The 'perfect' system?

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Poor recordings can indeed be a challenge. I listen to recordings from around 1900 (great operatic singers and pianists mostly) to the present day, and my system has to be able to handle reproducing all as well as possible. My current system is the best I have had for this - it sounds totally immersive with the best quality recordings without making poor recordings (including early digital and 90s brick-walled ones) unbearable to listen to. A few set-ups over the years have fallen at the first hurdle - as soon as I realise I'm only playing the well recorded stuff and actively steering away from everything else, it goes.

I've come across people who seek only music which makes their system sound good instead of seeking a system which makes all music sound enjoyable. It's partly why hi-fi shows aren't the best place to judge anything, because nearly every exhibitor plays beautifully recorded music that any decent system could make sound good.
Unfortunately, dealing with bad recordings is all part of this hobby, so it seems. That's the major downside with my bundles - it's quite stark with imperfections.
 

Gray

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You can only ever reduce the horror of the poorest recordings - never cure them.

If you choose equipment based on making all sounds listenable, then you are  necessarily affecting how your best stuff is reproduced.

If that's a price you're willing to pay, fair enough.
 
You can only ever reduce the horror of the poorest recordings - never cure them.

If you choose equipment based on making all sounds listenable, then you are  necessarily affecting how your best stuff is reproduced.

If that's a price you're willing to pay, fair enough.
Agreed. And it seems the further you up the chain the more revealing of poor recordings get.

Nowadays I tend to ignore it and just enjoy the music. If you get too hung up on it, it'll eventually drive you bonkers.
 

kramer2020

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As one of the previous comments has said the perfect system doesn't really exist and my thread title was a little mischievious as I agree perfection is more an aspiration than an endgame. The more I think about it I wonder if imperfect listening rooms are the biggest issue facing most of us hi fi nuts. I believe my room could be described as imperfect at 11ft by 10ft and I'm wondering if some non ported standmount speakers would be be an upgrade over my down firing ported Wharfedale 230's (I know, I know they're to big...)
 
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As one of the previous comments has said the perfect system doesn't really exist and my thread title was a little mischievious as I agree perfection is more an aspiration than an endgame. The more I think about it I wonder if imperfect listening rooms are the biggest issue facing most of us hi fi nuts. I believe my room could be described as imperfect at 11ft by 10ft and I'm wondering if some non ported standmount speakers would be be an upgrade over my down firing ported Wharfedale 230's (I know, I know they're to big...)
May I ask what your system is? What amp, sources and speakers?

There are so many different influences that can shape the sound you hear.
 

kramer2020

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May I ask what your system is? What amp, sources and speakers?

There are so many different influences that can shape the sound you hear.
Very much a budget set up, I'm mostly happy with all the components, although I'm just toying with the idea of some closed box speakers: Rega Planar RP1, AT-VM95E , Sansui SR222, Shure M75ED, Tisbury Audio phono pre-amp, IFI Zen blue, Yamaha AS-501, Yamaha CD-N301, Wharfedale Diamond 230
 
Very much a budget set up, I'm mostly happy with all the components, although I'm just toying with the idea of some closed box speakers: Rega Planar RP1, AT-VM95E , Sansui SR222, Shure M75ED, Tisbury Audio phono pre-amp, IFI Zen blue, Yamaha AS-501, Yamaha CD-N301, Wharfedale Diamond 230
Thanks for the info.

There are very few closed box floorstanders I can think of. And generally sealed box speakers, unless you go really old skool, can be quite expensive, unless you are lucky enough to stumble across a heavily discounted set.

If you want to stick with floorstanders, given your room size, they need to be compact. I'm thinking in the region of Monitor Audio Bronze or a older pair of KEF IQ5. Both should work well with your Yamaha.
 

npxavar

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Just curious if they would be better in a smaller room in terms of better bass control. However this is probably down to me reading far too many small room forum critics...
Among ported-speakers, the down-firing ones are the best suited for small rooms because they pick up less room gain. The Wharfedale 230s are the smaller floorstanders of the particular Warfedale Diamond generation and also down-firing. You have made a very good choice in speakers, both in theory and in practice (since you enjoy them).

For better bass control, you should try the Cambridge Audio CXA81.
 

kramer2020

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Among ported-speakers, the down-firing ones are the best suited for small rooms because they pick up less room gain. The Wharfedale 230s are the smaller floorstanders of the particular Warfedale Diamond generation and also down-firing. You have made a very good choice in speakers, both in theory and in practice (since you enjoy them).

For better bass control, you should try the Cambridge Audio CXA81.
I think so too, this upgrade addiction is hard to shake but I've been in self imposed audio rehab for the last 4-5 years with my amp and speakers so I'm getting there 😁
 
Among ported-speakers, the down-firing ones are the best suited for small rooms because they pick up less room gain. The Wharfedale 230s are the smaller floorstanders of the particular Warfedale Diamond generation and also down-firing. You have made a very good choice in speakers, both in theory and in practice (since you enjoy them).

For better bass control, you should try the Cambridge Audio CXA81.
They (230s) are still quite large and as a consequence probably need room to breath, which could be the problem in a 11 x 10' room
 
I think so too, this upgrade addiction is hard to shake but I've been in self imposed audio rehab for the last 4-5 years with my amp and speakers so I'm getting there 😁
This is why I keep banging on about buying a system to suit the room. If the speakers are big and imposing chances are the sound will be the same. You might have to compromise of either really compact floorstanders or settle for standmounts.
 

kramer2020

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This is why I keep banging on about buying a system to suit the room. If the speakers are big and imposing chances are the sound will be the same. You might have to compromise of either really compact floorstanders or settle for standmounts.
I have no issue with standmounts so I wouldn't have to settle for them its just whether I actually need to go down that route. Interestingly I did try some compact floorstanders last year, some Dali Oberon 5's and they looked gorgeous but I think because they were rear ported the bass from them was waay OTT. So I guess that rules out floorstanders unless they have downfiring ports as my wharfedale are quite tame compared to the Dali's.
 

