If you listen daily its good .
I now have a simple easy to use good sounding system ........until i spend big on FMA gear
I now have a simple easy to use good sounding system ........until i spend big on FMA gear
How do you know when you are done?
- Thread starter Mike Lavigne
- Start date
For FPGA-based DACs, the next thing is usually a software update. Grimm Audio is working on an update that will allow their MU1 streamer and MU2 streamer/DAC to use control software other than Roon. Owners will get to experiment with Audirvana, JPLAY and others.
The best manufacturers listen to their customers and potential customers and act accordingly. The update is free (other manufacturers also provide free updates).
When I run out of money...lol. For the last 8 years, I have spent 2-3 hours every day on Audiogon and WBF learning the trade and dreaming about the ultimate sound. I was chasing a dream. Buying and selling components. I was searching for the next best thing.
About 6 years ago, I lost the majority of my eyesight due to a stroke. Music became that much more important to me. I was building a new house and designed a space for my music, but it wasn't a dedicated room. I wanted to build one more house to create a music studio, but I decided to enjoy what I have. During this time, I ended up buying a full Aries Cerat system. I have found my endgame. I find myself occasionally checking out Audiogon and WBF now.
Interestingly, I am now thinking to the future. Not to be morbid, and I am in pretty good health for a 71-year-old, but what happens if I were to die? I do not want to leave my wife with having to try and sell my system. She knows nothing about it. Even though I have found my endgame, I could see me making a major change next year and really simplifying my audio system. Until then I am just really enjoying my Aries Cerat system and the music from my Lucas Audio LDMS.
About 6 years ago, I lost the majority of my eyesight due to a stroke. Music became that much more important to me. I was building a new house and designed a space for my music, but it wasn't a dedicated room. I wanted to build one more house to create a music studio, but I decided to enjoy what I have. During this time, I ended up buying a full Aries Cerat system. I have found my endgame. I find myself occasionally checking out Audiogon and WBF now.
Interestingly, I am now thinking to the future. Not to be morbid, and I am in pretty good health for a 71-year-old, but what happens if I were to die? I do not want to leave my wife with having to try and sell my system. She knows nothing about it. Even though I have found my endgame, I could see me making a major change next year and really simplifying my audio system. Until then I am just really enjoying my Aries Cerat system and the music from my Lucas Audio LDMS.
This is a big subject! I think there is the 'hobby' aspect to it, the enjoyment of tweaking and upgrading. And talking to the community, hearing friends systems etc. If we are 'done' that tweaking aspect would stop, so maybe we miss it, and keep going. It can is is an obsession in effect for many.
As long as it is not damaging to the other things going on in your life (or relationships), why not keep going.
I have never had the funds to buy 100K+ products. But I have enjoyed very much the lower priced aspect to the hobby, where with care you can get both a healthy hobby and enjoyment from your music. I suggest audiophiles, or aspirational audiophiles look at DIY and mods to get you to your final place. The lure of 100K products for many will never be realised, and may just leave you deflated and frustrated?
In my journey I have build 300B amplifier kits, R2R tube DAC kits and modded all my speakers over the years. I would suggest speakers are a very good thing to mod. With care and research more performance can be had. For example most speakers cheap out on the crossover parts quality, as everything is built to a price. Upgrading these parts can be not as complex as you may think, and gains can be had. Also tweaks to suit your taste and room acoustic. Check out Danny at GR Research, he gives a lot of free advice on this aspect.
I am at the point where my system is 'good enough'. I am thoroughly anjoying listening to it, not analysing it. I think this means I am, 'done'. Or at least hovering over my landing zone? Pretty much done.
As long as it is not damaging to the other things going on in your life (or relationships), why not keep going.
I have never had the funds to buy 100K+ products. But I have enjoyed very much the lower priced aspect to the hobby, where with care you can get both a healthy hobby and enjoyment from your music. I suggest audiophiles, or aspirational audiophiles look at DIY and mods to get you to your final place. The lure of 100K products for many will never be realised, and may just leave you deflated and frustrated?
