Do you share your system with other audiophiles?

[PeterA]

Sharing my system has become an integral part of the hobby for me. Despite the near sauna-like conditions of my listening room caused by a summer heat wave and my big Class A amps warming up for a listening session, Al M. came over last night for a listening session after a delightful outside dinner at a neighborhood seaside restaurant. I think Al discovered a new delicious minty rum drink to set the mood for the music to follow.

I enjoy the feedback from people who have experience listening to live music. It is a way to gauge progress, learn about different perspectives, and enjoy friendships.

Given the sweltering conditions, only a rabid audiophile would be willing to sit in the dark room on a nice summer evening listening to music with me. My sane non-audiophile friends are too busy enjoying the great outdoors with their families to risk physical discomfort by spending time with a guy who is too cheap to install central air conditioning.

 

[spiritofmusic]

I have a guy visiting soon who has Zu on his radar. He'll have listened to Wilson Sabrinas on DAgs and AR, and WVL Son field coil/Heil AMT spkrs, plus Cube Audio Nephunar FR spkrs. I'm not expecting him to prefer my Zus, they will always remain an outlier choice, and especially since he'll also have a chance to hear AG Duos as well, and that setup is my long term fave of balanced SQ in a well chosen system. But my system is now well enough balanced, well setup, and critically in an excellent acoustic, for him to get an accurate snapshot. I'll value his feedback.

Blue58 will also visit in next several weeks, and he's heard my system and room setup thru many changes. Always value his opinion.

 

[Ron Resnick]

. . . a guy who is too cheap to install central air conditioning.

No air conditioning?!?!

 

[Alrainbow]

Haha,

Winter Series only Ron , well unless the only heat is from the Class A amps ..

 

[Al M.]

No air conditioning?!?!

Me neither in the listening room. Only a unit in the hallway on the second floor. Both environmental and cost considerations. I do enjoy central air in other peoples' homes, so I am not militantly against it .

 

[Ron Resnick]

Haha,

Winter Series only Ron , well unless the only heat is from the Class A amps ..

Hello,

What does "Winter Series" mean?

 

[Joe Whip]

I have AC in my room but it is the top floor of our home and it therefore concentrates the hot air that rises from the other floors in the house. A large window fan helps keep the room cool with the AC but you can’t listen with the fan on. Therefore, this time of the year means you have to sweat a little to listen. Oh, the sacrifices we must make. First world problems to be sure.

 

[Ron Resnick]

"Split" or "ductless" AC units from Mitsubushi (which just seems to make a lot of this type of unit) cost about an interconnect. I think it's a pretty good solution to avoid a big and complicated ducting in drywall project.

I added one to my garage, and we are adding one to Tinka's unventilated home theater room.

 

[Al M.]

Oh, the sacrifices we must make. First world problems to be sure.

Yup, in the bigger scheme of things irrelevant first world problems for sure.

 

[steve59]

No old money here, not much new money either. I enjoy my stereo alone, my buddies think i'm nuts, can't understand how I can afford a system and really don't get the point of sitting in a chair for hours doing...nothing. I decided that at the 1/2 % interest banks are offering I was going to enjoy my money and thought if I bought smart I could cash out when needed without much loss. irresponsible? maybe, selfish for sure. My neighborhood is chevy and ford and there's a distinct smell of curry in the air. The audiophiles homes I have visited buying and selling has impressed me. Large, beautiful 3/4 million dollar boxes of air I've built my entire career with no ambition to own or maintain. Other than a love of music and sport bikes I do wonder what there would be to say between songs.

 

[bonzo75]

And yet he visits a lot of people

That's because my visits have been to constructive to the owners (and to me). So it is been mutually beneficial

 

[adamaley]

No old money here, not much new money either. I enjoy my stereo alone, my buddies think i'm nuts, can't understand how I can afford a system and really don't get the point of sitting in a chair for hours doing...nothing. I decided that at the 1/2 % interest banks are offering I was going to enjoy my money and thought if I bought smart I could cash out when needed without much loss. irresponsible? maybe, selfish for sure. My neighborhood is chevy and ford and there's a distinct smell of curry in the air. The audiophiles homes I have visited buying and selling has impressed me. Large, beautiful 3/4 million dollar boxes of air I've built my entire career with no ambition to own or maintain. Other than a love of music and sport bikes I do wonder what there would be to say between songs.

