Why do some people (us?) care so much about the quality of sound reproduction?

[plastic penguin]

"(Look away PP.)"

Too late... reminds me of a song.

 

[6th.replicant]

I love the music and after hearing a system that made it sound better than the one I was used to, I wanted my music to sound better.

+ 1

Also partial to red vino, and when drunk from an appropriately proportioned/sized glass it tastes much nicer compared to a tin mug.

 

[John Duncan]

My relationship with hifi is - like my relationship with alcohol - a complex one.

Firstly, for me it's mostly about music. I listen to music about three hours a day. However, practically all of those three hours are spent on my iPhone and some good headphones on a train; with a wife and three chidren who don't give a **** and a terraced house, I'm lucky spending three hours a month listening to an actual stereo. However, when I get those three hours, I like to do it with the best kit I can.

Now, "the best kit I can" is also a complex subject. I freely admit to being a box swapper. I like "the kit". I like trying stuff out just for the hell of it, upgrading, downgrading, sidegrading, demoing, borrowing, selling, buying, loaning, hoarding. I'm just interested. I like to know about the subject so that I can talk about it. Which means sometimes I have a NaimUniti, and sometimes some kit comes into my hands that mean I need to move it on because it makes sense to play with the new kit for a while so I can grow into it and enjoy it - or not - and talk about it with some degree of authority and blah blah. I also like shiny things. I like stuff that looks cool and I like showing it off and playing it to people who come round who go "ooo". So I will probably never end up with a system where I'll say "I'm done", because that's just not me.

 

[Alec]

So I will probably never end up with a system where I'll say "I'm done", because that's just not me.

I'm the opposite. I was looking for my "out" all along. I'm fairly settled as I am for now in terms of learning, and my "contributions" here, and my kit.

More changes are not impossible, but, right now, improbable.

I can't really address the question. Why do people care so much about anything?

 

[John Duncan]

I'm the opposite. I was looking for my "out" all along.

And if you've found it, fine. Fantastic, even. I hope I make it obvious that I'm not looking for an 'out', nor even for better and better sound reproduction, which in some ways I agree is a fool's errand. Sometimes I just like fiddling. And sometimes I just like different knobs.

Why do people care so much about anything?

It's either this or EastEnders.

 

[Alec]

Indeed, viva la wotsit. I like Eastenders, on occasion.

 

[lindsayt]

1. The hi-fi's a tool for getting the most enjoyment out of my ever-growing music collection. We only have about 70 to 100 years on this planet. 1/3 of that will be spent sleeping. 1/3 working or in education. That doesn't leave a lot of time where we are free to do as we please. Might as well enjoy our time on Earth as much as we can.

2. Hi-fi is a mildly competitive pastime. Trying new kit to see if you can find something better than what you already own is competing against yourself in the same way that a round of golf is a competition against the course and yourself to see if you can beat your usual score. Taking kit to bake-offs is mildly competitive. It's nice to win. Also nice to lose to kit that's cheaper and sounds better.

 

[Ajani]

My relationship with hifi is - like my relationship with alcohol - a complex one.

Firstly, for me it's mostly about music. I listen to music about three hours a day. However, practically all of those three hours are spent on my iPhone and some good headphones on a train; with a wife and three chidren who don't give a **** and a terraced house, I'm lucky spending three hours a month listening to an actual stereo. However, when I get those three hours, I like to do it with the best kit I can.

Now, "the best kit I can" is also a complex subject. I freely admit to being a box swapper. I like "the kit". I like trying stuff out just for the hell of it, upgrading, downgrading, sidegrading, demoing, borrowing, selling, buying, loaning, hoarding. I'm just interested. I like to know about the subject so that I can talk about it. Which means sometimes I have a NaimUniti, and sometimes some kit comes into my hands that mean I need to move it on because it makes sense to play with the new kit for a while so I can grow into it and enjoy it - or not - and talk about it with some degree of authority and blah blah. I also like shiny things. I like stuff that looks cool and I like showing it off and playing it to people who come round who go "ooo". So I will probably never end up with a system where I'll say "I'm done", because that's just not me.

Great response! I'm happy to see someone admit that you can just enjoy HiFi for the sake of it.

Some persons just want an end system to get out of or copletely avoid the upgrade cycle - which is perfectly fine. Others just enjoy playing with different systems. If I had loads of $$$$, I'd have multiple high end systems covering all kinds of different technology (tubes, SS, Horns, Electrostats, active speakers, etc). HiFi is a seperate hobby from my love of music. I enjoy finding new music on youtube - which is different from the excitement I feel when I read about a new hifi product online.

 

[ESP2009]

I love music, a quality hifi enhances my listening experience.

:cheers:

 

[matthewpiano]

It varies for me. I've had lots of times when the experimentation and trying lots of different equipment has been hugely important to me. I've often enjoyed swapping bits and pieces and listening for differences and, at times, it has overtaken my enjoyment of the music.

I have also gone through phases where I've lost interest in the equipment and certainly my interest is shifting now and has been doing for some time. I've increasingly found myself letting go of the old ideals - multiple boxes, the ability to swap and change bits of the system, the tactility of vinyl/CD etc. - and starting to focus on ways of improving the accessibility of my music and technology which will encourage me to listen more regularly to a bigger proportion of my huge collection. Of course, an interest in the equipment/technology is still central to this!