Jasonovich

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Over the years I've gone down the upgrade path and sometimes instantly regretted the choices I've made. However I've recently come to the conclusion that my current system, albeit modest, is both functionally and aesthetically the best system for my needs. That's not to say that the desire to upgrade has gone away, but the more I drool over 'better' system components the more I realise my current choices are perfect for me. Anyone else have this 'first world' dilemma :rolleyes:
Being happy with your system is a great place to be. In my early days, my oxygen was Hi-Fi and I raked up some crazy costs in upgrades and my incessant desire for perfection was insane, there seem to be no end. Some of things were snake oil, some were great discoveries.

A friend pulled me aside, you need to go out more often if you want to get laid. This was sound advice (no pun intended), I began to have fun, met girl, got married, got divorced, had a kid, got married again. My vinyls and CD's were gathering dusts, sold most of my stuff on eBay and gave to friends.

20-30 years I can't recall, went by, I developed other interests such as DIY and PC modding and building rigs for friends and relatives. Oh I wish I can send you a photo of my PC, Lian Li fish tank case, an assortment of RGB lighting, AIO water cooling and fairies perching on the GPU and sitting on a swing inside my case, I promise you I haven't been smoking dried mushrooms or green leaves!

Anyway I thought I was cured from the Hi-Fi bug and there is only so much you can do with PC modding and it was when I started hearing other peoples comments about how they had transformed their PCs into HiFi systems, these were mainly rants from gamers, who had got themselves the best monitors or headsets to enhance their gaming experiences.
In the 1990s, no one really took HiFi seriously on your desktop PC, there were sound cards from Creative and tiny plastic boxes with tinny sounds from Logictech, that was it. Yes, like where there is potential for profit and growth, it evolved and with the advancement in digitisation and people wanting to replicate the studio experience in their home.
I couldn't contain my curiosty, I was intrigued about how I can have a great sound system on my PC, this really was the catalyst, the 360 degrees circle that took me back to the same spot where it all started.

I call this phenomenon, PC-Fi. I have a really nice AV system in the main room but I have a more personal interaction with my PC-Fi. Perhaps I've grown lazy but it's great to be able to open FooBar2000, drill down on your music files.
Oh man, wiping down your vinyls with a cloth, positioning the stylus in the groove and racing back to the sofa, so you don't miss the intro and then repeating everything again when you flip the vinyl over, so masochistic but I get it, for most people it's part of the fun.
My nearfield Adam monitors means I can sit close to the computer or just put my headphones on and be in the zone.
I thought I share :)
 
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kramer2020

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Apr 18, 2020
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Being happy with your system is a great place to be. In my early days, my oxygen was Hi-Fi and I raked up some crazy costs in upgrades and my incessant desire for perfection was insane, there seem to be no end. Some of things were snake oil, some were great discoveries.

A friend pulled me aside, you need to go out more often if you want to get laid. This was sound advice (no pun intended), I began to have fun, met girl, got married, got divorced, had a kid, got married again. My vinyls and CD's were gathering dusts, sold most of my stuff on eBay and gave to friends.

20-30 years I can't recall, went by, I developed other interests such as DIY and PC modding and building rigs for friends and relatives. Oh I wish I can send you a photo of my PC, Lian Li fish tank case, an assortment of RGB lighting, AIO water cooling and fairies perching on the GPU and sitting on a swing inside my case, I promise you I haven't been smoking dried mushrooms or green leaves!

Anyway I thought I was cured from the Hi-Fi bug and there is only so much you can do with PC modding and it was when I started hearing other peoples comments about how they had transformed their PCs into HiFi systems, these were mainly rants from gamers, who had got themselves the best monitors or headsets to enhance their gaming experiences.
In the 1990s, no one really took HiFi seriously on your desktop PC, there were sound cards from Creative and tiny plastic boxes with tinny sounds from Logictech, that was it. Yes, like where there is potential for profit and growth, it evolved and with the advancement in digitisation and people wanting to replicate the studio experience in their home.
I couldn't contain my curiosty, I was intrigued about how I can have a great sound system on my PC, this really was the catalyst, the 360 degrees circle that took me back to the same spot where it all started.

I call this phenomenon, PC-Fi. I have a really nice AV system in the main room but I have a more personal interaction with my PC-Fi. Perhaps I've grown lazy but it's great to be able to open FooBar2000, drill down on your music files.
Oh man, wiping down your vinyls with a cloth, positioning the stylus in the groove and racing back to the sofa, so you don't miss the intro and then repeating everything again when you flip the vinyl over, so masochistic but I get it, for most people it's part of the fun.
My nearfield Adam monitors means I can sit close to the computer or just put my headphones on and be in the zone.
I thought I share :)
"Oh man, wiping down your vinyls with a cloth, positioning the stylus in the groove and racing back to the sofa, so you don't miss the intro and then repeating everything again when you flip the vinyl over, so masochistic but I get it, for most people it's part of the fun."

I've solved the racing back to the sofa as I've positioned my deck and phono amp next to the sofa. As for actually getting the LP out of the sleeve, putting it on the platter, dropping the stylus... still a bit of a pain for my lazy ass :ROFLMAO:
 

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