Have you got "the" sound, and are stepping off major upgrading?

[Johnny Vinyl]

You can still pop in from time to time for restaurant discussions, JV.

Can I do that without my card?

 

[bonzo75]

Tell you what. I'll ask Steve and/or Amir if they think I should leave.

Leaving has nothing to do with not being an audiophile. You can hang out on forum for other reasons. My point was you are a non-audiophile if you are content with what you have, and if you have any other music needs, you are getting them from live shows.

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

Leaving has nothing to do with not being an audiophile. You can hang out on forum for other reasons. My point was you are a non-audiophile if you are content with what you have, and if you have any other music needs, you are getting them from live shows.

You obviously didn't read my initial post on the matter.

 

[Joe Whip]

Best London places to eat -

1. Yashin, off high street kensington - best for carpaccio and sushi, apart from being my favorite restaurant is also rated 1 on Zagat
2. Barra Finna - awesome innovative Tapas cuisine
3. Cay Tre - not as good as the above two but great for Vietnamese, and much cheaper
4. Herron at Paddington for Thai, but stupidly spicy
5. Lot of places on edgware Road for good middle eastern lamb stuff
6. Lahore Kebab House/Tayyab's for Pakistani/Indian curries

For Brunch:
1. Shakshuka at Nopi's
2. Turkish eggs at Kopapa
3. Kedgeree at Wolseley

Love The Wolseley. We have had breakfast and lunch there often. You never know who will walk in while you are there. Daniel Craig, Judy Dench and Helen Mirrien come to mind. Barra Finna looks interesting and we will put it on the list. The same with Herron at Paddington as I will be close to that location. I love Kebabs too and there are some nice ones in London. I will check out Lahore. Look, anything is better than having to eat a 5 Guys in Covent Garden. Artery clogging burgers and fries (or should I say chips) but they are at least way better than the burgers at the typical London Pub. We also enjoyed the restaurant in the hotel at The Shard. great views of London while eating a nice meal. I also love several of the places at The Borough Market but can't say I liked what I saw on the lunch menu at Roast last time I was there in May. Now, back on topic!

 

[Robh3606]

This is the VERY first time that I'm reluctant to try components up in the range that I'm currently using ie going to Nat Magnetostat batt pwrd linestage, and possibly Zu Audio Experiences (due to be shown at RMAF next month) spkrs, for fear of disturbing this synergy, and more critically because I REALLY DON'T NEED TO, and as such DONT WANT TO.
This is a weird sensation, because this hobby, like an awful lot of other high worth hobbies that lend themselves to constant experimentation and constant spending, means that the journey is never-ending even when you think it might be at any given upgrade. And for two decades that's very much what I have been doing.

Well I just went through a major upgrade in my HT system. Was actually happy with where I was and decided to bite the bullet and do it anyway. Quite happy I did last big change was about 6 years ago. So you never know until you get it done.

Rob

 

[Joe Whip]

I upgraded my DAC because the multibit stuff from Schiit sounds superb. We will be doing a Yggy and Gumby shootout at a friend's place on Wednesday afternoon/evening in a specially built audio room, tuned to the max with a very resolving system. Should prove interesting. I can say that when I come home from shows and demos, I still love what I hear at home. I will keep the pre and amp and speakers thank you very much. I would rather spend that money on travel, fine dining and live music. I guess my card is being revoked.

 

[bonzo75]

Love The Wolseley. We have had breakfast and lunch there often. You never know who will walk in while you are there. Daniel Craig, Judy Dench and Helen Mirrien come to mind. Barra Finna looks interesting and we will put it on the list. The same with Herron at Paddington as I will be close to that location. I love Kebabs too and there are some nice ones in London. I will check out Lahore. Look, anything is better than having to eat a 5 Guys in Covent Garden. Artery clogging burgers and fries (or should I say chips) but they are at least way better than the burgers at the typical London Pub. We also enjoyed the restaurant in the hotel at The Shard. great views of London while eating a nice meal. I also love several of the places at The Borough Market but can't say I liked what I saw on the lunch menu at Roast last time I was there in May. Now, back on topic!

Herron is crazy spicy. Your mouth will explode. Get the medium spicy, which itself is too spicy. They have a dish with crispy pork balls and rice balls, not sure what it is called, but ask for that, that description should suffice. Also the crab with curry. Try the Durian icecream if you can, it is known as stink fruit because the fruit stinks yet is considered a delicacy. I liked it.

 

[Robh3606]

I would rather spend that money on travel, fine dining and live music. I guess my card is being revoked.

Nothing wrong with that. I tend to go through cycles. If I upgrade it is usually incrementally so I can still afford to hit shows and get media. It's all part of it. This time was different changed quite a bit in one shot which is unusual for me.

Rob

 

[Al M.]

The problem starts when people delude themselves into thinking they are what they are not. It is that gap that causes problems. It is funny that some on this forum think it is a good thing to say 'I am now only into music' or 'I am contented'.

Why not? I am now just into music. If you know you can never be content, forget about audiophile ambitions, sell all your expensive gear, buy a cheap boom box or headphone system, and then perhaps you can be happy, getting off the OCD train and finally just listening to music.

They should join the Gramophone records forum and attend live shows. This forum is for OCDed audiophiles

In your opinion. Don't be so dogmatic about your opinion.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Herron is crazy spicy. Your mouth will explode. Get the medium spicy, which itself is too spicy. They have a dish with crispy pork balls and rice balls, not sure what it is called, but ask for that, that description should suffice. Also the crab with curry. Try the Durian icecream if you can, it is known as stink fruit because the fruit stinks yet is considered a delicacy. I liked it.

