Why a decent hifi is so worth the money.

[idc]

I took my headfi set up of ipod classic/Fiio E5 amp and Grado SR80s into work today. I work with a couple of major music fans who love their rock and have been to many a concert, but they have slagged me when I have tried to talk hifi to them.

When I played Led Zeppelin 'Stairway To Heaven' for one of them, her face lit up. Her comments were 'I have been listening to that track for 30 years now and not only did I hear stuff I have not heard before, I now know I had mis-heard the lyrics, that was so clear'.

That comment summed up for me why a decent hifi is so worth the money. Otherwise, you don't know what you are missing.

 

[PJPro]

So, what's she gonna buy?

 

[idc]

An ipod classic and then a trip to John Lewis to try out docks and midi systems, well its a good start. Anyone who can be weened off a Matsui CD/cassette system is a success in my book.

 

[basshound]

idc:
I took my headfi set up of ipod classic/Fiio E5 amp and Grado SR80s into work today. I work with a couple of major music fans who love their rock and have been to many a concert, but they have slagged me when I have tried to talk hifi to them.

When I played Led Zeppelin 'Stairway To Heaven' for one of them, her face lit up. Her comments were 'I have been listening to that track for 30 years now and not only did I hear stuff I have not heard before, I now know I had mis-heard the lyrics, that was so clear'.

That comment summed up for me why a decent hifi is so worth the money. Otherwise, you don't know what you are missing.

I had a similar experience a few months ago,some workmates were round for a poker night and after the game one of the lads spotted the hi-fi in the other room,he quickly ran out to his car and got a cd, put it on and his face was a picture.He then insisted on the others coming in to listen and watching them all was almost an emotional experience (well,I`d had a few sherberts).Got another poker night next week so looking forward to the reaction when they hear the new sub.

 

[idc]

basshound:.......he quickly ran out to his car and got a cd, put it on and his face was a picture.He then insisted on the others coming in to listen and watching them all was almost an emotional experience......

So will he be getting a decent hifi now?

 

[basshound]

idc:
basshound:.......he quickly ran out to his car and got a cd, put it on and his face was a picture.He then insisted on the others coming in to listen and watching them all was almost an emotional experience......

So will he be getting a decent hifi now?

Yeah,I think so,he is a Polish national and will be returning to Poland to marry in about 2 years so he`s not up for spending much money at the mo` but will wait `til he goes home.He has a mate who sounds like a bit of a hi-fi buff so hopefully he`ll get some good advice.

 

[idc]

basshound:.........he`s not up for spending much money at the mo`.....

My work collegue's initial reaction to telling her I have spent about £2500 on hifi over the years was 'no way'. But spread over 20 years it is not a huge outlay. I think persuading someone it is worth the money you need to demonstrate how even a couple of hundred pounds can make a huge difference over Matsui CD/cassette players.

 

[Anonymous]

My work collegue's reaction is always the same... "shut up Patrick" 🙂 They are not interested in any changes in their "setups". Most of them are in their 20's - mp3 generation.

 

[margetti]

My OH had such an experience a few weeks ago, despite living with me (and my hi fi) for the past 4 years. Although she's always appreciated (to a degree) my system, she had one of those "moments" when we were having a bit of a listening session and put something on she once used to listen to all the time but hadn't listened to in years. All of a sudden a switch just flicked on inside her head, and she "got it" - as mentioned above she heard elements to the music she just hadn't heard before.

It's actually gone on to signify a significant change in our relationship when it comes to having a proper listening session. Before I'd usually have such a session when she was on a night out, or if she was in she'd just read a book whilst I indulged myself. Now we're having listening sessions together and she's taken a real interest in the whole subject, including one night where we did some comparisons between my (very budget) turntable and (not so budget) cd player. Don't think that will ever extend to cables though...

 

[idc]

We should have a take you hifi to work day and encourage people to throw out the universally bad systems that occupy so many office window sills.

 

[basshound]

margetti:
My OH had such an experience a few weeks ago, despite living with me (and my hi fi) for the past 4 years. Although she's always appreciated (to a degree) my system, she had one of those "moments" when we were having a bit of a listening session and put something on she once used to listen to all the time but hadn't listened to in years. All of a sudden a switch just flicked on inside her head, and she "got it" - as mentioned above she heard elements to the music she just hadn't heard before.

It's actually gone on to signify a significant change in our relationship when it comes to having a proper listening session. Before I'd usually have such a session when she was on a night out, or if she was in she'd just read a book whilst I indulged myself. Now we're having listening sessions together and she's taken a real interest in the whole subject, including one night where we did some comparisons between my (very budget) turntable and (not so budget) cd player. Don't think that will ever extend to cables though...

