Audio Lessons Learned - post your best advice for the newer members!


Hi,
I thought it would be great to have our longtime audiophiles post their "lessons learned" along the way.

This is not a thread to start arguments, so please do not do that.
Just a repository where newer members can go to get a few good tidbits of knowledge.

I'll start - I have been an audiophile for 50 years now.

1. Learn about how humans hear sound, and what frequencies SHOULD NOT be flat in their response.. This should be the basis for your system. "Neutral" sounding systems DO NOT sound good to the human ear. You will be unsatified for years (like I was) until you realize this.

2. I do not "chase" DACS anymore.. (I went up to 30K Dacs before realizing the newest Dac chips are now within a few % of the high end Dacs.) Do your research and get yourself a good Dac using the best new dac chips. (about 1000.00 will get you a good one) and save yourself a fortune. - This was one of the best lessons I learned (and just recently) . It allowed me to put more of the budget into room treatment, clean power, and cables which are much more important.

3. Do you want a pleasant or unpleasant sounding system?
I had many very high end systems with NO real satisfaction, until I realized
why a certain company aimed for a particular sound..

4. McIntosh:
As a high end audiophile, I regarded McIntosh as just a little above Bose for about 40 years.-- (not good)
I thought I was an elite audiophile who knew way too much about our hobby to buy equipment that was well made, but never state of the art and colored in its own way.

This was TOTALLY WRONG, as I realize now.
McIntosh goes for a beautiful sound for HUMAN ears, not for specification charts. This is not a flat response, and uses autoformers to get this gorgeous sound. If you know enough about all the other things in our hobby, such as room treatments, very clean power, and very good cables, you can bring a gorgeous sounding McIntosh system to unheard of levels. I have done this now, and I have never enjoyed my music more!

Joe55ag


joe55ag
I thought I was getting pretty basic with the sweet spot chair and ear angle.

The more posts I see, the more I need to urge would-be audiophiles to GO LISTEN TO LIVE MUSIC.  To have a satisfying home reproduction system, you  to understand what you're trying to reproduce, and why.  You want to recreate what you hear at live performances.  Not an easy road, but it's possible.
Here's one...spending tons of money on this crap does not necessarily guarantee a great result. Proper integration, no matter the price, is the real deal. 
DO NOT start chasing the dragon unless you are paying a mortgage.
Have your life-priorities straight: Food, shelter, clothing and a secure job.
Don't throw piles of cash at audio equipment until you are relatively secure.
If you are paying for the basics, you'll know what you can afford for equipment.
Also, no matter how much you spend on your system, all it will do is play music. Be sure to ask yourself "how much do I like music?". It's easy to get caught up in the race thinking an expensive system will COMPEL you to listen more often. 
DIY. IF Carter can make his own furniture, then why not learn from his inspiration?