maxg Posted June 28, 2002 Share Posted June 28, 2002 So here I am with Heresy speakers and a REL Strata 3 sub connected to 45 wpc monoblock (push pull) KT88 based amps, a ZTPRE and a project 4 TT. Hardly the last word in HiFi. I know exactly the upgrades to make: 1. Replace my Heresy's with LaScalas. 2. Replace my push pull amps with SET (probably 300B based), and 3. Replace my TT with an acoustic-solid Edition. The problem? I lose the desire every time I listen to my system. I am not saying that I have perfect sound (it could do with being a bit bigger and airier) but it is so close to my ideal that the thought of the additional expenditure suddenly doesnt seem worth it. Maybe this is just a phase, maybe I have reached as far into this hobby as I care to - I do not know. I do know one thing however. It is a long time since I listened to the system and heard anything but the music. Last night after feeding the baby I put on a 1959 ´Orthophonic´ recording of Beethoven's Pastorale. It is hissy (from the original Tape rather than the vinyl which is in perfect condition) but the sound is the stuff that transports you from this place to somewhere magical, and that, I suppose, is what it is all about. One of the results of all this is that I have been posting rather less on here than previously. Sorry guys - just dont seem to have anything more to say on matters audio. ------------------ My System: http://aca.gr/pop_maxg.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted June 28, 2002 Share Posted June 28, 2002 I have been there many times... and felt the absurdity of talking about audio, treating it as a hobby with the music falling to distant status. Sometimes the audio forums (and there are many) feel like the ultimate wearing of thy bag over head. At times, I feel like I have wasted more time in audio forums than in anything I have done in the last few years. You have brought up a good point. Ultimately, the system should be moved to the background. It is a paradox. In the beginning, you listen to music and are moved without thought of a system. Then the equipment becomes the focus. Some never leave that state. The ulitmate is for the system to then move the music back to the forefront. I think music needs to be more than a hobby and the quest for audio nirvana sometimes drops the whole picture deep into hobby status. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazman Posted June 28, 2002 Share Posted June 28, 2002 Maxg, quote: It is a long time since I listened to the system and heard anything but the music. It seems you have a good understanding of the Audio Law of Diminishing Returns. You can spend increasingly more amounts of money and receive decreasingly less amounts of improvement. quote: the sound is the stuff that transports you from this place to somewhere magical, and that, I suppose, is what it is all about. Sometime one needs to stop pursueing the next upgrade and just enjoy the beautiful music. Klipsch out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted June 28, 2002 Share Posted June 28, 2002 Maybe you should start collecting something like salt and pepper shakers. You'd have nice background music while you catalog your acquisitions... fini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted June 28, 2002 Share Posted June 28, 2002 NO NO NO Collect LPs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted June 28, 2002 Share Posted June 28, 2002 Pick up a copy of Lao Tzu to read whilst you listen. Then you will understand you've reached an enviable state. Desire destroys life and is the true root of all evil. The audiophile who sits in front of a system and hears nothing but all that is wrong with it is a truely sad person. My system is probably in worse shape than yours, but like you, the music so magically erases all those issues that I find myself in a state of complete gratitude to be so blessed. Now, if someone would just mow my yard! Dave ------------------ David A. Mallett Average system component age: 30 years. Performance: Timeless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted June 28, 2002 Author Share Posted June 28, 2002 Kelly - it has happened to me before but never to this extent - my wife thinks I am cured!!! Jazzman - Whilst I agree with the law of diminishing returns I am sure the improvement in doing my suggested upgrades would be a whole new level of listening. I like to think of them as on hold rather than cancelled and I am sure that if I found a pair of LaScalas locally I would buy them in a flash for the right price. Fini - in a word - no. Maybe get back into computing now I have bought a digital camcorder (it is killing my current 500 MHz Pentium 3) but Salt and pepper shakers just dont do it for me. Alan - right with you there. But I now have over 300 LPs many of which I have still not heard (bought over a manic 6 week period). Mallett - not big on the mystical east - too much inner searching for me. I