My default audiophile state: dissatisfaction

[flez007]

A fair amount of great music I have is poorly recorded, I just sit back and enjoy the performance!

 

[Detlof]

In one sense, we are caught within a viscious circle: The greater our efforts, in money, tweaking, researching, the greater our expectations towards our rig and the greater the disappointment when confronted with real live music in the concert hall. No way to avoid that, if you love music and since hope is generally the last to die, the merry go round keeps on turning. The lesson to be learnt is to be content with what you have and live with its faults, even if sometimes they drive you up the wall. It is like having been married for a long time. Sometimes you may lust for something new, but the older you get you begin to count the pros and cons and rather think why the hell bother, it will pass. And so it does and at the end, you love your rig as you might love your better half and sometimes have wonderful moments in a happy threesome. (Pun most certainly NOT intended):b

 

[Al M.]

The lesson to be learnt is to be content with what you have and live with its faults,

How true. It's all a matter of mental attitude -- it's all in your mind.

And that is something money can't fix, it has to come from within you. And you will have to actively work on this mental attitude, it will not magically jump into your lap.

 

[Diapason]

How true. It's all a matter of mental attitude -- it's all in your mind.

And that is something money can't fix, it has to come from within you. And you will have to actively work on this mental attitude, it will not magically jump into your lap.

This sounds like good advice, because it IS good advice in many cases, and certainly something I need to remember myself! Listening with a positive outlook, focusing on the beauty rather than the failings, looking for the best rather than the worst, this is a pretty good way to look at many areas of life. So no complaint from me there.

However, it's not always the full story. If it were all a matter of mental attitude, being content with what we have and living with our system's faults, the entire area of high-end hifi wouldn't exist and we certainly wouldn't have a forum here. Finding a comfortable spot on the spectrum of neurosis takes time and experience I think, and with it comes a certain degree of acceptance. I've said here recently that I'm starting to move away from buying components for "accuracy" and going full-on into buying for enjoyment. I don't know if this is actually different (maybe accurate is enjoyable) but for the purposes of my ears and system I don't care. But that's another story.

Of course, genuine, long-running problems can actually exist, and part of the beauty of hearing other systems and comparing (if you can leave aside the associated feelings of inferiority!!) is that you can start to identify actual, egregious problems that are destroying enjoyment and hopefully start to address them. Having bought new speakers recently that have increased my enjoyment HUGELY (I'm listening to MUSIC again!), it's nonetheless clear that the one constant problem throughout all this angst is the room. I'm in my third room since I started this hobby, but all 3 have been dreadful in their own way. It's a truism by now, but throwing good equipment into a bad room is a recipe for disaster, and that's a disaster I've been living for some time. Even now, despite knowing this intellectually, I find it hard to consider really addressing it...

 

[spiritofmusic]

What are the spkrs? The last time we spoke, you were tearing yr hair out.

 

[Diapason]

What are the spkrs? The last time we spoke, you were tearing yr hair out.

Sonus Faber Elipsa Reds (the SE version with the Strad tweeter) have replaced my Kharmas, and I'm very happy with the change. The wider baffle seems to work well for me in the narrow room, and the general tonal balance seems much more to my taste. Even though my amps shouldn't really work with them at all (low impedance and OTL don't normally mix) I'm MUCH happier with the sound. I don't feel I've lost anything, but I've gained a lot more enjoyment and that was the aim. I bought them from another forum member here without audition, based purely on reviews, and I'm honestly shocked that it's all worked out so well. The Sonus Faber itch is one I've been needing to scratch for a while.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Genuinely pleased for you. Just let that angst drain away. Enjoy the music, and yr daughter's impossible to predict behaviour. As long as that doesn't involve wrecking yr system!

 

[Diapason]

As long as that doesn't involve wrecking yr system!

The door remains firmly closed unless I'm in attendance!!

Edit: Thank you.

 

[Big Dog RJ]

Sf elipsa, nice one!
Heard these few years ago with all mac amplification and mac sacd source, great smoothness and pleasant to listen to. Driven with the mc452, sounded effortless and well balanced, not too much of anything. Ended up purchasing the mac sacd.

Glad you are enjoying your music with this new combination. Certainly sounds like you've discovered that special sf signature sound. I don't think you need to bother about the amps at this stage, especially after the system is delivering what you want or at least hope to want. The Elipsa's can sound pretty awesome when driven with the right amp. You will probably notice once you're ready to venture into a higher level of refinement in amplification, you'll behin to really appreciate the Elipsa's.
I was not too sure about your Kharmas, each time I have auditioned a system with kharma it has not justified the price tag. Kharma are dam expensive in Australia and to me only the top of the line kharma reference series seemed to be honest in reproducing great recordings but again price... at that price range there are a host out options.
All good, great stuff mate. Trust your little one is as pleased when you play twinkle little star...

Cheers, RJ

 

[Diapason]

Thanks RJ. I could fill pages with my opinions on the Kharmas, but I strangely still feel the need to defend them. I'll get over that eventually!

 

[Don C]

Why does this thread get a five star rating?????

 

[NorthStar]

Why does this thread get a five star rating?????

Because someone, or more than one, rated it that way (five stars for excellent).

Anyone can rate any thread; it's on the top right corner of each page.

 

[Detlof]

The solution to this topic in question here, not only with audio, but with anything in life, is theoretically very simple, but for the most of us practically impossible to attain:

Don't expect anything and you may be pleasantly surprised.