -

But that discovery, along with:

1. The first time I heard stats and discovered the openness and transparency
2. First time I heard the timbre immediacy of horns (in that case the Anima)
3. Western Electric at Munich in 2014
4. First time I heard and appreciated proper analog (there were two here, when I heard Goldmund Studio at Marty's because till then I thought Analog had to be real expensive to be good...and then when I heard the SPJ Alba at robbyd...I decided enough deluding myself, can't ignore it anymore)
5. Henk's Full ranges at his clients, reinforced by his grands. It was a year later I heard the Scintilla and it struck me that this is what I had been chasing the Apogees for since listening to the FRs
6. Mike's system, which turned everything I knew topsy turvy
7. Tenor OTL 75 in Italy - this is why you liked that Kharma Tenor rig. This amp is it. You hear it and you know it. There will never be another.

Remains my most exciting realization on audio. Hyperbole police can confirm with Bill."

DaveyF said:

The only epithany I have ever had in audio was listening to the greatest systems and then going to a live concert or symphony and realizing how very far we have to go in this hobby.

Click to expand...

Agreed. It was not the ONLY one but the most important. As a result, I got off the "accurate train" and got on the "fun train". Way less frustrating ...................... and way less expensive.

The above notwithstanding, another key epiphany was hearing a live piano playing in a very large shopping mall, searching for the source only to discover a high end audio salon with a pair of Maggies (20.1's) driven by some large Audio Research tube amps.

The epiphany for me was realizing that I would need to learn more about audio in general, and my system in particular. To really increase my enjoyment and the system's performance, I would no longer be simply a passive listener, but an active participant in the hobby with the curiosity and willingness to improve my own system. That epiphany occurred sometime between reading Jim Smith's "Get Better Sound" and having him voice my system to my room.

For me it was listening to Fulton J's in 1975,and in 1977 the Accuphase C200 preamp. Then in 1982 experiencing enhanced stereo with psychoacoustics. In 1990 the VAC 70/70 amplifier. In 2014 to the present my grounding experiments that make everything else pale in comparison.

My epiphany twice. The first was going to my friend Courtney's house and listening to his Audio Research preamps and amps played on his brand new Tympani 1D's and hearing soundstaging for the very for time. Then several years later listening to Wilson's at my friend Brooks Berdan's store. He caused me to sell my Martin Logan electrostatic speakers and switch to Wilson. May they both rest in peace now!

2015 - I finally realized I had painted myself into a detail hole and I wasn't going to get the plain old enjoyment of music back unless I started over with my system.

Led Zeppelin IV on an AR turntable through a Kenwood Receiver on AR speakers. What a fantastic summer that was!
The rest is just the journey that brings me to today.

a few that come to mind......

November 2001---I was the first to match the Kharma Exquisite's and the Tenor OTL's; which quickly spread around....still a guiding light for me. it was one of those 'lucky' things where I was just searching and there 'it' was. if it never got better than that.....then.....ok. that moment the music was one piece and I had that direct connection.....and it did get better than that (but still pays homage to that moment).

November 2002---I had just driven 1700 miles round trip from Seattle to Marin (near SF) to pick up the (600 pound +) Rockport Sirius III tt (my son lived in SF at that time and came over to Marin to help me load it) and then driven it back.......stopped for 4 hours to sleep a little. picked up my friend Jonathan in Portland on the way back, so he could assist me in assembling it. it went together in about 90 minutes, I set up the cartridge, and we sat back in awe listening to Louis Armstrong on 'St James Infirmary'. this was a whole new world......the music slowed down, opened up, and sucked me in.

early 2015---sitting there in my room looking at the ceiling and wondering; if I placed some cloth on the ceiling might that reduce reflective glare? I did put it on the ceiling and magically things cleared up. then tried more in other places......(you can read old threads here about my efforts). doing that set me off on a 'long' path that finally allowed my system to synergize and opened my eyes to how things really work. but that moment of the dots connecting was an epiphany. so that's how this works.