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What was your first big eye opener with regard to audio?


Hello friends,

what was the most fascinating thing you did with the compilation or optimization of your system in terms of SQ or performance, that really got your attention in either a good or bad way?


what was it that actually impressed or surprized you once it was in place?


or what DIY project was it that once done really gave your audio system a big shot in the arm SQ-wise?


maybe it was simply finding out just how much some items could cost


something always seems to take place that changes our philosophies or understandings and maybe even our approach to arranging a fine audio system.


what was your’s?

 

Perhaps it was buying a quality rack, platform, or maybe a pr. of amp stands?


rolling tubes? adding iso footers?


biting the bullet and bringing in a decidedly  more expensive or merely a different electronic component? DAC? Line stage? Mono blocks? Speakers?


what amazing things could be done with as little as 8wpc?


for example, my ‘eye opening’ events came two  fold. adding power line conditioning and using upscale wires/cables, or power cords.


which of these came first I’m not sure but all of them  came with a huge amount of prejudice on my part as to them doing anything positive to the quality of the sound, but indeed they did!


other things came along with nearly the impact or mind altering impact but those were the initial items that paved the way for me to keep an open mind with respect to building an audio system and preserving its synergy.


what was or has been your epiphany? your most surprising  ‘move’ in audio land?


blindjim

Showing 2 responses by rongold

rongold's avatar
rongold
49 posts
 
1. Tube Pre-Amp
2. Martin-Logan speakers
3. How easy it is to fool your ears. Listen to lots of stuff, carefully!
rongold's avatar
rongold
49 posts
 
Fool your ears! Back in the ‘50’s (when dinosaurs roamed the earth) I went to a “hi-fi” show in San Antonio, Texas. There was a good deal of equipment shown. But two things really caught my ear: one room was demoing Audio Fidelity Records, then quite new. They were playing it on a Rek-ko-kut, 16” turntable, into a McIntosh Amp and then on to a JBL Hartsfield speaker (monaural, at the time). They were not pushing the equipment, only the Audio Fidelity Record. It was the most fantastic sound I had ever heard!  Another room, much larger (it seemed like a basket-ball court size) had about 20-25 ElectroVoice speakers/cabs. All the way from a small $25 job to their SOTA EV $800 Patrician. The demo started on the $25 speaker, you could ‘see’ people nodding, as if to say “not bad”. After a bit the demo moved up to the next level speaker. Again, you could ‘see’ people nodding “yes, that’s better. And so forth ‘til they reached the $800 Patrician. Again people were thinking, Wow! That’s a lot better.....but is it $775 better?. At that point in the demo, the music switched from the $800 Patrician to the $25 speaker..........they could not have GIVEN the $25 speaker away. That’s when I learned how easy it is to fool your ear. The louder speaker always sounds better than the quieter speaker. Something to keep in mind in ‘auditioning’ speakers‼️
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