How old is too old?


Quick but hopefully interesting story. I have been playing high end for 30+ years and I will be turning 65 in a few weeks. Not that long ago I had told my very understanding wife that I had pretty much reached the end of the obsessive journey. I had reached the point where replacing ANYTHING of significance was financial insanity. While I acknowledge that my hearing is no longer what it used to be, I still enjoyed listening. I took heart that many great conductors continue well into old age. So basically, my passion and the rest of my life had reached a peaceful balance. On the other hand I still searched Audiogon most days and have been thinking of a Marantz 10B lately. Old habits... Well, I still believed that something was missing but with the loss of all the Stereo stores, it is damned difficult to hear much of anything let alone compare products. Recently had a chance to hear the Chicago Sym do a rehersal and was reminded how good real music could sound. Without all the details, Wilson and ML are key parts of the system. My speaker cable was from a respected company and quite well thought of. Hadn't even thought about it in years, it was just there. Some fine gentleman was sellig the length of speaker cable I needed for $400 for a cable that retailed for $2200, partially because it had been run through the floor and left scuff marks. My set up runs throught the floor so per-scuffed seemed a fine deal. I hoped for some improvement.

I am enjoying my sound system again with more outright fun than I would have thought possible. Speaker cable! And at 65 years old. For $400. None of us ever get to the end of this hobby and who would want too? If there is a moral to this story besides that High End Stereo probably should have a diagnostic code in the DSM, you are never so old that this still can't be fun if you don't take yourself or your sound system more seriously than is reasonable. I still fine in humorous that after spending mega-bucks, $400 went from pretty good to real good.
kkurtis

Showing 3 responses by rok2id

'I still fine in humorous that after spending mega-bucks, $400 went from pretty good to real good.'

Don't see / understand the humor. I would want a refund of my mega bucks. Something is wrong. A piece of wire should not change a mega buck system (or a sub-low fi system for that matter). Wire is just wire. I wish the hype was true, I would love to buy a piece of wire and turn my modest rig into a ultra high end system.
'chalk it up as my hearing is not what it once was.'

Have you ever heard a difference? When you were much younger with good hearing? Your hearing is probably just fine. I am 68, and hear as well as ever. I don't think a 'young'german shepard can hear wire. :) My thought is this: if 'good' wire i.e. wire that makes an improvement, can be heard, then it stands to reason that 'bad' wire should be able to be heard also i.e. degraded sound. Try the blue Jeans and see if your sound degrades. Unless wire has this magical property whereas it either improves the sound or has no effect on it. hmmmmmmm. BTW, what does hearing wire mean in a musical context. How does it affect your cd of Beethoven's ninth? Everyone 'hears' it, but they never reference a piece of music, so the rest of us can get involved. It seems to trump every other aspect of the system. All the time and money spent selecting and matching etc... means nothing without finding that needle in the haystack? Not trying to start a fight, just trying to understand. If true I want in also.
'When I can't hear the differance between my TV speakers and my systems speakers. As long as I can I will continue on.'

My sentiments exactly!! I don't know if I can hear 20k, if I ever did, But I don't think I am missing anything put on CDs.