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Any other lone audiophiles here?

By "Lone" I mean you have no other local audiophile buddies. That describes my experience. My wife and I usually listen together. I have no other friends to borrow equipment or to audition theirs. In spite of that I believe I've done a pretty good job of putting together a system which is very good. I've done it strictly by reading reviews, etc and lots of research. I see the situation as both an advantage and maybe a curse. The advantage is that Maybe I don't know what I'm missing. The curse is may be that I often wonder IF I need to upgrade? Or am m missing something.? Like right now. I just bought a CJ CT5 preamp which is silly good.So now I wonder about my amp? The CJ retails for 8x more than my silly little tube amp...a Bob Latino ST-70. Yet I believe that amp is fully pulling its weight while hooked to a preamp which is silly good. Surely, this amp can't be the be all end all. However It did replace an amp which retails for 4x its price. Who knows? maybe its the ST-70 which needed a better preamp to show off its stuff. Nonetheless, I enjoy the music  immensely. and all the advice I've gotten from people on the forums over the years. FWIW, I also play drums  and have played live. So I DO know what live music sounds like. So, maybe I'm not shooting totally in the dark.
128x128artemus_5

Showing 4 responses by douglas_schroeder

douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
For twenty years I had no local audio buddies, but now have five who have materialized over the past ten years. It has been a very nice fraternity, with good conversation on many topics and great insight into the systems we hear and the hobby in general. I think we would all say we benefitted each other, as we all now have much better systems and enjoyment than ten years ago. In fact, I think we have all assisted the others to achieve better than they had expected on their own. I don't know that I could have picked a better group of guys to share it with. 

Does the OP know that there is an audio club forum here? He could advertise his general vicinity to source audio friends. 
douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
Artemus, oh, wow, I just looked at your virtual system; you're grousing about wife asking you to build a dedicated room!!! Woa! JUMP ON IT! 
That is a primary way to really gain in the hobby. I built my own room and it is by far one of the best things I ever did as an audiophile. It's hard to overestimate the influence of a great room. I wanted a room that was like a mastering studio, and that's what I got. The intimacy and quietness is wonderful, allowing me to hear deeply into the system performance, a radical departure from using the living room as I used to. 

It took me 8 months to build my specialty room as I am not in the trades, because I took my sweet time to make sure it was as close to perfect conceptually as possible. I LOVE the result and it's pure pleasure every time I use the room. I sought the approval of my wife, and she was generous, saying, "I don't care what you do. I don't care what you spend." She asked for new furniture for the family room; she got it! 

Re: Audio friends - you build it and they will come!  LOL 
douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
artemus5, ah, water under the bridge regarding the room. Ok, so build the rig! Yup, LOTS of upgrade potential for all audio systems, except perhaps the top 1-2%. There are dozens, at least, of potential improvements to sound quality, many impressive. If you have the itch and the means, for sure work on a few upgrades. Or spice up your life with some alternative components to swap out occasionally. Get something additional like a new DAC, cables, amp or speakers. Get some speakers that are completely different design so that you can have two very different rigs. Lots of fun! 

If you have a CD player that has a digital out, get an outboard DAC and be shocked at the improvement. Get two or three different ICs - better yet, try the Schroeder Method of IC Placement. You won't believe how much more there is to gain in a rig. Your biggest enemy is the thought, "It can't get much better". It can get WAY better, and then better still. 

douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
an10490413, quite simply put, Schroeder Method of IC Placement is doubling up the interconnects either via adapters that split/rejoin, allowing placement of two ICs as an assembly�, or a manufactured double IC.

These are not merely an IC with more conductor material, but two discrete ICs conjoined complete with their independent grounds. 

I invite you to see my seminal article at Dagogo.com "Audio Blast: The Schroeder Method of Interconnect Placement, and the thread on the cable forum bearing my name. You will see that it is meeting with growing approval and praise from users. There have been some caveats brought up regarding gear that might not be suitable, including NOS DACs that send the signal from the chip, and it is unknown largely how Class D amps would react, but caution has been advised that some may have oscillations as a result. However, TEO Audio has successfully used the Red Dragon S500 with Schroeder Method. 

If you have concerns speak to your equipment manufacturer about it. 
Personally, I will not use a single IC again for my own systems, as it is paltry in comparison. 
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