Revolutions
Well-known member
My hobby is pretty active. I can lose days of my week reading reviews & researching stuff because it interests me.
I used to do all that stuff. But life's too short to have your head stuck mags (I have a whole archive of WHFI mags from 2004 to last year.
Gray
Well-known member
I think my archive dates from 20p Hi-fi News 1971 to Hi-fi Choice from November last year (Including 3 or 4 UK titles that no longer exist).
Cover price of Choice now £5.75, though I never pay as much as a quarter of that.
The current offer is 4 issues for £5, which applies to News or Choice....though News is now far too elitist for me.
These days WHF is aimed at kids / goldfish.
Still some worthwhile factual info and reviews in mags....once you disregard the ludicrous cable and accessory 'reviews'.
Rodolfo
Well-known member
I stay thoroughly engaged and beyond with and through my music collection. Thankfully.
Once or twice a month I do visit a local bookstore to enjoy a cup of coffee and browse magazines on my hobbies. The audio magazines with good music reviews are the most entertaining.
Once or twice a month I do visit a local bookstore to enjoy a cup of coffee and browse magazines on my hobbies. The audio magazines with good music reviews are the most entertaining.
Oxfordian
Well-known member
Photography is a great way to stimulate your enjoyment of music, take camera go for a long walk in town or countryside, return home and relax with a beer and some music. Works for me.
Gray
Well-known member
I saw my brother's new Nikon Z8 this week.
What a fantastic piece of precision engineering and advanced technology, with a 948 page (all English) user manual.
Just as great hi-fi boosts musical enjoyment, that Z8 sure would enhance the photographic hobby.
Oxfordian
Well-known member
The Z8 is a stunning piece of kit and just maybe might replace a couple of my Nikon's. Guess your brother is enjoying his hobby with that beauty to play with.
My first WHFI mag was back in 1976. That was the first review of the Pioneer SA-706 which I used for 17 years from 1979 until I replaced with Arcam amp from Richer Sounds.
jjbomber
Well-known member
'Sheep' is how I would describe them, with iSheep being the worst!
Pedro2
Well-known member
I fully agree that the ‘golden age’ for rock music occurred decades ago and if I hadn’t begun listening to classical several years ago, I would be in a quandary now. I’m now as happy listening to Bach as to Steely Dan or Miles Davis. I also find that listening with another person is usually the most enjoyable of musical moments. I’m very fortunate in sharing a love of music and an interest in HiFi with my wife. It’s a real bonus.
12th Monkey
Moderator
Having just listened to the song in question again (I have a hearing test this morning), I am hearing some of what I couldn't hear at all. Maybe there was/is some wax there, but I'm not getting carried away - still expecting my hearing to be deteriorating. We'll see...
12th Monkey
Moderator
Alas no more wax, and my hearing does roll off more than it should. Oh well. No need to do anything about it now as it's not affecting my life otherwise, and still intrigued that I could hear some of what I couldn't only a week earlier - mind boggles.
Stuart83
Well-known member
I'm not sure I tend to agree.
I think your refering to the people who blindly just throw together whatever fits/told fits with no knowledge or experience nor even an interest in hifi.
Usually the type that is missing out on the exponential joy a decent hifi can bring to music.
This isn't a forum that seems to attract such a participant.
Learning is key to finding such a hifi and in view of keeping this post shorter I won't go to in depth of all the things one needs to learn when building such a tailored hifi to suit their preferences as it's so long and ever growing with new technologies like the advent of room correction, new formats, technical specifications etc etc as if learning about what different types of amps, speakers, sub woofers, CDP, CD transports, DAB, Turntable's, Bluetooth receiver, Streamer, streaming platforms, DACS, Room acoustics, interconnects and dare I say it cables 😲😲 amongst SO many other things isn't enough.
Coincidentally I play a musical instrument and must admit I spend more time on hifi which holisticly contains learning more than what boxes do what.
I think that's mainly because the not so elusive "reward" you mention is much higher to me given that I will never be able to play the guitar as well as the people I can hear through my hifi.
I learned very early analogically speaking, that learning enough to build and set up a decent hifi "is like hearing a top class singer in comparison to throwing together whatever fits without any prior knowledge" is like hearing the local drunk at the pub karaoke.
As a kid as mentioned many times via other posts🥱🥱 my father would repair much much "hifi" and pass it through the loft hatch to me at 12yrs old.
It caused a massive learning curve of whats what.
I learned from watts to ohms law to impedance and all the things in-between.
It made it acutely apparent the exponential gain in enjoyment a decent tailored hifi could bring to music when it's done right.
I was hearing parts of songs that were inaudable before in depths and richness that astounded me
It led to me going through the loft hatch myself into my father's wonderland and learning to solder at 12 and carry out rudimentary electrical repairs on almost anything.
That furthered into repairing just about anything hifi/electrical although still with some instruction from my father by 14 which is when I picked up my first "sound lab" djay decks and mixer.
I took to mixing very well introducing a third deck and sampler I'd repaired then I fell in love with music mixing aswell.
By 15 I was noticed at the local club of all places when I was asked/aloud to step in for 15 mins and takeover at the local rave 😱 set as a friend had told the DJ coincidentally his father i was the one making the mix tapes everyone was listening to at school.
