When I was a teen in the mid-to-late 60’s all we had at home was a GE solid state console. Records were bought, played and enjoyed on it. I knew there was better! A stereo receiver, turntable and separate speakers was a desirable goal. Alas, for me it was some years before I bought my first really good HiFi system - Marantz 2270, Empire 698 TT/ Microacoustics 2002E and Infinity Monitor 1A speakers. From that it was a separate preamp and power amp, then new speakers. Looking back, my first system was quite satisfying and I could have happily stuck with it.
"Satisfying" is not settling
The AI pioneer, cognitive psychologist, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Herbert Simon is known for an insight that is crucially relevant to sufferers from audiophilia nervosa. Captured in the coinage “satisficing” (a synthesis of “satisfy” and “suffice”), he insists on a version of the cliché “The Best is the enemy of the Good.” For most decisions, people just can’t hope to wade through the overwhelming number of choices available to them in modern consumer societies—by one estimate, consumer options in modern economies exceed those of preindustrial societies by a factor of 100 million! This phenomenon is visible everywhere, and nowhere more conpicuously than in the audio equipment market.
This sort of superabundance, multiplied by social media, in everything from toilet paper to dating choices, creates a kind of self-perpetuating anxiety that one could do better. As a result, as an opinion piece in today’s NYTimes puts it, “Maximizers tend to be less satisfied with their decisions and their lives. They are typically less happy, more prone to regret and more likely to compare themselves endlessly with others.” Sound familiar? Searching for the best can often just be the wrong goal; the certainty that something better must be out there robs the present experience of its value. We neglect our love of the music because of some perceived imperfection in our technologies of reproduction.
Am I only speaking for myself? “The absolute sound” should not be the goal. It’s not only unreachable for so many reasons—more to the point, it’s a trap that seduces us with shiny and expensive distractions. Satisficing is not settling. Rather, it’s a matter of remembering that the technology is a tool, a means to an end, not an end in itself.
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Funny Memories, well, some are Sy Syms, discount clothing, right up my financial alley (when borrowing money for college). I had to look at EVERY suit in my size before I could pick 1. I just couldn't stand the idea that a better choice or better bargain was there and I didn't find it. Studying Commercial Interior Design at Pratt, it became difficult for a while, to go to restaurants (that I could afford), because I was surrounded by a travesty of design decisions made by (who the hell could make that decision?). OMG, I finally had to decide, 'Let It Go' or I'll never enjoy myself. Professional work, i.e. for a client's New Headquarters' Building, say 10 floors in a NYC office building, EVERY decision had to be the BEST, IOW, after I put together a line of recommended chairs, Executive, Conference, Manager, Worker Bee, just like suits at Sy Syms, there was no way in hell I was going to select/present/get approval/order, and find a better choice the next day. You get very good, but progressively, the more you know, the harder it gets, it can be exhausting. I always thought an easy job would be working in a Sports Equipment store: selling fun things, their choice, to happy healthy people. go home, nothing to think about. So, my personal life, I purposely decided I would avoid seeking perfection, find 'Good Enough' and be happy. I do my research, make a choice, done (sort of).
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Agree with the main view of the OP. FYI, there’s an old TED talk that’s good on the psychology of this issue: https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_the_paradox_of_choice "In Schwartz’s estimation, choice has made us not freer but more paralyzed, not happier but more dissatisfied." Having acquired a bunch of different kinds of gear, here’s how I view the situation for myself: There is a "sensible quest for better" that is not equal to the "maximizer quest for best." As one improves in a hobby, a better instrument makes possible greater appreciation. No one who gets into cycling should be on an old, heavy 10-speed. The question becomes when to stop upgrading. Here, the "satisficing" metric is helpful. It’s good to be able to say "enough" and then enjoy the fruits borne by the tool. There is another reason for continuing to buy gear that is *not* indicative of being a "maximizer." Rather, it is about being what we might call "a true audiophile" -- a lover of *sound.* Consider: a guitarist may have multiple guitars, an audiophile may have multiple amps -- because they like different sounds. This is not a vertical chase for "the best," but a horizontal exploration of sonic territory. To the novice, they seem like "maximizers" because they have more than enough gear to produce music. To the hobbyist, they have a range of options to achieve different sonic results. The food lover goes to different kinds of restaurants (Italian, Chinese, Thai, etc.), the wine lover drinks a range of wine, etc.
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