What are the odds......


....of making a really good sounding system better?

If it is really good odds are it is very hard to make better.

If it gets better all the time chances are it may not have been very good to start with.

Different is not always better although better is a very subjective thing. Is it even possible to quantify “the best” or even “better”? Music is a complex beast.


When is good good enough? YMMV. 

Back to listening now. I am thankful for what I got.
128x128mapman

Showing 3 responses by millercarbon

What are the odds......

....of making a really good sounding system better?

That's a complete quote.
If it is really good odds are it is very hard to make better.

That's another one.
If it gets better all the time chances are it may not have been very good to start with.
Nothing edited there either.  

Just how much of what you write must one quote in order to no longer be "selective"? Come on, man! We all know its nothing to do with being selective. You simply think its all a matter of chance, which makes sense, especially if you don't know what you're doing. 

What are the odds of that?

OP: What are the odds......

....of making a really good sounding system better?

If it is really good odds are it is very hard to make better.

If it gets better all the time chances are
millercarbon:
So you think its luck and chance. Figures.
mapman:
That’s not what I said. In fact the exact opposite. It’s written there in plain English.
Indeed it is. It's clear you’re talking randomness and luck. It’s written there in plain English.

Anyway, since I have the time, hate to belabor the point but we can’t answer the question until we do clarify are we talking about chances, randomness and odds? Or are we talking about experience, skill, and knowledge?

Because if the former, which it sure seems to me applies to a lot of people, then yes it is random and odds are low. But if its a skill where knowledge and experience rule then its a certainty. Absolute certainty.

For proof I offer two systems. Mine is really good sounding. To say the least. Beyond really good sounding in fact. Has been for some time now. Yet I was able to make a really nice improvement with some rubber bands scrounged from the kitchen clutter drawer. Seriously. Wasn’t hard at all. Cost: zero. Did a demo for some people, their heads shook in disbelief. Easily noticeable improvement.

Then another time I stuck some fO.q tape under my bearing and between the cartridge and head shell. Huge improvement.

But that’s my system. Some snooty types look down on my system as sort of mid-fi. Okay. So what about a system that is really, really out there? Mike Lavigne improved his with some diffuser panels he stuck on a wall. He listened for a while, thought about it, figured it out, put the panels up, heard the improvement.

The OP question wasn’t about how hard or expensive, it was "What are the odds". Remember? What are the odds? What are the chances. It’s written there in plain English.

If you have what it takes then it's not odds, its for certain. If you don’t- well then good luck to you!