have no need to find myself as I am usually where I last left me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted June 28, 2002 Author Share Posted June 28, 2002 Kelly - it has happened to me before but never to this extent - my wife thinks I am cured!!! Jazzman - Whilst I agree with the law of diminishing returns I am sure the improvement in doing my suggested upgrades would be a whole new level of listening. I like to think of them as on hold rather than cancelled and I am sure that if I found a pair of LaScalas locally I would buy them in a flash for the right price. Fini - in a word - no. Maybe get back into computing now I have bought a digital camcorder (it is killing my current 500 MHz Pentium 3) but Salt and pepper shakers just dont do it for me. Alan - right with you there. But I now have over 300 LPs many of which I have still not heard (bought over a manic 6 week period). Mallett - not big on the mystical east - too much inner searching for me. I have no need to find myself as I am usually where I last left me. Ommmmmmmmmmm - where are my orange robes when I need them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted June 28, 2002 Share Posted June 28, 2002 OK, then Mark Twain or The Joy of Sex. I was simply counciling satisfaction. Lao Tzu is neither religious nor mystical. However, his discussion of how desire ruins life is quite applicable to the audiophile gone ape. Your system is enviable. Well matched and capable of everything a music system needs to do. While I've K'horns with a Cornwall center and a pair of vintage Fraziers in the rear (fed by a passive Hafler DynaQuad), my system is pretty much a mishmash of odds and ends. Nonetheless, it is capable of transporting me to realms of joy. Made a trip to Half-Price Books yesterday, and came away with yet another stack of goodies for next to nothing. Lots of good stuff (including 4 Firesign Theatre albums in near mint), but there was that surprise. Music Guild MS-114 "Buxtehude, Latin and German Cantatas." Took it mainly for repertoire purposes and because it was 50 cents. Put it on the TT, and there was this wonderful silky silence followed by two violins, a cello, and positiv organ. The the counter tenor popped in...90 degrees to my left and as if someone had entered the room and begun to sing. So startling my 4 year old daughter spun around a looking in that direction. The tenor and bass were in the left front and right front respectively with the instruments spread between. Awesome. You can't judge a record by its cover! Dave ------------------ David A. Mallett Average system component age: 30 years. Performance: Timeless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted June 28, 2002 Share Posted June 28, 2002 Maybe a sub...to make the Heresey feel bigger than life and go down to where they can't give you that low end clean sound too. (SVS seems to get great reviews on here.) Although I see you already have one too. Just a thought... In the end..it is Your ears...that matter. I have a cousin, makes $$$$$$ serious money. His all in one Sony system, in a rack, for (999 dollars) from wal mart suits him fine. Why? Because he just doesn't hear it, or chooses not to invest in something he can't hear. To each his own. This message has been edited by IndyKlipschFan on 06-29-2002 at 01:10 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted June 28, 2002 Share Posted June 28, 2002 Great posts. Fini, you're a trip. I'm with you Max -- I'm really happy where I'm at, and pretty much was as soon Mobile turned me on to the AE-25. The 9000ES and SVS upgrades were sure nice too though, but I'm done for a while. It's all about the music again. I just don't have any desire to do anything else with the system -- though I have two amps now, and I'm thinking about some Heresy's to go with it down in the basement. You guys listen to some really wierd music. ------------------ Deanf>s> AE-25 Super Amp DJH * S F Line 1 * S9000ES * HSU x-over * SVS CS+ * Klipsch RF7s f>s> Metal drivers make metal music shinef>c>s> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted June 29, 2002 Share Posted June 29, 2002 Mallett, The Buxtehude sounds like a nice find. Maybe I should pay more attention to Music Guild records. leok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallette Posted July 1, 2002 Share Posted July 1, 2002 "Maybe I should pay more attention to Music Guild records." A good plan. Like I said, I am constantly amazed at what I find behind the least likely covers. At these prices, I just buy it and try it. Personally, I think this is the greatest musical period in my lifetime. Damn near FREE MUSIC. I think I may tone down my analog proselytizing. Geez, who needs competition? Just drives prices up! Dave ------------------ David A. Mallett Average system component age: 30 years. Performance: Timeless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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