Changing Amps?? Are you Sure??

Hi, Frap: Your thread reinforces a point I have made repeatedly in these forums: that next great upgrade often turns out to be DIFFERENT, not necessarily better, than the unit it replaced. I've tended to stay with good equipment for relatively long time periods, particularly stuff that is made by value-oriented companies such as Vandersteen and Bryston. During the late 1980's, I belonged to Pacific Northwest Audio Club, and was amazed at the "audio paranoia" and "component of the month club" mentality. Ultimately, this hobby comes down to one golden rule: believe your own ears. If you can't hear the difference between the old and new unit, or you can't tell if one is better than the other, then stick with what you have -- no matter what the audiophobes or high-end mags say!!

Sdcampbell:

I subscribed to Audio for over 30 years they went out of business and was replaced by sound and vision; terrible magazine. So I replaced it with Stereophile and Absolute Sound; these are also terrible but in a different way. EVERYTHING sounds better than the previous model. You can see the crescendo building concerning the Wisdom/cj/VTL setup in HPs listening room.In a year it will be the Avant Garde Trios with Wavelength Napoleons. The ARC RefTwo preamp is only 10k but the cj ART is 16K. I betcha the house within two years ARC will have the super REF and it will cost 20k.
I do not know when the hype about amps will end. As I have
stated before I went to my local audio store were I auditioned Spectral/Classe electronics;Avalon, MartinLogan,
and Magnepan speakers. The differences between them
and my 15 year system was not as great as I expected. The
new models were not significantly better than 15 year old
models. The upshot: if your satisfied with your system
buy more music!!! Even better: buy season tickets to your
local symphony orchestra or opera company.

Just think how your hearing has deteriorated over those 30 years! The moral of the story: buy some classic stuff like
Frap and live with it! After 30 years, there may be better stuff out there, but will you still be able to hear the difference?! If so, by then your old stuff will be worth $$$!

Hi Frap, seems Mars is being populated by a lot of nice and interesting people. So we are not alone. On the other side, if we all were like that, the industry would come to a standstil and we don't want that either. By the way, why don't you guys give Frap some points? I was the first to answer his starting post and gave him 2/2 and now with more than 12 hours later its still only my 2/2 !
Regards,

If the new equipment is truly better, then it is worth considering. However, it has seemed that the audio press has had its' "flavor of the month club" for quite some time, overly promoting products that really aren't breakthrough products.

I believe that most of us want and will purchase the best that our budget allows, but it would be great to see some REAL advances along with those high prices. While I'm not one of those who will bury my head in the sand and exist with classic gear, I admit that the component really has to impress me to separate me with my money. (and yes, I too have budget constraints)

Wouldn't it be refreshing to have an audio magazine that wasn't influenced by advertising dollars, like TAS back in the early/mid 70's?