Can FORUM ruin the experience?

[colterphoto1]

I'm so friggin depressed right now. Just spent $900 on Yamaha RXV2400, the type of Dolby Digital/THX/DTS receiver I've dreamed of owning for a few years now. Old unit was an RXV850 ProLogic only receiver. Why am I so down? Because dear friends, since joining the Klipsch Forum, I have grown ever so dissatisfied with my equipment, room, setup, CD library, you name it. I've spent thousands in my life on Hi-Fi gear, only to become more dissatisfied with time and energy output. I'm so despondent right now that I wish I had my old system back the way it was.

Since being enlightened by the Forum, suddenly my Cornwall/RC7/Cornwall system that I loved has a horrible timbre mismatch and isn't worth listing to. Although the hearth room in my 1950's $250,000 home has dimensions similar to Artto's Klipsch room (8x17x26) my reluctance to install massive acoustical controls over my home's 3/4" natural pine paneling mean that my room now has horrible acoustical properties. Setting my Cornwall system along a short wall of this room has shortchanged me out of the large 'soundstage' possible with those massive speakers. Moving things arround only makes it look like a used speaker junkyard. I have over 10 pairs of Klipsch speakers and numerous others and there seems to be no good pairing, room setup, whatever. I am a single man with no WAF to consider, other than I expect my home to end up looking pretty cook, plenty of $$ at my disposal and right now my system is in complete shambles, in pieces on the floor because I don't have the heart to put together such a shoddy system. Even my good friend IndyKlipschFan, who stopped by this afternoon (thanks btw Rog), didn't have a quick answer for my dilema. Maybe my house and equipment just SUCK!

Think I'll go out to the garage, put on my CD discman through Radio Shack mixer board, Biamp eq, Crown amp and RH PA monitors. At least it's just rock and roll. This critical engineering thinking just has me second guessing everything to the point that nothing sounds or looks good anymore. HELP!!!!

Michael

[m00n]

colterphoto1

Let me be the first to tell you, it's very easy to get caught up in the trap of, oh his gear is better than mine, oh his room has better dimensions, I wish I had his cables, I wish I had his seats, I wish I had his acoustic treatments.

You sound as though you are smack dab in the middle of that. Get yourself out. Be happy with what you have. I know there are better receivers that mine, I know sepparates are the way to go as I've been told over and over. But you know what? I've learned to be happy with what I have because I know one thing, it's 100% better than anything I've ever had.

There will always be something better, more expensive, more attractive looking. Get used to it.

[MSklipsch]

Get a tube amp and go 2 channel with the Cornwalls for awhile.

[colterphoto1]

Thanks Moon, but I don't think it's a 'covet thy neighbor's system' thing. It's just that for all my $$, time, and energy in this hobby, I feel I should have a better, more balanced system. It doesn't help that I have probably $10,000 worth of antique tri=-amped PA stuff in the garage as well. It feels like even with my latest purchase that it's just a pile up junk. Seems like I should scrap everything and start fresh although we know that's not the answer.

I'm going to spend some time with drafting program tonight and sketch up my proposed listening room with some layouts, post on Architectural and see what y'all think. I'm just beside myself right now.

Michael

[Beesley]

Michael,

I agree with moon; in fact many people, including myself, have at one time fallen into that critical thinking that prohibits us from enjoying the gear we've been blessed with. I have my speakers on the long wall of a 26 X 12 ft room, 10 ft apart (got huge windows on both short walls, and I like natural light). The bass isn't as present as it would be on the short wall (I've tried it) but the sound stage is great. And I never realized it, but I do have better gear than anything I've previously owned. So many times I thought "maybe I should sell my stuff and get 5 RB-75" but you know what? If I did that then I'd want 5 RF-7, then back to the Legends, and on and on and on, Cornwalls are awesome, what you have are YOUR'S, enjoy what YOU have. Nothing wrong with auditioning other stuff, thats part of the fun of this hobby, and hobby's are meant to be fun.

Don't get caught up in the specs or your sure to miss the sound.

[Beesley]

Michael,

You stated you have about ten pairs of klipsch speakers, If your not using them beacuse your dissatisfied, you could sell them and get some more cornwalls or heresys. HT/Audio is actually pretty simple, speakers are made to go with certain speakers. I used to use a KLF-C7 as the center in a synergy set-up (KSF-10.5 & KSF-S5)...great center, but terrible sounding when incorporated in a synergy HT. I got a synergy center (KSF-C5) and the entire system FINALLY came together. Well since then I sold and got Legends to match the KLF-C7 I already had. Had I bought RF-3 and RS-3 instead of legends I would have been very dissapointed and wished to have my old system back....because everything worked together.