You big fairy Kedar - man up and bring on the naga

 

[bonzo75]

Why not? I am now just into music. If you know you can never be content, forget about audiophile ambitions, sell all your expensive gear, buy a cheap boom box or headphone system, and then perhaps you can be happy, getting off the OCD train and finally just listening to music.



In your opinion. Don't be so dogmatic about your opinion.

No, I pursue this as a hobby, so not interested in getting off. I am quite happy OCDing. The only people unhappy are those who are box swappers (like Spirtofmusic) but claim not to be. Gap in what they are and what they want to be. I am fine with what I am.

As for music, I average a live concert once a week to 10 days, so am fine. That's another hobby

Also, whatever I state is in my opinion, obviously. Redundant to mention it everytime

 

[Joe Whip]

Bonzo certainly sees plenty of live music! If I lived in London (which I hope to do one day at least half of the year) I would see more than I do now. The list of choices and venues there, regardless of the genre is staggering.

 

[KeithR]

I think being contented and having good sound are two entirely different things. One can have good sound and be discontented, or vice versa. One has to do with the sound, the other with the person's mindset

+1

nailed it.

 

[MadFloyd]

All this London talk is making me pine for another visit (tis been a year!).

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Very interesting thread, Spirit.

I feel like I have finally got to a very satisfying point on the digital front now. I am only planning on messing around with software and perhaps optimising a pc. The Lampi is great for satisfying our eternal OCD as you can quench your appetite by rolling some more tubes. I was listening to my PCM upsampled to quad dsd yesterday and so pleased with the results I could scarcely believe it.

My vinyl rig needs an Air Tight supreme and a valve reference phono - I am not doing that for a year now since I am happy enough with the result, just know I can do much better.

Do we audiophiles ever reach equilibrium? No. We will always strive for that last ounce of fidelity or magic.

One of my favourite barometers is to take a whole week or more off and do something else. Go back to the system and judge - this happened to me recently, not by choice, but due to Krells being serviced. Upon their return, I spent virtually every minute of the weekend glued to my music with a giant smile on my face - I think that is a good sign.

 

[JackD201]

The darned finish line keeps on moving!

 

[spiritofmusic]

Just got back from that steak. Thanx for the great company and interesting repartee RonR and Bonzo.
Bonzo remains as spicy as the curries he's recommending in his responses here .
I'm an inveterate box swapper, open to criticism, rightly or wrongly.
Now I'm talking about stepping off, and there is some additional subtext to my decision.
I've acquired the front end I will never swap out, the amps and spkrs that work so well together, and a series of tweaks, that 2 weeks ago it just all came together big time.
I'm going to call off my potential switch to horns or more SOTA box spkrs, and am reluctant to even audition a pre I'm really fascinated by.
For my part, I've NEVER inhibited myself for going for upgrades, but this time, maybe.
I will feed myself crumbs of comfort re investing in Spiers table, Furutech US sockets/dedicated lines and Shun Mooks, but that may be it.
I concur w/RonR that "sticking", not "twisting" is a good place to be, if my happiness levels are as genuine as I state they are.

Btw, card carrying audiofoolia is a lifelong burden to bear , getting off at a particular stop doesn't absolve one of the shame associated ! No, an incurable curse, I'm afraid .

 

[YashN]

I'm the opposite of a box swapper: my main concern is getting great sound so that I, together with other people, can then enjoy the music vastly better.

This for me requires choosing equipment well, but then also working out how to optimise the whole setup.

With my current very affordable setup, I believe I have maximised it out, and it provides uncanny presence and soundstage, and fast transients especially with Quad-DSD and my SET Tube amp.

I can get more performance by adding new equipment, but for now the results compared to how I started are so very different and good that I can spend all my time just listening to my work on system optimisation since everything in my collection now sounds like new music.

I have no interest in getting the latest, biggest, most expensive at all.

DIY helps a lot with the 'need to buy'. It is surprising how much one can do with very little means and still get great results.

 

[DaveyF]

I think that a lot of us simply don't want to trust our own ears. By that, i suspect that many here- and on other a'phile forums, are not comfortable enough with their enjoyment of music to state: " I am happy with my system" and leave it at that. IME, there are many, many ways that you can go backwards in our hobby. This leads to the inevitable swapping of boxes and increased distrust in our own enjoyment and hearing/understanding of the music. Now, I am certainly not saying that this doesn't in many instances apply to me as well, but I do like to think that once I am getting the sound that I am 'generally' hoping for, its time to step back a little and listen. ( Naturally, we all want to reproduce a sound that we hear at a 'live' event as closely as possible).
I also believe that listening to the sound of real instruments in a "live" event is something that too few of us do....even though I have yet to meet a fellow a'phile who says he rarely if ever listens to 'live' music. OTOH,when you actually compare the sound of "live", preferably un-amplified instruments to our gear, well then you will probably not be that satisfied...and so it goes. Do we ever really get off the merry go round; to some more so than others. A true a'phile to get off 100%....nope, I don't believe it can happen.

 

[Rodney Gold]

I never try to get my system sounding like live cos that's impossible , my aim is to make my system present so that each album is an "experience" rather than just music.
I get there with what I got .. but there is still room for more..
I am not hugely wealthy so as to afford anything my heart desires..I went "all in" on my system after selling some cars. I bought the best I could afford and will have to stick there as I cannot afford better (if there is a "better")
However I do fiddle a lot , but not with equipment per se , more with my target curves etc of my Dirac/Acourate room correction , placement and so on.. "free" tweaks so to speak.
I listen to music at least 6 hours a day..as I also work a bit from my music room. Tons of new music ..TIDAL!!!
I class myself as a card carrying audiophile.. the system and dedicated room indicate that .. I even bought a TT just for show..to enhance my credentials Maybe I also need a valve thingy somewhere..just in case anyone doubts me ....