Do You Love Music or Do You Love Hi-Fi?

Rok2id. When I first came aboard, I had a 20 yr old system consisting of a HK 730 receiver, Magnavox CDB 650 cdp, Infinity RS 5000 speakers and a Dual 1237 TT. A decent system in its day, but not audiophile quality for the time. I don't have deep pockets. I didn't really know a lot about the newer equipment. But I had a love affair with music.

There were a lot of good people on this site who were a great help to me. Their systems dwarfed mine. And little doubt that some had pockets deeper than I would ever have. But guess what. I never ever felt like they looked down on me. I still remember Joe Trelja telling me that it was about the music and not about how much $$$ one can spend. I believe Joe had a very nice system at the time. I have since replaced the 20 yr old system with some pretty good stuff. But in the scheme of things it is still a somewhat modest system in comparison to the very top shelf equipment available

It is unfortunate that there seems to be a backlash against top shelf equipment and those who can afford it in todays music circles. I just had a similar conversation over on Vinyl Asylum. People who helped me gently nudged me towards good quality gear that I could afford. There was a sense and desire to excell. To better one's system if possible and affordable. Because of that I have a pretty darn good sounding system. But I don't see that desire to excell and have better today.

Just today, a person came on Vinyl Asylum and asked for suggestions for a $1k turntable and cartridge. The table that was suggested to him is available on Ebay for $29,95. The cartridge can be had for $100. Now there is nothing wrong with a TT which costs $129,00 if that is the best you can do. But by this time the bearing in that TT is shot and the motor and electronics are weak and on their last leg. We all started somewhere. But staying on the starting line when one can do better makes me wonder if one is really interested in the music. And someone suggesting a 30 yr old TT which was never really that good when it was new has done the person asking for recomendations a disservice, especially when that person had the budget to get a pretty decent start. But this seems to be the state of music reproduction today. Cheap seems to be the goal rather than high fidelity. In any hobby which you get into, you will quickly learn that it usually costs more than you thought, especially for the good parts and pieces. HiFi is no different. Because it is expensive doesn't necessarily mean it is better. But the odds are pretty high that the more expensive is better.

Considering some of the posts I wonder if this is not just a backlash against the high dollar equipment and the people who are fortunate enough to own it. Be careful not to shoot yourself in the foot. Nice expensive gear is listed for sale every day on Agon by those who are moving up the ladder and maybe even chasing gear. They sell their nice gear at a fraction of the cost to people like you and I who's pockets may not be as deep. And because of that I can afford equipment that I otherwise may not be able to afford

You may be surprised at how friendly and helpful some of these people are if you just give them a chance. And you may be surprised at the system you can put together for a reasonable cost. Notice, I didn't say cheap. Any hobby usually costs to play. And cheap equipment, whether it be guns, golf clubs, tennis rackets race cars or stereos will usually give you much poorer results than the more expensive and better engineered equipment.

Peace and Merry Christmas

Artemus_5: Thanks for such a lengthy and insightful post. I have owned several dual turntables. Model number 1229Q comes to mind. This was back in 1968 in Germany. My first system consisted on a Sansui 150A receiver (15wpc), German PE turntable and a pair of wharfedale bookshelf speakers.
I gave a friend $450 dollars and asked him to purchase me a 'stereo system' at the audio club in Wiesbaden. And that is what he brought back. I was in heaven. What a light show the Sansui put on in dim light. My friend was an audiophile. He bought himself a tonearm for $90, and I thought he was nuts, esp since he didn't even own a turntable. So we both come from humble audio orgins. :)

I am not part of any backlash against high end or the people who own it. Normally the people at the cutting edge of any hobby benefit the entire group. They pay for the innovations. However, the extent to which this is true in audio is open to debate. There does not seem to be any 'trickle down' in audio. Marantz, Parasound, Polk and NAD are the well known exceptions. They seem to cover all price points. Actually the thing that most impresses me concerning the deep pockets crowd, are the rooms in which a lot of these systems are located. I think the rooms add much more to the sound than all the high end electronics. As I mentioned before, using components or manufacturing techniques that add to the cost, does not necessarily add to the SOUND.
As far as the used gear listed here. It is often very old. MY oldest item is 8 years old. A lot of the high end stuff for sale is as much as 20 or more years old. Is a 20 year old high end amp 'better' than a new Harman Kardon amp? I am thinking of the HK 990. And if the item has moving parts?
I sit here now with money buring a hole in my pocket and I can't think of a thing that would improve my sound, save a new room. So I buy good music instead.
Finally, before I bore you to death, ALL THINGS are not relative to the final product(sound) nor does EVERYTHING impact that sound. I am going to Austin after the first of the year to a high end store and listen to a system. They always have maggies set up. I will report.
Merry Christmas

I'd rather listen to miles, Beethoven or Coltrane on a boom box than most of today's crappy billboard top 40 music on a $10,000 reference system. But why not have the best of both worlds?

Most people get into Hi-Fi because they love music and they want to hear it reproduced as well as possible. I don't understand why anyone would do it for any other reason. If someone has another reason they do this please enlighten me.

Can someone love music and not care to hear it at its best? Of course. Can someone dislike music but want to hear it at its best? Maybe but would you listen to that music on a regular basis because the sonics are good? I know I would not.

Sean

"I sit here now with money buring a hole in my pocket and I can't think of a thing that would improve my sound, save a new room. So I buy good music instead."

I agree with you most of what you say but would only add "what would improve my sound MOST". Why do so many feel that more expensive components will somehow compensate for a room that will not support or justify the added expenditure beyond a given point? So much for being an audiophile, different strokes I suppose. I would be curious to know how many audiophiles realize this to the point that they would make that expenditure of a new room, if feasible, over purchase of "better" components, diminishing returns. At what point in the journey does this become a factual realization?

Of course the above is a bit off topic but the subject of loving music or hi-fi encompasses so many different elements for the varied listeners on this forum and the rest of the audiophile community that one can only say, "You know who you are", what difference does it make, really? Live, love, learn and yearn, it's what we do.