You lost me at Ford and Chevy and especially the curry part. Care to expand?

 

[treitz3]

I enjoy the feedback from people who have experience listening to live music. It is a way to gauge progress, learn about different perspectives, and enjoy friendships.

Very true, very true...

Tom

 

[DeadWax]

What I’ve realized is my job is to save my clients money in the long run by building systems for them over time. You do pay more for new, but it also leaves the guess work and missteps out of the process.

I know this may sound completely illogical but the missteps and learning curve I've experienced over the years has been part of what I've enjoyed most on my audio journey. When I first started I couldn't have articulated my musical priorities and in fact didn't know myself well enough to know what they were with any great precision. (I knew I liked warm saturated tube gear from my days playing electric guitar in my teens and 20s but that was about it.) I gained this experience and learning what was important to me through trial and error and inherently inefficiently spending my money while making gear changes. It's been (and still is) a fun process that I wouldn't have been able to enjoy if an expert helped me get it "right" (or at least very close) the first time. I realize most people probably aren't like me (find value in "wasting" money) and the professionals in the business add a ton of value, including to myself as I vet ideas and ask about their experiences with component synergies.

It's a bit like a journey towards enjoying fine red wine - you often start with very pedestrian varieties and producers and then end up in classified Bordeaux and other old world varieties and enjoy them so much more than if you hadn't experienced everything else along the way.

 

[spiritofmusic]

DW, that's an honest and candid reflection on your journey. It does you credit. For my part, I've had some stress with strong criticisms of my sound and approach from visitors, but I've also stuck to my guns. And the mix of these two has got me to where I am today. Got a couple of visits due, and I'm more confident than ever they'll like what they'll hear.

 

[Pacha]

There are 4 of us in my local area that round robin to each others houses at least once every 6 to 8 weeks. It helps us keep from being system blind and realizing where we might need improvement. The big plus is we get to hear recordings we don't own! We are also very good friends so the critiques are never mean spirited. My partner is a jazz singer, even though her live performances have been curtailed lately do to the virus, I like her friends, mostly all in the business, to come over and give me their thoughts.

 

[steve59]

You lost me at Ford and Chevy and especially the curry part. Care to expand?

As my neighborhood gets older and especially since 2009 a lot of my working class neighbors have moved as many do, further from the city where square feet are a bit cheaper and the town I live in seems popular to those of india decent. While my new neighbors share my love of sportbikes our musical are tastes different.

 

[speshal]

This is actually a good topic to discuss because I can see where there are two sides of the coin.

I'm lucky to have friends where we have no jealousy. In fact, in terms of dollars spent, I'm well under some of their $100k systems. However, we don't hesitate to go over to each other's place. We all have different tastes and appreciate hearing something different even if it's not our full time preference.

I actually just filmed a visit with one of my friends who visited my place. We talk about him buying MBLs, but he also talks about my system and I talk about his. Some pieces we even have identical.

I've also done zoom call videos with other friends in our "group" with smaller budgets. I'm about to do another video with a different friend who has a killer system everyone loves. We all share ideas and trust each other's input.

I don't think the hobby would be as fun without these relationships, but I can see where some may avoid the hassle if their "friends" are more prone to jealousy and non-constructive criticisms.

 

[christoph]

Both environmental and cost considerations

Just plant a big Photovoltaic system on your roof and make your own electricity
We have around 100m2 of it on our roof

 

[microstrip]

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There are 4 of us in my local area that round robin to each others houses at least once every 6 to 8 weeks. It helps us keep from being system blind and realizing where we might need improvement. The big plus is we get to hear recordings we don't own! We are also very good friends so the critiques are never mean spirited. My partner is a jazz singer, even though her live performances have been curtailed lately do to the virus, I like her friends, mostly all in the business, to come over and give me their thoughts.

I have always admired the Audio Research REF 150 - IMHO one of their best amplifier designs and enormous value for money. A tube sound with extended and articulated bass - two things that are not easy to find together. Nice to see it can also drive the B&W 801!