Happy Scale


I found this reply interesting on the "Happy Scale" of our present systems vs. One's of the past.

Great topic to contemplate. In the mid 80's My first stereo at 23 was pretty good. 400 watts of SAE power,  Technics SBE 200 speakers, Thorens TD 124 TT. All vinyl. For me and my friends, it was unbeleiveable how good it sounded. Fast forward 30 years.... I now own a $40,000 Audio Note system. It may "technically" sound better but it doesn't make me any happier on MY happy Scale. My friends don't talk about my present system but they sure talked about my system 30 years ago. I was the guy with the stereo. It felt good.

Rich or poor keep searching to achieve those 10/10 happy scale moments. Happy is just plain happy. Period. It's what we live for.

Can anyone add to the mix...during these isolated times?

Cheers
ishkabibil
We are so happy it sometimes has us laughing out loud. Seriously. People wish, dream, fantasize, and pretend, and for all that still can't get here. Not in their wildest fantasy. Not in their wettest audiophile wet dream.

Happy? Last night we put on Jackson Browne Saturate Before Using. Bought almost entirely because of a Fremer comment about the cymbals on Doctor My Eyes. Had it years now, hadn't listened to it in a while. Last night Jackson Browne was right there, guitar body, strings, space and air, you name it its there. In spades. Tracy Chapman Mountains of Things, the same thing only this one the bass is so deep and powerful it must be felt to be believed.

Happy? Delirious! https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367
Whole bunch of tweaks done since these pictures were taken. Many of them like fo.Q tape don't look like much. But the tweaks make all the difference. Remove them, just another stereo. With them, you can't touch this!
of course, some of us listen to Jackson and his lyrics...try Looking East where he decimates your Heroes Charlie...

I still have a good chunk of my Dads first system which was better than my first system, so I can get the emotional hit anytime...


Is it possible there is something else at work here?  We put a system together and it’s an 8 or 9. Time goes on, we hear things wrong and it moves to a 7 then a 6 and then we upgrade. 


The new system/upgrade moves back to a 8/9 and then the cycle starts all over.... meaning for many there is no perfect and if there is, over time, problems are discovered... so enjoy the journey. 
Relevant question to me. In fact, I'm putting together a vintage system for my basement, in part to try and recapture the sound I enjoyed at the beginning of my stereo journey. I'm under no illusion about experiencing again the same enjoyment though, because I was young then and the stereo experience was new. I listen differently now, and my Happy Meter is wired to different sources.