For the past 30 years or so I've considered myself a die-hard audiophile. I've gone through similar phases and opinions like most of you probably have. I've bought and sold many dozens (if not hundreds) of high end components and cables. Audio research, Linn, audionote, ensemble, synergistic, Zu Audio, PS Audio, Yamamoto, modwright, REL, Klipsch, hafler, CJ, coincident, classe, anthem, oppo, MIT, and many other brands I don't even remember. I've auditioned hundreds more... I'm also an electronic technician so I had my share of experience with DIY. I've gone from tubes and vinyl to digital and SS, and back around. I've owned mini monitors and huge 6' Giants and everything in between. I've heard the most minute differences in sound quality between cables and footers. I've spent way too many dollars on fuses, tweaks and furniture. I read reviews, and swore by specific brands. I've put together systems which I was sure we're the best ever and defended my choices with a passion.
No more.
I'm sitting here right now in my (ex) music room, listening to a system that costs less than $350 total, and enjoying the music as I rarely did with my recent $30K one. Does it sound as good and realistic as the $30K one? No it doesn't. But it sounds damn good. It's musical, engaging, full bodied with a well established sound stage, good detail and tonality, well paced, and I'm having a blast!!! I just don't care no more for the minute differences in sound quality. There is no end to it.
I let go, and oh man it feels good to enjoy music without constantly analyzing and subconsciously looking for imperfection or thinking how much better it will sound with tweak X or cable Y or upgrade Z... This tiny $350 system delivers 80% of the sound quality of the $30K one, and honestly probably better than many $5K ones out there. I mean it... It doesn't make any sense no more!
I have no regrets ... I've had a lot of fun and I met amazing people that I wouldn't have had I not been an audiophile. I've experienced great uplifting monents and great disappointments. I've laughed and cried, was blown away and frustrated... It was a great ride.
I am leaving this hobby behind and not looking back... Damn it feels good. I'll keep enjoying great music and HiFi sound, and will appreciate high quality equipment, but I won't be obsessed with it no more. I still have a very nice system in my living room which is probably worth around $2K and will be more than I'll ever need going forward. This amazing little $350 system is going to my office where I spend most of my week days and I'm excited about it...
I have woken up from the audiophile dream, and what has been seen can't be unseen.
Goodbye and thanks for the fish :-)
PS: Since I know you are very curious, the $350 system consists of a Raspberry Pi as a streamer ($25) with an upgraded DAC ($60), an upgraded power supply ($50), a 20 watt Chinese digital power amplifier ($70), mini monitor speakers I bought as a kit ($100), DIY stands from leftover lumber ($20), and around $20 in cables... I intentionally omit brand names, this post is not about recommending any specific item. It's about what amazing value you can get for ridiculously cheap these days in general.
I promise each and every one of you that if you were sitting in my seat right now, and I would have told you that you are listening to a $5K system, you would not have doubted it for a second. You are probably thinking that I'm crazy, but I am not. I've already tried this trick on a few very experienced audiophile friends this past week. :-)
@stringreen : Most cars serve a purpose - getting you from point A to point B with varying degrees of efficiency, luxury and performance. Exotic performance cars (most Porsches excluded from this category) serve a completely different purpose. They are for track driving, (although some do track driving on public roads) and a status symbol. I live in the SF bay area, and even here very few people drive Ferraris in traffic every day, especially not the ultra-high-performance ones. This is not the same as high-end audio systems, which are all meant to reproduce music with high fidelity for better engagement of the listener. I do agree that in both categories there is the curve of diminishing returns, only in recent years it has become way steeper than it ever was. Same with cars BTW - what you buy today for $20K outperforms most cars costing $100K 20 years ago in almost every aspect.
@stringreen That analogy only goes so far. All the cars you list are exceptional and in the right hands can be real beasts. But you can have as much fun in a Miata if you know what you're doing. Especially on a race track where cars like that belong. I drive a lowly 350z on the race track 5 or 6 times a year. At the beginning of that first session I'm nervous, shakey, stomach in knots....then you get on track and it all goes away. Could I have more fun in a Porsche? Maybe. Maybe not.
Point is, with cars you can have tons of fun doing what performance cars do with 1/10th or 1/100th the price of an exotic. And I think that is the point of the OP.
n80....you’re right.... my brother had one and if you kept the rev’s high it was fun to drive....... It did have its down side though.....back-achs et al. The user should always prioritize their values.
I was quite obsessive about high end audio through the 90’s and into the early 2000’s.
Then I got in to home theater. I didn’t totally leave 2 channel listening behind, but my brain has room for only one obsession at a time. In my high end obsession, I used to go to sleep dreaming about possible speaker amp combinations! Always wondering if I could get more than I had.
That obsessiveness transferred to the visual realm - joining the crowd in HT forums pouring over minutia regarding increasing picture quality in flat screens and projectors. I remember thinking at that point of how I no longer had high end audio taking up so much brain time, didn’t obsess about it anymore, and actually being somewhat thankful and at peace about it.
Well, then around 2015 for various reasons my passion for 2 channel started re-igniting again (I think it was the availability of speakers I’d always wanted to hear, now on the used market and affordable to me).Then like many I have become sucked in to the vinyl craze and upgraded to a high end turntable, and all the thought processes that takes.
So, now I’m somewhat high end audio obsessed again, and where I used to watch a movie, or part of a movie almost every night in my elaborate home theater room, now most of the time I elect to listen to my 2 channel system.
And now, ironically when I watch a movie with my family or friends, I note I’m no longer obsessing at all over all the things I did when putting together and tweaking my home theater - "is the clarity enough? The contrast as good as I can get it?" etc. And THAT feels nice to just not worry about.
But knowing myself I can’t see being ever both "totally in to my 2 channel system" AND "completely satisfied." That’s one reason why I own more than one pair of speakers, to have something to switch to when I get ansy. Know thyself is part of the game.
So, it’s all down to one’s nature. At any one time (though I have multiple interests) my passion is raging for some hobby in particular (used to be Martial Arts as well). I figure it’s good to have passions in life so what the heck.
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