I bet that the best center made by kef, front speakers made by B&W, and surrounds by paradigm wont give you as good of a sound (working together as a whole) as an RX-7 system. Just as a rc-7, KLF-20, and KSF-S5 wont sound right. Remember to be patient, and enjoy what you decide on. The RC-7 is a great speaker, but its no match for your wonderful Cornwalls. You don't have to be told that or read specs, I guarantee you can hear it. If you want to fix it, just fix it. As for all the room placement and all that stuff, I always tell myself to maximize the use of what I HAVE.....and enjoy.

[lynnm]

The bottom line is:

If it sounds good to you then it is good!

None of us will ever achieve perfection in this hobby and that is a GOOD THING! If we ever did achieve perfection then our hobby would become meaningless and sterile.

Enjoy what you have and glory in the improvements you are able to make. As time passes you will hopefully continue to experiment and find ways to make what is good even better.

[Klipschfoot]

I was just speaking with someone day who, in addition to other musical endeavers, installs home theaters. One system can usually be more than an entire year's gross income. Yes, he is a professional and he uses professional equipment in all residential HT insatallations. It is rewarding, but also frustrating, to get a call from someone who, like you, calls him a year or so after a huge investment only to find out that the new gear is just not living up to expectations.

If you are like me, you are never satisfied with the combination of a: looks; b: physical dominance; c: low ROI. These home TV programs emphasize unobtrusive components and speakers for good reason: out of site, out of mind. Your senses can then focus on the movie instead of the gear and your HT looks like a room, not a retail store. It's hard to have it all, especially if you are tweaker.

This stuff isn't for everyone. If you really have that much disposable $, you might just want to get a custom installation and just read these forums for amusement. I am glad to have limited funds so I can know where to stop. Besides, I don't want too many controls to monkey with either.

Or, take up golf.

[Audio Flynn]

I get that way sometimes.

I hate HT receivers; never heard one that sounded musical.

Rogers ARGON separates are very nice

Couple of points

1. Upsampling made me very happy with all of my CDs that were mastered worth a damn.

2. The Scott LK-48 tube integrated is amazing after 2 major mods by NOS VAlves. If you have a ton of horn speakers you need to own at least one tube amp to unlock the music.

3. Stop getting freaky about cables. all cables!

Hope this helps.

I bought 20 lps off of ebay this week and I have about 1100 (700 cds). Do I not have enough?

I stress about needing to buy new software ocasionally

[Mighty Favog]

Sure it's not post-purchase-depression?? That is a bona-fide phenomenon ya know.

[v3spitfire]

It is easy to over analyze. I felt that way shortly after reading some posts on the forum, then trying different preamps, etc. At one point I stuck my head in the tweeter and could here hiss with 1 preamp, and not with the other preamp. But from any listening position or with any music playing, even very low volumes, the preamp that hissed sounded better (I could never here the hiss unless my ear was in the tweeter and only in DD or DTS mode - not stereo), but it mentally bothered me for a long time. Finally, I decided to not put my head in the tweeter and since then have felt a lot better... Until I read this thread, now I'm drawn to stick my head back in there to see if maybe, magically its disappeared. Thanks alot

[colterphoto1]

NOT golf, no way, I don't have the patience for it. I used to love having all the big stereo boxes around, I dunno, maybe it's my Martha Stewart years or spending too much time with Brides (I'm a photog), but I'm starting to like the idea of hearing the music, but not seeing the equipment (audible GASP heard from the Forum). Like at my old gallery, I had several pairs of Klipsch KSP1.1 (little black plastic pretty good sounding boxes) and several Elan ceiling speakers so the sound (not super hi-fi, mind you) was just THERE, but you couldn't see ANY equipment, even the receiver + 5CD changer was hidden in a closet. Maybe I'm getting more decor-oriented. I even quibbled with the idea of having projector in gallery, 35" in bsmt home gym, 13" in office, 27" in bdrm, and NO TV AT ALL IN THE FAMILY room, just those 'hidden' speakers. Has anyone on Forum successfully made this transition, perhaps it's just a phase, but I want the house to look COOL, which does not equate to racks of gear out in the open.

Sorry for the babel. I'll go nighty night now.

Thanks

Michael

[Scp53]

Ive had this problem too. don't be so critical about your system otherwise you'll never be happy . so I'll just say " SHUT UP and LISTEN!!! "

[Daddy Dee]

I've been there, too. It is all to easy to let the critical listening and "improvment" projects take the joy out of music. Good to have a sanity check from forum folks. It's all about enjoying the music.

As the management gurus say: The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing.

[prodj101]

I think that often stereo equipment actually can make a room look better, and not like an electronics store. I love the way it makes my listening room look.

[Klipschfoot]

You need to find some old issues of Audio Video Interiors. That was one classy mag filled with exquisite photography and high performance home theaters of the likes you will never see on these forums. (Those folks are entirely too busy to burden their days with discussions of tube vs Class A SS. I gave a bunch of old issues to a cabinet builder who was doing stuff for professional big wigs.)