In my journey I have build 300B amplifier kits, R2R tube DAC kits and modded all my speakers over the years. I would suggest speakers are a very good thing to mod. With care and research more performance can be had. For example most speakers cheap out on the crossover parts quality, as everything is built to a price. Upgrading these parts can be not as complex as you may think, and gains can be had. Also tweaks to suit your taste and room acoustic. Check out Danny at GR Research, he gives a lot of free advice on this aspect.
I am at the point where my system is 'good enough'. I am thoroughly anjoying listening to it, not analysing it. I think this means I am, 'done'. Or at least hovering over my landing zone? Pretty much done.
My objectives, largely achieved now, were not ones I particularly started out with.
If you'd have said my jazz and classical would show a quantum leap in SQ to the near end game I'm at, yet so many of my classic rock and prog rock faves at the time would sound more challenged, I'd have said no thanks.
I certainly didn't particularly prioritise accuracy in instrumental timbre, I didn't ignore it either, tbh I didn't really have a good idea. When my system then took a massive leap forwards re timbre, I knew I couldn't go back the the sound I'd for a couple of decades up to that point.
Critically, when I started comparing my sound to live unamplified and really well sorted and highly accurate and natural sounding systems, is when my mental compass got realigned.
And then there's no going back.
This all started two decades into the hobby, moving to a new house with a dedicated listening room where the acoustics wipe the floor with the previous rooms I'd been "blessed" with.
That became the blank canvas to get the rest right, coinciding with a whole new hobby, live classical fortnightly, and the glue that now holds it all together is the breakthrough I've made on the power grid front.
Throw in better decisions from me re modding my TT, CDP and amps, and amazing discoveries like Stacore pneumatic isolation, Arya Audio Airblades, and recent cherries on the cake (Alphason cartridge stabilisers and a peachy Zavfino armwire), and a wholly new listening experience is being had, being done is 99.9% done (human temptation accounts for that remaining 0.1%, lol).
If you'd have said my jazz and classical would show a quantum leap in SQ to the near end game I'm at, yet so many of my classic rock and prog rock faves at the time would sound more challenged, I'd have said no thanks.
I certainly didn't particularly prioritise accuracy in instrumental timbre, I didn't ignore it either, tbh I didn't really have a good idea. When my system then took a massive leap forwards re timbre, I knew I couldn't go back the the sound I'd for a couple of decades up to that point.
Critically, when I started comparing my sound to live unamplified and really well sorted and highly accurate and natural sounding systems, is when my mental compass got realigned.
And then there's no going back.
This all started two decades into the hobby, moving to a new house with a dedicated listening room where the acoustics wipe the floor with the previous rooms I'd been "blessed" with.
That became the blank canvas to get the rest right, coinciding with a whole new hobby, live classical fortnightly, and the glue that now holds it all together is the breakthrough I've made on the power grid front.
Throw in better decisions from me re modding my TT, CDP and amps, and amazing discoveries like Stacore pneumatic isolation, Arya Audio Airblades, and recent cherries on the cake (Alphason cartridge stabilisers and a peachy Zavfino armwire), and a wholly new listening experience is being had, being done is 99.9% done (human temptation accounts for that remaining 0.1%, lol).
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Regarding the OP: Not sure.
My original experiment was to optimize gear to determine how good the speakers could sound in my room. Now, the gear is set. Took quite a while...
After adding a switch and ground noise absorber (Taiko Audio), the setup is consistently musically engaging. And if further progress becomes desirable in the future, the direction to achieve that is very clear to me now (there is an updated/improved switch and a second noise absorber would be a good experiment). Gilding the lily?
My original experiment was to optimize gear to determine how good the speakers could sound in my room. Now, the gear is set. Took quite a while...
After adding a switch and ground noise absorber (Taiko Audio), the setup is consistently musically engaging. And if further progress becomes desirable in the future, the direction to achieve that is very clear to me now (there is an updated/improved switch and a second noise absorber would be a good experiment). Gilding the lily?
The lure of 100k products stopped when actually I started listening to them
It’s not so easy finding the right components on a budget, and dealing with room acoustics on a budget either, which is why a lot of people tend to « throw money at the problem »….
