What do you care about in this hobby?

I like the way my stereo sounds.  I love the bloom of the bass, the separation and being able to feel  and hear the room of the recording.  I started this hobby loving the music, but as I’ve gotten deeper into it, I also enjoy the sound and synergy of the system.  Sometimes, I’m not listening as much to the music as the sound.  I definitely want my system to be reliable (60 year old McIntosh stuff…ha..all tubes…double Ha…def needs its share of attention).  I miss it so much when it’s in the shop.  So really it’s a combination of sound, synergy and music.  I know some folks will say, “it’s all about the music” - it used to be to me, but now there’s more things to appreciate.  

All of those things are important to me.   But some, like sound quality, value, parts quality, and measurements are higher on the list.  But yes they are all factors.  But I am not going to buys something that is off the charts in every category but fails in sound quality.

I am only in this because I have always loved listening to music.  It’s one of my favorite things to do.  I know its working when I can listen to most anything and stay glued in place focused happily on the music for hours until I force myself to leave.  Its a state of bliss... good karma!  As such it is also a very healthy pastime.  

The question for me is always how do I decide when making my purchasing decisions towards that end.  Thats where things can start to get complicated.  The easy way out is just listen to the options and decide.  But how much must it really cost?  That’s always the thing!  I try to not stress about it too much and ruin the karma.  I am willing to pay any price for that end result, but the engineer in me says be smart about how you go about making your decisions.

What do you care about in this hobby?
 

1, Sound quality.

9, Relaxation.*

*House quiet, lights low, eyes closed and Bill Evans playing @75dbs.

Sound quality of course. Because I enjoy the technical side of this hobby as well, I almost want to split that category into sound quality and musicality. I am amazed at the technology that can deliver this level of performance in my home. Aesthetics matter to some degree, particularly with speakers. I also enjoy the endless possibilities, some day I may settle down with a system.