I spent many years listening to far better systems than I knew how to assemble or afford. Over time, between greater knowledge and greater expenditure my systems began to compete or exceed most other systems I heard. While I did enjoy the social interaction with other audiophiles during this phase of my life I'm now completely content with listening to my system exclusively. No longer any utility in listening to other systems and my social interaction comes from other activities. I do still enjoy conversing about audiophile things through forums.
Listening to other audiophiles rigs will help to accelerate your journey to audio nirvana!
Our hobby can be solitary existence. It can also be an extremely social experience.
When I got back into the hobby after a 15 year hiatus; my amp died and my wife asked me to get the stereo out of the living room, I started a FB private hifi group to mainly gain information about music releases and gear topics I wanted to learn more about. That was in 2019, also the year I joined Audiogon.
Since then my group has led me to meet some very cool audiophiles from around the country. I’m also looking forward to meeting some in Europe who’ve I’ve gotten to know in my group. Currently I’m in NYC on the last day of my “HiFi Vuchcation 2.0” I’ve been here for eight days listening to a couple of my audiophile buddies rigs and hanging out.
I’ve learned a lot this trip, some things I’ll employ when I get back home. I’ve also gained an appreciation of sonics as you go up the ladder, especially vinyl related. The buddy I’m staying with this week has the Acoustic Signature INVICTUS turntable with a couple 5 figure tonearms and cartridges to match. The rest of his gear is just as incredible!
I’ve also learned a lot from the local audiophile group I created in my hometown. We have about 10 active members. We go to each others homes for listening sessions. One member just rented offic space downtown for our “clubhouse!” There are two listening rooms and a room for extra gear, albums and a Degritter machine.
As audiophiles we buy gear but don’t always know if our gear is reaching its sonic potential in our rooms? Having access to other audiophiles listening rooms and experience can really accelerate the learning curve hopefully leading to sonic bliss!
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@ghdprentice @sns Thanks for sharing your insights with the rest of us as we strive for audio nirvana. |
@sns I feel similar to your thoughts regarding listening to other people’s systems when it comes to attending shows. I attended AXPONA this year, the first show I ever attended. I ended up staying all three days. Mostly to hang out with friends. Listening to all of the gear was fun since it was a new experience for me. I did enjoy the record fair and picked up a few albums, one of which made it into my reference system’s collection. I also attended the show in NJ last weekend while I was in NYC. This time, frankly I was bored. I went on Friday and didn’t really stay that long. I may go to AXPONA again next year to see friends but if it wasn’t for friends being there I probably wouldn’t go. Perhaps if there was something new or something really special then I might go. |
We have a strong music club in our area and it's been a great way to hear what I like and what I don't like, as well as to learn about the value of system setup, room treatments, and much more. I'm sure I could have and would have learned much of this from forums like this one, but there's no substitute for actual listening experience. I consider the relationships that have blossomed as a result of being part of this group to be more important than the hobby. |
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