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Just go visit Hifi / dealer shows and the lust induced by hifi magz will evaporate substantially
The lure of 100k products stopped when actually I started listening to them
It’s not so easy finding the right components on a budget, and dealing with room acoustics on a budget either, which is why a lot of people tend to « throw money at the problem »….
There are very good / excellent musically satisfying products at or above those price points .
But they are rare.
I can buy anything i want ( in audio at least) lol , but it doesn t mean i discriminate / look down to cheaper gear.
Its a Value versus Price evaluation just like with any product you buy.
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I know when im done is when i design a transducer and i play some good tapes on them and it sounds just right .
The amplifier doesnt have to be super expensive , imv
.The amplifier doesnt have to be super expensive , imv
I’ll know I’ve reached my endgame when, in my own room, I can clearly hear the vast majority of what’s contained in the source material. At present, that source is digital files most of the time, analogue some of the time.
Simply put, my goal is to reproduce the content of the source as accurately and coherently as possible — with correct phase alignment and minimal distortion, minimal (zero audible) noise. Naturally, this includes an extended frequency response at both ends of the spectrum.
I don’t mind if a recording is old or technically compromised; what matters most to me is that the music it holds comes through as clearly and compellingly as possible.
Simply put, my goal is to reproduce the content of the source as accurately and coherently as possible — with correct phase alignment and minimal distortion, minimal (zero audible) noise. Naturally, this includes an extended frequency response at both ends of the spectrum.
I don’t mind if a recording is old or technically compromised; what matters most to me is that the music it holds comes through as clearly and compellingly as possible.
Money changes everything -CL.
It can’t buy happiness, but it sure can manage the maintenance fees. The magic of our hobby is all still in the craft of a well balanced system imho. And agreed, many kits falter at any $$$$ because of the room they perform in.
Mike, you know you are done when your audiologist says it’s time to look at hearing aids.on the KL Audio thread i responded to Ron's points about changing gear where he he responded to a @XV-1 post "Ron, just think of the turnover of your equipment in the last 18 months.
" saying "But I'm not sure that one swap of three things and an additional third thing is a lot compared to many."
with this post........"10 years from now is when you can look back to say when stuff actually settled down and were set......for 3-4 years in a row. where changing is no longer a thought."
then @tima picked up on that and responded to my point....."It is an interesting phenomena -- how do you know when you're satisfied. How do you know when you're done? "
Ron said "I'll know it when I hear it.
i was going to respond to Tim on that thread, but thinking about it, seemed like it's an important enough subject to justify it's own thread so not to comingle it with the KL Audio thread.
how do you know when you are done? and what does done mean? done listening? done talking about changing? done changing? done major piece changing? or just dialed way back on your sense of pursuit? in my mind all those things are forms of being done.
personally i have made it known i'm sorta done and i've got life style changes going on which has changed my priorities considerably. does that mean i don't think about better sound? my answer right now March 14th, 8:28am PDT is i'm not sure exactly what it means. but for sure something has changed for me in terms of how i view my hifi/music hobby path. there are no pieces of gear on my mind to acquire. i'm not thinking about my next move. yet; listening and thinking about the hobby still burns brightly.
before i made the decision last summer to change my lifestyle i think i had already felt i was done. satisfied. investigated what i needed to. acquired the media i wanted to. flirted with some major changes, but realized i was just wanting change for change sake and pulled back from that spot and realized i had what i wanted already. i was in a place of contentment. where when i listened my heart was good. my boxes were checked.
i was hearing what i needed and wanted to hear and was/am happy. day after day after day. and being retired did not want to reinvent my hifi self to explore other approaches.
in my mind no doubt if something minor is presented to me that does move the system performance needle i'm still open to that, but nothing too big. i'm good. i'm done.
what does being done mean to others? where is that for you? what needs to happen, or not happen, for you to feel like you are done? and if so is it......."at a place of rest until the next push"....or...."done for now"......or........"done till you are not done"......or "really done forever"?
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…when the blue moon is out, when hell freezes over, when MikeL changes his speakers, when Mark praises non-Zu speakers…
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