Besides, if you entertain, you may want to hide your obsession from visitors. I proudly display my gear because I care about listening to music with quality components. If you are simply obsessed with gear, you may appear immature. But, if you can demonstrate an equal enjoyment of music, then musicians and other audio aficionados might compliment your good taste (especially if you own great horns).

[Scp53]

colterphoto1,

I just thought about this some more and have to say thank you. I needed a reality check. I just think about the next thing to get and i need to STOP!!

scp53

[colterphoto1]

I kind of liken this mad mad race for more toys through the ears of a good friend of mine (not a Forum member). Guy used to play guitar, work in record stores, then in music distribution, then started collecting music related memorabalia and merchandising at concerts. He now furnishes several restaurants with their music related decorations. THe dude used to be a music FREAK. Still has lots of equipment, tons of tapes and CD's, but doesnt' seem to be as muscially oriented as he used to be, ie, he doesn't do the same critical listening and doesnt' seem to get the same enjoyment now that he's been through the music BIZ. Seems like we can take it too far also, being so captivated with the electronics that we fail to keep our libraries up to date or do any further serious music/movie collecting. Anyone feel like this lately? How many $$ have you spend on hardware compared to software in last calendar year??

In the words of Geddy Lee "All this machinery making modern music and to still be open-hearted'. Something to think about....

[skonopa]

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On 9/5/2004 11:06:01 PM colterphoto1 wrote:

Seems like we can take it too far also, being so captivated with the electronics that we fail to keep our libraries up to date or do any further serious music/movie collecting. Anyone feel like this lately? How many $$ have you spend on hardware compared to software in last calendar year??

In the words of Geddy Lee "All this machinery making modern music and to still be open-hearted'. Something to think about....

----------------

Oh believe me! I'd like to make a few upgrades to my own system, such as replace the Denon AVR3802 with a dedicated pre/pro, getting an SACD/DVD-audio player, getting a bigger, newer TV to replace my aging 32-inch non-HDTV, replacing my crappy old Rat Shack power-conditioner with something a bit nicer, get a sub with a bit more slam than my current REL Storm III sub has (although I've yet to find something that sounds as accurate and musical as that REL does), and so forth and so on.

But in the end, I haven't done a single thing to my system since I bought my B&K amp last November, other than play music, watch TV, and watch movies on it. Not so much as even moving a speaker. The only things I did add to it was getting more CD's and DVD's to play on it. So, at least for this past calendar year, my hardware expense has been a big fat ZILCH, but I've easily spent a couple thousand on CD's and DVD's (including all seven seasons worth of Star Trek Deep-Space 9 - that was about $1,000 right there). Just this past weekend, I spent a good $200 on CD's and DVD's. Bought three CD's (Kamalot - The Forth Legacy, and Timo Koltipelto's two solo albums, Waiting for the Dawn, and Coldness) and two DVD/sets. I've bought the complete first season of Star Trek, The Original Series ($100 right there), and Master and Commander (Holy $#!+, those friggan cannons are LOUD!). As soon as the fourth season of Star Trek, Voyager comes out, I'll be buying that.

As my system is currently configured, I love how it sounds and I could not be happier. Oh yes, I am certain I can find improvements, but still, I am willing to bet what I got right now will best a good 99.5% of what is out there, including many professional installations.

Like some people say, it may just be time to just shut-up and listen/watch and enjoy what you got without getting caught up in the technology.

Also to add, it is nice to buy new stuff every now and again to keep my collection fresh, but I am very careful with what I do buy, such as taking recommendations from the forum, as well as "sampling" on the internet. Results in music and DVD's that I will enjoy time and again well into the future. I still listen and very much enjoy CD's I've bought over ten years ago. Unfortunatly, I do end up with a couple of turkeys now and again that pretty much sits and collects dust after the first listen or two. Thought I liked it when I first bought it, but after listening to it, I find I did not like it as much as I thought. Scorpions "Eye-2-Eye" album comes to mind, as well as Foam - Big Windshield Little Mirror (The only really decent track on there is track #2 - Rollercoaster).

[colterphoto1]

Thanks Steve,

Yours is a good solid system and I enjoyed hearing of your CD/DVD purchases. Myself I probably get out every couple of weeks for about a bill or so. Last week another Stones 'best of' CD came out and Best Buy had all Stones for 10% off, so I used the opportunity to buy some remastered oldies that I previously only had on vinyl. Beggar's Banquet, Satanic Majesty's Request, It's ONly ROck N ROll, and last year's (not recommended ) 40 Licks. For some stupid reason, thought "Girl Next Door" would be a sexy and cute DVD outing- NOT.

Tomorrow (well today) I'm going to draw up my proposed layout, post if for y'all and start pushing furniture around again. I'm afraid it's going to be a 'corner' system, but hey, maybe those 'diagonal' walls will help with breaking up standing waves.

Michael- still sleepless- why am I up at 5:45?