1. Don't go the mid-fi false-economy route, thinking that it'll save $. You'll only spend more in the long term & if you spent all that initially on the better equipment then you'll be $ ahead & much less frustrated. With all the money I wasted going through mid-fi, I could have a rig that's THAT much better today & spent less to boot.
2. Begin with the speakers that you intend to keep for life, then build the rig around them. If you change speakers later, all else is a wash.
3. Listen to your wife's aural opinions (assuming that she's into it) she can hear better than you can.
4. Tune for musicality vs. resolution. As Dan states, when you're really hearing the *music* you're getting close. The goosebump factor & those raised-up hairs on the back of your neck are telling you something - not so much by what you hear as what you *feel*.
5. Common sense isn't always relavant. Forget the spec's, the theories, the numbers. Listen with your heart.
Very nice idea for a thread Eric. my compliments to you & the above advisers as well; they very much know what they're talking about!
2. Begin with the speakers that you intend to keep for life, then build the rig around them. If you change speakers later, all else is a wash.
3. Listen to your wife's aural opinions (assuming that she's into it) she can hear better than you can.
4. Tune for musicality vs. resolution. As Dan states, when you're really hearing the *music* you're getting close. The goosebump factor & those raised-up hairs on the back of your neck are telling you something - not so much by what you hear as what you *feel*.
5. Common sense isn't always relavant. Forget the spec's, the theories, the numbers. Listen with your heart.
Very nice idea for a thread Eric. my compliments to you & the above advisers as well; they very much know what they're talking about!