That is fantastic Margetti,wish my wife and I could do that.I have been a music fan since childhood but the missus not so much.I got her an Ipod last Xmas and she now listens to music much more often than before and on the few occations she has sat and listened to stuff she likes through my system she has been impressed but we`ve never had sessions as you describe.

I know as males we tend to be more interested in tech stuff than women(suspect there are very few female members of this forum) but seems to me men have more passion for music as well probably a huge generalisation so would love be flamed and proved wrong.

 

[idc]

basshound:....... but seems to me men have more passion for music......

I think you mean more passion for hifi basshound?! Most women are too busy multi-tasking to be able to sit and appreciate good hifi.

 

[Anonymous]

"My work collegue's reaction is always the same... "shut up Patrick" 🙂 They are not interested in any changes in their "setups". Most of them are in their 20's - mp3 generation"

Bit of a sweeping statement their...being in my mid 20's and having a nice system (see below)

 

[The_Lhc]

AdamLoewy:"My work collegue's reaction is always the same... "shut up Patrick" 🙂 They are not interested in any changes in their "setups". Most of them are in their 20's - mp3 generation"

Bit of a sweeping statement their...being in my mid 20's and having a nice system (see below)

It's not a sweeping statement because he wasn't talking about you or even 20-somethings in general, he was talking specifically about his work colleagues, so it's actually quite a focused statement.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm only 21 and I have a fairly nice system, but we can listen to our music with a full head of hair.

We're young, we have things to do, no need to walk around with boom boxes like the 90s generation, when the words "I'll just have a sit down" exit my lips I'll consider myself old.

My friend bought his first proper amp because he saw it on sale, he then bought some speakers because as lovely as looking at amps is, it's not the intended use. On hearing his set up I bought one of my own, so although mp3s through some logitechs didn't disuade me from YouTube, proper hifi did. For me, cutting the rubbish from poor streaming didn't do anything for me, but hifi adds something, it transforms music instead of just cleaning it up.

 

[Anonymous]

So what was it you got then!?!?

I'm glad my wife now 'gets' this whole thing - she loves the result ... "better sounding music" but is not in to the kit itself, fair enough.

She even came on a demo with me recently - as I'm about to upgrade further - and she wants to be sure she gets what she currently likes in our system .... and then some ..... they say women have more sensitive hearing and should appreciate such things more than us guys.

 

[Anonymous]

BigAir:they say women have more sensitive hearing and should appreciate such things more than us guys.

Is that true? Never knew that.

If you're asking me what I have it's a Rotel RA-04, with MA BR2s and currently undecided between dacmagic and beresford, maybe even a V-Dac, I borrowed a DM for a while, so I'll probably get that. It's not much, pretty much the definition of entry level, but I'm very impressed with it, I'm thinking of getting a record player for some folky/blues stuff. I'm trying to tone down the brightness slightly, I hope some stands will do that, I might take a punt at granite tiles too, I need something to stop the floor being spiked. Hoping to move into high end when I leave uni and get a job, very happy for now though.

 

[idc]

My wife comes with me on demos and has better hearing than mine, a blind comparison test between bit rates which she got spot on proves that.

I would add a caveat to the original post title - decent hifi is so worth the money, till you start spending thousands and never find satisfaction.

 

[Anonymous]

Chris - I got some granite paving slabs from my local garden centre for £15 each 600mm x 600mm and my speakers are on them..... far cheaper than trying off-cuts from a kitchen worktop where you are likely looking at £200 or so......

To tone down the brightness - well it could be any number of things causing it, but cabling could help there.

 

[JoelSim]

idc:
My wife comes with me on demos and has better hearing than mine, a blind comparison test between bit rates which she got spot on proves that.

I would add a caveat to the original post title - decent hifi is so worth the money, till you start spending thousands and never find satisfaction.

To be honest fellas, at an enjoyment per pound per hour it's far cheaper than many many things. If I work out my total outlay minus the money I would get back should I ever sell then I'm probably looking at a total 'loss' of a grand. Over 10 years it works out at about 50p per day. You can't say fairer than that! A coffee from Starbucks in the morning is 4 times that. It's a no brainer.

 

[JoelSim]

JoelSim:idc:
My wife comes with me on demos and has better hearing than mine, a blind comparison test between bit rates which she got spot on proves that.

I would add a caveat to the original post title - decent hifi is so worth the money, till you start spending thousands and never find satisfaction.

To be honest fellas, at an enjoyment per pound per hour it's far cheaper than many many things. If I work out my total outlay minus the money I would get back should I ever sell then I'm probably looking at a total 'loss' of a grand. Over 10 years it works out at about 50p per day. You can't say fairer than that! A coffee from Starbucks in the morning is 4 times that. It's a no brainer.

Actually thinking about it, given I got £1500 from my insurance company for the slight cosmetic damage to my speaker...