2. analog
  3. 1200789010

Strange phenomona this hobby.

I can't help but be competetive, that's just me. Not so much with others, but with myself.
Thats why when I heard the MBL system I told myself "self", I have to have that sound in my home.
And I agreed with myself. That was about the jist of the conversation. That kind of realism one does not hear too often or some never hear it.
So where do I stand now?
My system does not scream out "realism realism" like the MBL does. It's quite neutral though, I can play music all day long with out getting fatigued. Merlins are just that type of speaker-great design.
I just recently was forced to change my favorite cartridge, and the sound is different. The sumiko was closer to life-like, but the grado is more engaging.
I am willing to bet the cognoscienti here will agree that live music will not be found in our homes with playback systems that easily.
But I heard it once at the show, actually twice.
So is there a class A++ for those systems that recreate the live event and do I really have to have it. I just went from sumiko to grado and I am enjoying myself more-so.
I am willing to bet that as I gain more experience I will find myself picking up cartridges and cables that don't necessarily cost the most but just work better with the rest of my equipment, no?
Another example is my phono stage the EAR834p. No where near the same price as phono stages in class a , but I would say in the same league with the right tubes and mods.
Now as before I really understand the goners (good way to describe the nuts on this site including myself) owning multiple tt and arms. I was hoping to find one rig that can do it all, but also my intentions from the very beginning were to have three tables at least, for comparisons of arms, cartridges, p. stages and tables. I can't wait to get there, all I need is time because I will catch up to you nuts!!!
I would like to hear your stories or interpretations of vinyl play back. There is some mysticism to this, that may not be understood but is felt like no other thing.
I have had fun hobbies before but this takes the cake!
pedrillo
acoustat6
357 posts
 
Hello, Dan-ed you said, "But with so many other hobbies you can measure in some way the improvement or degradation of a change. In this hobby you can't always find a difference using test equipment or some other empirical data. The only test you have is how it sounds to you in your system in your listening room."

That is not true! You CAN measure in room freq response, which IS important. And it does tell you how the system "sounds".

Bob
PHP143
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
I measure my room's response all the time. Try getting a 4-way horn system integrated without doing so. It is an effort in frustration. ;-) Still, it is not the complete story else we could all just measure and be assured of great sound, IMO. For instance, a flat response is not necessarily indicative of great sound. But then, what is your idea of great sound and what is my idea of great sound?

But ok, I'll agree that "the only test you have" an exaggeration. Hopefully the point I was attempting to make doesn't get lost.
mepearson
100 posts
 
Orpheus10-The reason most musicans have stereo systems that are less than what we would consider ideal is the fact that most musicans don't have much money. Also, most musicans can hear around the defects in search of what they are after as they are hearing different things than you and I (us) are looking for in recorded sound and their brains are filling in what we consider to be missing.

Stevecham-I don't think there is anything wrong with setting a high standard for reproduction knowing that you may never get there but doing the best you can with what you have. My goal has always been to make my system sound as "real" as possible meaning you can sometimes fool yourself into believing you are hearing a live event. I feel very good about how far I have come over the years and how much closer I am to that goal.
More to discover