@mapman - Anything that makes you more inclined to turn it on and play it is a good thing in my book. I've gotten to the point where the main system is actually a bit of effort, and that deters me sometimes. That's not what this hobby should be about. As to whether you have to turn in your "audiophile" badge, most interpret the term to be a lover of "sound" but in our parlance, I think it does mean the avid pursuit of music listening in a fidelious way. I trust you've achieved that. enjoy~
Bragging rights.....
I recently conducted an experiment and ended up moving from a very good sounding system consisting of separate components that I carefully assembled over time to a "future fi" system. Only part of the phono rig, old speakers, their setup within the rooms, and speaker wires remain.
A Cambridge Evo 150 all-in-one replaced 9 different components including interconnect wires. I held onto all the old stuff until I reached the point where I was convinced they were no longer needed and recently have started to sell some of it to others.
The new streamlined system sounds really good! I’m not missing all that older stuff nor the work that went into assembling a good sounding system myself. ALso the flexibility to listen to music in many ways utilizing many different sources as desired is incredible!
So I think I lose some bragging rights.... it was easy to buy that one unit, hook it up, and deliver the good sound I always crave. Anybody could do it!
Also I think I no longer would lay any claim to being an "audiophile" anymore having made things so relatively simple. I will call myself an "audio enthusiast" now, however I still will always want to keep an eye on what else is out there...especially the latest and greatest innovative applications of technology that might still move things forward. "Future Fi" is the term I have read that seems to describe these kinds of transformative products these days.
Thoughts?
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I've got a lot of separates and I'm not ready to part with them, but I recently bought a used Hegel H160 for my office and added one component, blue sound node for streaming and really, really like what it produces. While the streamer is separate everything else is in the Hegel: DAC, preamp and amp. I love the "clean" look without all the cables and really don't feel that I give up much if anything in sound quality. As I grow into a much older version of myself, I can easily imagine unloading all the separates and going all in one; good feng shui as well!
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Congratulations @mapman! Late last year, I bought my first integrated amp ever and could not be happier. I do still have a separate DAC and streamer because the DAC and streaming functions on the Hegel can be improved on. |
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