The argument against upgrading

@mahler123 

​​​​​​with all due respect-and I have enjoyed many of your posts on other topics-I had read the post that you referenced prior to making my most recent post.  I have just re read it, per your request.  And I stand by my earlier comment.

  I am glad that you enjoy music, your current system, and don’t feel a need to upgrade.  I have been in the same spot for a bit.  However the previous upgrades that I made definitely enhanced my enjoyment of music that I loved, in some cases causing me to significantly respect composers or works that I hadn’t fully appreciated prior.  I guess your mileage varies.  Have a nice day and continue to enjoy the music 

Thank you.

I haven’t given up on upgrading altogether. I won't refuse offers to try out new kit or novel ideas. Only a couple of days ago, I managed to reconfigure the networking side of my system to obtain a slightly smoother sound from streaming.

It’s more a matter of wanting to better understand what it does and the rationale behind it. Perhaps, I am just a little more sceptical than I have been in the past and thus needed to ask the question.

It has been a learning experience. Also, I have taken on board Tom Martin’s Major  Problems of Believability. 

I tend to agree with him that upgrades or changes that involve imaging, dynamics, bass room resonances, overcoming digital artefacts and listening position limitations are most likely to be successful. It is the more common attempts by manufacturers at reducing noise and distortion that Tom suggests may only lead to incremental improvement. 

@kerrybh 

So, I think this may be another example of trying to divine an objective universal truth from what is inherently dependent on subjective individual circumstances and preferences. I don't think that's possible

Well, that's the frustrated physicist in me. Of course, you're absolutely right.

@deep_333 

Hope that helps

Yes, it all helps. Thanks. 

@mahgister  

some will distort my posts  with their  useless childish sarcasms...

Don't let anyone stop you. I enjoy your posts. 

Thank you all for helping me grapple with my upgrading neurosis. Every comment is valuable. As my father used to say, the more ways you look at something, the nearer you get to the truth.

Thanks for this interesting short article...

The author use the concept of "audio believability" which include way more  external  factors than just acoustics concepts then more external factors than my M.A.S.T. concept...

I opted for a more minimal or lesser solution myself without demanding too much in terms of high fidelity in relation to a real event or believability...

Why?

Because  the problem for me appeared first and last  in term of acoustics concepts concerning the recording trade-off set of choices  of the audio engineer and my own listening room acoustic translation of these choices..

For me "believing" in the audio phenomenon playback is enjoying my system/room well optimized, it is not not being able to confuse or conflate or be in the position to be able to mistake my system/room for the "real live event"; a task possible for sure but  at a cost which will be way over the means of most people anyway...( for example i dont bother myself with deep bass at 20 hertz or 30 Hertz,my sub is low cost ) 

Upgrades for me was a means to reach this M.A.S.T. , not a race toward total "audio believability" experience...

I did this to enjoy music not to boast about my "sound"  over everyone else "sound" experience...

But i am not so humble or modest, i can today boast about my S.Q./price ratio...One of  the best possible...

It is  way enough for my music listenings without feeling envy or frustrations of any kind ... I am very proud of that... This is the reason i posted on audiogon for those with limited budget who wish to reach M.A.S.T. 

Being an audiophile for me  is a temporary working state of being anyway, till music become immersive... Passed that point  it is obsession...music is my obsession...

Will i upgrade my system in the future?

I dont want and i need to except if a piece break... And to beat my actual sound experience will cost me 10 times more money and i know exactly what to do in my actual environment (an acoustic small corner )  ...I dont need to reach this level of "audio believability" anyway  to enjoy music... If i want something near this level anyway i already have it : my top AKG K340  headphone will give me Bach organ bassier note through my body...

It has been a learning experience. Also, I have taken on board Tom Martin’s Major  Problems of Believability. 

I guess I’ve been very lucky over the years to hit upon solid equipment that I’ve rarely been tempted to change.  ProAc Response 2’s--check (replaced woofers, have spare drivers and spare whole pair I picked up in storage).  First an Arcam irDAC that I enjoyed for years, then a Doge 7 that I liked for several years but wanted less coloration from the tube output stages, so a used Chord Qutest which I like a whole lot, very clean and musical.  Cary SLP-98 for a long time, which I replaced with a homebrew 6SN7 Aikido which isn’t going anywhere, homebrew amps, which I’ve upgraded but maintain the same classic Williamson topology.  Used Harmonic Tech cables that don’t do anything wrong.  I’m fiddling with my digital chain now, slowly.  Trying not to add a lot of junk.

Part of it is my wife, who is very discerning but conservative and, when I think about changing things, says, "Why?"  Often, when I try some new tweak, she’ll stick her head into the living room and say, "What’s THAT??  What did you do?  Take it out!" or simply, "That sounds good."  She kind of keeps things grounded, so to speak.  If she doesn’t want to listen to it, chances are it won’t stay.

To me, I don't find that there is any 'argument' either way (pro or con) regarding upgrading PROVIDED that said upgrade provides at least 1 of 3 tangible benefits:

1) An audibly noticeable improvement in sound performance;

2) A visually noticeable improvement in terms of owner aesthetics;

3) Replacement of a failed component with something touted as 'better'.

I do not agree with the idea of upgrading from item A to item B simply because item B has better specs. I need to either hear or see an 'improvement' - not convince myself I can hear (or see) an improvement because online strangers told me there is one...

That cynicism notwithstanding, IF I genuinely hear an improvement (or am more pleased with the aesthetics) I have no problem with the concept of 'upgrading' under those circumstances. But the idea of chasing numbers / specifications that do not provide me with some tangible real-world benefit does not appeal to me... and that distinction is anathema to standard 'audiophile' behavior to many.