When will the "Madness" stop

Hi Sandle:

You say>"I have spend 10 years and an amount of money I don't even want to think about on the quest for the 'perfect' system. I have gone through at least 20 of each component category (CD, Vinyl, Pre, Amp, Speakers, Wires, Gadgets,....). When I look through a Stereophile magazine... it is amazing.... I have had almost one piece from each advertiser."

There is no "perfect system" so you can spend a lot of time looking for it if they convince you it's out there.

I do not want to sound too cynical but I think the primary thing the magazine is set up to accomplish is just what you describe. It is a testament to the power and savvy of modern advertisers and marketing (they know how to set a hook). I think, if the average person wants to "stop the madness", as you put it, he would do much better putting a system together if he never looked at them (the big mags) and used the time listening and with other sources of information.

I was just looking at M. Jones' book on valve amps and he quotes the old line "there is nothing new under the sun” (Morgen Jones, Valve Amplifiers, p.110), when talking about tube circuits. This is not completely true of course (and probably the most true with tubes) but, the more I look at it, it is astounding just how true it is for audio electronics. It is also amazing how good the music can be using electronics that are, for the most part, 70 years old. This makes the constant recycling of the same old circuits in new boxes a little disconcerting and misleading.

In any event, one way to help “stop the madness” is simply to get the constant siren call of unending hype out of your ears. I think it becomes much more straightforward without it. Think of the fashion industry for a moment. The "flavor of the moment" is constantly changed for no other reason than to generate sales. The most important thing, for the industry, is that what was "in" 2 years ago, is now passe. No part of the audio industry is intersted in the time tested and proven. It would stop sales in its tracks. And so the best falls out of view, completely obscured by what is new.

This approach is not for everyone of course and I don’t mean to imply that everyone who looks at those mags falls for them. I know some of the folks in this thread haven’t.... But a lot of people do.

To answer your question I have been listening to a set of Oris horns and a simple homemade Set amp/pre (300b) with a variety of sources, cd and vinyl, (total 6.5k w/o source) for a couple months and could live on very nicely with them.

I remain,

I find it all depends on you. If you are into the hobby to continue to learn, experiment, grow (as I am), then NO, the madness never stops. I don't consider it madness, however,I consider it passion.
-aj

Congratulations on finding the perfect system. You must have worked with a great dealer. I bet he isn't too happy now since you have the perfect system.

Sandle4 - you may enjoy going through the virtual systems and reading the owner-comments. Maybe you should type your up.

There is definitely a point (different for different people) where the cost of the next upgrade is sufficiently high as to buy a signficant amount of music. If you ever find yourself wondering why the Madness continues, find the willpower to turn a couple upgrades into a stack of new music that's tall enough that you'll have trouble listening to it all. Let the madness subside and see if the desire returns. If it does, you're having fun (and probably not spending your money/time on a boat or a motorcycle), so proceed - only when you do, you'll be doing it with an incredible music collection. -Kirk