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The awakening...

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. :-)
128x128ami
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
2,164 posts
 
but as you delve into DIY, mod , rebuild and repair there are lots of ways to destroy gear..high voltages, ground loops, DC into speakers, electrostats panel arc without dust shields, etc...

some things like Apogee parts are more or less unobtainable.....
falconquest's avatar
falconquest
480 posts
 
I guess I have been rather fortunate in my life. I have hiked the Inca trail through the Sungate to Machu Picchu, climbed Huayna Picchu, stared in amazement at the stones of Sacsayhuaman, spent a wind blown night in Monteverde, stared into the abyss of Vesuvius, stood in the amphitheatre in Pompeii where Pink Floyd recorded Echoes, toured the Coliseum and the Vatican (omg, the wealth in St.Peters!) flew over the Nazca lines, paddled a sea kayak into the sea caves on Devils Island, climbed many a Great Lakes old abandoned light house, and rode a horse into Lake Michigan while he swam. All of this was done on the cheap.
I love cars and once built a high performance small block Chevy motor but decided to stay away from high performance cars. Some like expensive watches, cars, jewelry, etc. but from the time when I was young and used to lay in bed at night with my portable FM radio listening to the rock station (before it was classic) I told myself someday, I am going to listen to this music on a high end stereo. So while I have done all those things, the one thing I was always driven to is high end audio. My system is very nice but by no means ultra high end. It suits me fine and now that I am getting older I decided before I die I will accomplish this goal. I tweak here and there but am very fortunate to be able to have a "high end" system and achieved what I set out to do when I was 9 years old listening to that portable FM radio under my pillow at night. Interesting life, isn’t it?
ami's avatar
ami OP
62 posts
 
@falconquest
Wow... definitely interesting!
I’m happy to say I’ve been very fortunate in that regard as well.
In my ~50 years, I visited over 30 countries and 4 continents.
I lived for over 30 years in Israel where I was born, 3 years in the Netherlands, and for 2 years I took a break from life and travelled, driving across India and Nepal on a motorcycle - an indian Royal Enfield Bullet.
I visited Thailand quite a few times, islands, mountains, everywhere.
Travelled for many months in Africa driving an old Mitsubishi Jeep.
Africa is my favorite continent to visit, Uganda in particular, and I’m going there in March again! If you haven’t put Africa on your to do list, you are missing out. It’s different than anything else you’ve ever seen or imagined.
For the last 7 years I’ve been living here in northern California. I took a few long vacation trips, about 2 months each, riding my motorcycle across the USA. I probably visited 40 states by now and drove over 30K miles just for fun. Too many experiences to list here :-)
Have a wonderful weekend and good luck with your audio quest! (pun not intended)
Ami
n80
1,227 posts
 
On this topic of life experience:

@falconquest  triggered a memory about listening to the radio at night when he was a kid. I did the same thing. First through fifth grade. Late 60's and early 70's. Jacksonville, Florida, always tuned to WAPE, the Big Ape. The Who, Pink Floyd, Joe Walsh, Zep, Stones, Skynrd etc etc etc when all that good stuff was coming out. A constant stream of the some of the best rock ever. I listened to it until I fell asleep every night and it played while I was asleep until my dad came in and turned it off when he went to bed. I remember the concert announcements of all these folks too wishing I was old enough to go.  I absolutely loved listening to that little FM clock radio. I never had any notion of hi-fi then but I probably enjoyed music as much then on that one speaker radio as I do now. Maybe more.






cd318
404 posts
 
@n80 , 

Talking of memories, it's a sobering thought that I will probably never again attain the sheer listening pleasure that I got back in the late 1970s. The sheer excitement of playing those LPs the first dozen or so times! The Beatles Blue album (wow!), Pepper, Revolver, the White Album, Abbey Road, Blonde on Blonde, Highway 61 Revisited, the Doors, the Velvet Underground and Nico, Forever Changes, Astral Weeks, the Hangman's Beautiful Daughter, Electric Ladyland, Closer, Unknown Pleasures, Get Happy!! etc.

Between 1978 and 1980, the Sex Pistols were as important as food to me. It's funny how the breakup of that band/death of Sid /followed by Ian Curtis' suicide/ Lennon's murder, all gradually combined over the next decade and a half to dim that initial red hot intensity of passion. Looking back I can now appreciate why some had said that the death of Buddy Holly was the day the music died. For them it had.

Back then the Sunday chart show on Radio 1 (and the Top of the Pops BBC TV show) were both a staple part of our weekly routine. The current music scene was an important and relevant part in keeping our lives together then.  Some of us needed to go back further into it's wonderful history. First towards childhood memories and then beyond even those, all the long and winding road back to Louis Armstrong.

To now think that most of my 'formative' listening was done through a music centre (record player / cassette /radio combo) feeding bookshelf speakers.

Strangely enough as I was to discover later, no amount of upgrading would ever get that initial magic back again. Perhaps there is no way back, perhaps you can only go back in dreams. Perhaps in real life you can only go forwards.
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