listen to the music / listen to the gear !!!!!!

[JBryan]

Hey - put me on the side of a mountain as the sun is sliding behind the next ridge with fresh-caught trout sizzling in the pan and a glass of Bourbon in hand and I'll enjoy most any tune coming from an iPod or even a AM pocket radio. Take all that away and if the song is good, I'll still enjoy it no matter what box its coming out of. Point is that Music is enjoyable in and of itself - the gear we use to listen to it may enhance the experience but there is no causal relationship between the Music and the Sound - they are 2 separate pursuits.

In my case, I started putting together a better-sounding system because I found myself listening to music less and figured I spend more time with music if I enjoyed the experience more. Like Joe, I started to spend a lot of time concerning myself with the sound and most of my music choices were geared to how it would sound through my system. This hyper-critical period lasted for about 2 or 3 years and all the while, I was switching out and modding gear to get to that next level that would bring me closer to the music - not necessarily to enjoy it more. After 5+ years of building a system and spending hours each day to that end, I noticed that my music-listening had become stagnant and more of a chore (a fun chore none-the-less).

The real epiphany came when I visited a friend who has the most extensive collection of jazz records I've had the pleasure of beholding - picture walls of Blue Notes. He's a true dumpster diver and a thrift shop king so he had cobbled together a system and probably hadn't spent $100 for it - cheesy Polk Audio speakers, a Pioneer TT with an ancient cartridge and a Bogen tube amp that I had to replace the tubes to get it up and running. I saw a lot of area for improvement in his system and he was far from particular about the care of his records - just throwing one on the table and blowing the dust off...yikes! Yet his enthusiasm for the music and the excitement he demonstrated as he went through the stacks describing a song or album he wanted me to hear was infectious and we spent the afternoon and most of the evening listening to music and I enjoyed every moment of it. The problem arose the next day when I turned on my system, still giddy about the music I had experienced and with an armload of records he had loaned me to play. But the excitement came to a screeching halt when I couldn't find one record of his that I felt comfortable putting on my TT. They were so dirty and scratched I was afraid of damaging my cartridge - even after cleaning a couple I realized that it just wasn't going to happen. Mind you, these were some of the same records I was listening to, discussing and having a grand time with the day before.

Sometime around then it dawned on me that there is a big distinction between enjoying the sound of music on my system and simply enjoying music. I liken the difference to fly fishing in that there are folks who enjoy catching trout and then there are folks who enjoy building the rods and tying flies AND catching fish (I suppose there may be someone out there who likes building and tying but doesn't care much about fishing as well) but the folks who build rods and tie flies don't necessarily enjoy catching trout more - its just another aspect of the experience to enjoy.

I guess deep down I knew the distinction existed but I had deluded myself into believing that the 2 aspects of this hobby were more intertwined than simply sharing a common medium. I still listen to new gear and I'm not beyond making changes but I can no longer use the excuse that I'll enjoy music more...just the sound.

[SWL]

Sometimes that means taking your system down a notch, away from being too critical

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