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The argument against upgrading

I’ve always assumed upgrading hifi can be worthwhile provided there is some audible improvement in sound quality. Maybe, this assumption should be challenged.

Let’s suppose I make some change to my system. I make a meaningful comparison that proves it sounds better in some way.

Before making the change, I was already able to get into and enjoy certain recordings. Surely, I can’t get into these recordings any more than that. It’s an either or thing not a matter of degree.

So what does the upgrade actually do for me in practice? I fear that more often than not it may be absolutely nothing.

I am not arguing that there is no better. Just that incrementally better may not necessarily always translate into more musical enjoyment.

I suppose this all begs the question what I actually mean by better.

What’s your view on the benefits of upgrading? How can we reliably assess whether it is effective?

newton_john
deep_333
2,479 posts
 

Some guys just have genuinely "low standards", which can let them enjoy crappy rigs/rooms.

Others may be restricted by waf, budget, housing, etc and may be trying to psychologically convince themselves they've got a great thing going.

Only a handful may have facitated great sound through knowledge, means and a lack of restrictions.

 

The point I was trying to get over is that the experience being absorbed in music doesn’t necessarily depend on sound quality.

mahgister's avatar
mahgister
15,060 posts
 

Anyone with even no budget but low cost one can nowadays enjoy great sound experience, if he learned how to do it...

We all  have different needs and budget but the available sum of knowledge is the same for all ...

Equating S.Q. with money or just high-end on an arbitrarily chosen scale is ignorance or snubish attitude...

My AKG K340 is high end well optimized from 1978 and i enjoy great S.Q. experience...To beat it it takes good gear in a dedicated acoustic room under total mechanical control and DSP ... Most dont have this conditions...smiley

 

High standards are useless without knowledge of acoustics basics...

jl35
4,475 posts
 

Too many upgrades are haphazard and unsuccessful...my experience is a well done upgrade can only help...love when after an upgrade I can hear things in a recording I had not heard before...I know there is a separate debate about whether some poor recordings can sound better on a lesser system...

inna
8,240 posts
 

In my experience, all the poor recordings that I have sound better when the system gets better.

The only real reason for me not to upgrade is the cost. You usually have to spend a lot to make it a meaningful step up, though sometimes $1k different cable or $500 pair of signal tubes make a lot of a difference.

mapman's avatar
mapman
23,658 posts
 

Oh well, dang if I didn’t just go there and did it again…a DAC “upgrade”!  

For real!  

Still soaking it in.  

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