See back then in the early 90s djaying/mixing (The Old Way) was a very involving art not like the cold uninvolved software of today in which everything is done for you at the push of a button turning even the tone deaf into David Guetta
One had to learn to match the different beats and the art of overlap etc, when to mix in and fade out.
How to sample correctly at the right cues.
What various pitch and speed is needed to mix in with the right "HI/high,MIDS/middle TOP/treble"
All whilst patching in a third deck which at times it's very tricky.
I even went on to djay for a second income for awhile.
All if the above is just a drop in the ocean of what can be learned within the world of hifi.
It's Absolutely all connected "within" the same hobby I have and that's hifi where it all comes together.
It would be very naive to think that hifi is just a salesman result and quote "requires very little skill or on going involvement from the participant, it mostly involves opening your wallet and suffering the sales man, the rest is quite a passive activity"
It would be like saying a guitar player just plucks strings attached to a plank of wood from memory.
Your right anyone can throw together a hifi with reviews etc or a recommendation based on someone else's listening preferences thus leading to the wrong kit as nothing substitutes learning.
I see the type of people that just point and buy whatever is on the shelf with a shiny sticker I won't be so presumptuous to say that's what hifi is to you.
I've seen many a sonic disappointment through people using such methods.
Some love music that much it becomes a route to all things hifi simply because they want to experience it as best as they can.
Not unlike a car lover looks to find a better car to experience driving better.
The "ongoing participation" mentioned is ever present, I'm 40 now and still learning, it's room acoustics at the minute as I have a odd shaped room.
Ahhhhh the world of hifi 🤗
It doesn't have to be expensive and salesman's pushed exercise like many insinuate if a knowledge and understanding is formed by learning as with anything else.
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Jasonovich
Well-known member
It happens. When I'm all dried up with HiFi, I switch over to PC customisation and frequent the forums and vice versa. I see you like classic automobiles, pretty cool.
It's nice to have diversity of interests or, setup another Hifi system in another room perhaps, bedroom, diner? Doesn't have to be expensive. You can mix and match, hopefully this will give you the desired results.
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I have used the hi-fi since my initial post, although haven't really listened to it, if that makes sense. (While I'm cooking out in the kitchen for example etc etc)
DCarmi
Well-known member
I built and upgraded or repaired PCs for myself, friends and family for many years. Now I wince if someone asks me for help or advice on such matters. I've deliberately stayed out of touch on developments in this area. Personally, I've never really understood the need for colourful lights in a box. But if that is what is wanted...
My current PC, came in a box from Dell.
That is fine. I predict, in a while you will pick up a familiar disc, sit down with a cuppa and enjoy the moment.
Friesiansam
Well-known member
Whilst I too have no time for the lights or, cases with big windows, I still like to self-build and upgrade. Gives me complete control over the spec and, I just like doing things myself, so they are done my way. However, I don’t get involved with doing it for many friends and family, stopped that many years ago, just mine and wife’s PCs.
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Jasonovich
Well-known member
I use to get that a lot, people want to use me to sort out their computer woes. These day's it's just families and close friends. Not everyone is sold into double chamber fish tank cases and lights. If i tried to rationalise this, there's nothing logical about this apart from the aesthetics, even so, one man's meat is another man's poison
Jasonovich
Well-known member
There are a few manufacturers who are not bucking the trend and it's refreshing to see. I like the Fractal Design engineering integrity, nice colours, big vents and definitely no windows. Nice mITX design
My sister is thinking of replacing her tired old laptop with a small desktop, this might be the ticket?
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Friesiansam
Well-known member
I have a Fractal Design Define R5. A good solid, quiet, well designed and well ventilated case, with no windows!
DistortedVision
Well-known member
If you are involved in any hobby day in day out you will eventually get bored of it. I have several other hobbies: photography, astronomy, gardening, car detailing, luxury watches.... the list goes on. I don't spend every day on forums for one particular hobby and these days try to spend more time on the hobby than the related forum.
Today hooked up my old RS6s. Certainly sounds alien after a couple of years usage of the Dalis. Not sure what to make of them: They definitely sounding good, if a little dated, dare I say. It's the treble that's most notable: Quite metallicy and more prominent that I remember. Certainly not as refined as the Dalis, not as much insight and layered, but I suppose you can't expect it given the price difference.
The only real advantage the RS6s have is they are slightly easier to drive. And you don't need fugly speaker stands.
Although not really sat down for any real lengths, it's made me realise how good those little Scandinavian suckers are.
The only real advantage the RS6s have is they are slightly easier to drive. And you don't need fugly speaker stands.
Although not really sat down for any real lengths, it's made me realise how good those little Scandinavian suckers are.
Jasonovich
Well-known member
The Monitor Audio R26's not bad speakers at all! Are you planning to setup another system?
No. I would have hooked up the TB2is but they are right at the other end of the attic.The Monitor Audio R26's not bad speakers at all! Are you planning to setup another system?
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To be honest, I've taken my kit for granted. I've had so long you can become complacent. It's not until you hear something different you fully appreciate how good it is. When I tried the RS6s, still good, but there was a noticable drop-off in sound quality compared to the Dalis.
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