*cough*, I know I'm being obtuse, but the only time I ever listened to my hiFi was when I owned Naim - it used to make me quite anxious at times - out working, kit on and all warmed up at home, ready for the next big listen, and along comes a huge thunderstorm.... oh dear... will it still be alive when I get home?
And then, I have to play my most well known albums to listen to the HiFi, and make sure it hasn't been 'damaged' by the electrical storm.
What about the clicks and pops caused by the fridge compressor cutting in and out?
Surely that might damage it too.... more anxious listening to the HiFi...
Well, I don't know, something seems to be missing from the sound today.... the PRaT just doesn't seem the same, and, oh dear, the way that special bass note on this track just seemed to vibrate the room, seems a bit soft today.... maybe it's time for a recap?..... more anxious listening to the HiFi.
Hmm, today, that amazing detail I remember when I last played this recording, doesn't seem there....hmmm, I know!! I must clean the interconnections.
So, PFM used to recommend unplugging and replugging the metal DIN interconnects, at least twenty times each, to 'clean' off any oxidation from the contacts. So,,,, in out, ... in out.... in out... in out... right, twenty times. Now the next one. Oh, I nearly forgot the mains plugs. Righto, out with the metal polish, and lets make them all bright and shiny.
Now that I've done that... oh hell, in cleaning the interconnects, I've disturbed the very careful cable dressing - I believe it's very important, (so the magazines say) to keep the signal and power leads at least several inches apart, and oh, if they must come close, they must cross at right angles.
Wow, I was planning on listening to some music, but having spent the last three hours 'tweaking' my system, I really must listen to that favourite disc that I play over and over and over again, just to make sure that all the detail is there, and that my hiFi sounds as it should, especially after all this contact cleaning, which all the magazines and forums say improves the sound. So, I'm listening, listening, listening to the HiFi - do I hear an improvment? I think so, not really sure, but hell, it MUST be better after all this work.
*sigh*, maybe it's time I upgraded from a Hi-Cap to a Supercap..or a powerline mains connector....*sigh* - I mean, I loved my system, and looked after it better than I would a pet dog, but why this continual lingering sense of dissatisfaction and need for 'more', whilst not quite being sure what 'more' was. Maybe more excitement, more detail, more bass, more treble, more soundstage and air... more upgrades, more., more, more ...lol
It took a while, but eventually the penny dropped that I was spending most of my time tinkering and tweaking the system, and listening TO IT - NOT to the music, or at least only to the music to ascertain what the kit was doing, re it's 'sound', or what it was doing with the music re it's reproduction and presentation.
Something tells me I'm far and away from being the only music lover that got sucked into the whole audiophool obsession and listening to the kit, instead of the music. I'm poking a bit of fun and exaggerating a little, but I think you get the picture.
Thankfully those days are well behind me, but the thread title did jangle a few damaged audiophool nerves....LOL... listening to the HiFi..
Nope, not at all, I never listen to the HiFi these days apart from the very rare occassion I might hear some new kit, or be auditioning something - I just turn it on, listen to the music, and turn it off when I've finished. I also use it to listen/watch movies, as it is an AV system, so earns its keep much more so than a 2 channel legacy media system.
It is very much an adjunct to my lifestyle, and the obsessing and faffing about hobbyist days, especially with an active system now, rather than a somewhat hair shirt mix and match separates system that forgoed sensible electronic protection in the quest for 'better sound', are well behind me, and I enjoy my music to an exceptionally high standard of reproduction, free of all the audiophile anxieties and obsessions about the kit.
JMac
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