As for the music, it has always been important to me and I've never really understood those people who have a handful of albums but spend vast sums on top-end equipment. I'm not saying its wrong - each to their own - but I can't understand it. I started playing the piano at 6 and in the nearly 28 years since music has played a disproportionately huge part in my life both through performing it and listening to it. Now it is even my full-time work. I love all kinds of music and I depend on hi-fi equipment to enhance my enjoyment of it.

I do feel, increasingly, that the latest technology is offering new possibilities. Now the technology can give you so much more access to discovering new music (Napster/Spotify/internet radio), provide spectacularly high quality ways of storing and playing the CD collection (FLAC files etc.) and provide the means to making the whole of your music collection instantly accessible. You no longer NEED a big pile of boxes to get top quality sound and you no longer NEED conventional seperates to achieve this (though of course it is still a completely viable approach). More than ever technology is becoming an enabler rather than a means to its own end and it is an approach that I am rather starting to enjoy.

 

[plastic penguin]

My relationship with music is [a little] less complex than Johns.

The first memories I have is of music. I can remember crying when my mother turned on the Wooden Tops and switched off Ed 'Stewpot' Stewart (with Arnold the dog). Also, my older cousin was in a 70s pop band (came 2nd on Opportunity Knocks), followed by a top 40 single. Remember seeing them in Bristol, where he lived, and when it came too overbearing, being plonked in the car to sleep while my parents went back into the club.

Throughout my early years the radiogram was the focal point: casual records, radio... Xmas and New years parties...

When my father gave consent to blow all my pocket money, no little scrounging, I became a 'box junky'.

I don't personally give a EDITED whether friends or family like my system, but it's nice to have backing of Mrs. P and little'un. It's good to share it with nearest and dearest.

Ultimately, I am a music fan and hi-fi afterwards. You can take the lad from the music, not the music from the lad.

 

[CnoEvil]

...I suppose it's the same reason that a Speleologist searches for the perfect stalactite.

 

[The_Lhc]

Why does that stop you from just picking up a guitar and having a strum though?

"No" would have done...

Cos thats 'strumming' not 'playing'

Yes but how do you think anybody else starts?

. . . and as I could not, cant remember the cord fingering, when I say remember, we are talking 30 minutes and its gone! . . . you just dont understand the problems of the condition The_Lhc?

I'm not aware of any other dyslexics (and I know a few) that have 30 minute short-term memory loss no.

'No' . . . I thought you might have preferred a better understanding in general, as you could not see any correlation . . . obviously I was wrong, sorry to have bored you:?

Perhaps my question wasn't clear enough, Chris Golds is quite a big name in the model aircraft world, so I thought you might know him, since you share an interest, that was the only thing I was asking.

 

[CJSF]

Yes but how do you think anybody else starts?

I'm not aware of any other dyslexics (and I know a few) that have 30 minute short-term memory loss no.

Perhaps my question wasn't clear enough, Chris Golds is quite a big name in the model aircraft world, so I thought you might know him, since you share an interest, that was the only thing I was asking.

I indicated the word 'remember', then the words 'moving on' comes to mind, because, as I have poor recollection, 'moving on is difficult' . . . To pre-empt your thoughts The_Lhc ???. . . my problems have always been selective, otherwise, how would I have been successful in other areas in my life . . . even I dont understand that one? Perhaps your friends are lucky, dyslexia and associated problems is known to be variable . . . I thought with all your experiance, you would have known that The_Lhc :?

Why should I know Chris Gould, the last airplane I designed and flew was in 1995 the year my wife died, that is another story . . . Thinking back, I find it very hard to remember the names of friends and associates that I flew with in those days. I cant even remember the name of my editor????? or for that fact, the names of the people I worked with up until 6 weeks ago when I retired, all gone:O . . . my editor was a very understanding person, he needed to be with some of the copy I presented him.

Thats the end The_Lhc . . . CJSF pulls up the draw bridge, I dont have to justify myself to anyone, I have my space in gods waiting room. . . I’ll get on with my singular life in my way on my own, as things are working out thats how it seems:wall:

 

[The_Lhc]

Why should I know Chris Gould, the last airplane I designed and flew was in 1995

Well he's been designing and building them for the best part of 40 years, so I just figured your paths might have crossed at some point.

Thats the end The_Lhc . . . CJSF pulls up the draw bridge, I dont have to justify myself to anyone

Somewhat over dramatic, I haven't asked you to justify yourself, I was just curious if you knew him as I thought we could have discussed some of the models he's designed in the past, such as the B-52 with the 17' wingspan and 8 turbofans, might have been interesting. But like I said, "no" would have done the job. Don't be so defensive all the time.

 

[Electro]

Yes but how do you think anybody else starts?

I'm not aware of any other dyslexics (and I know a few) that have 30 minute short-term memory loss no.

Perhaps my question wasn't clear enough, Chris Golds is quite a big name in the model aircraft world, so I thought you might know him, since you share an interest, that was the only thing I was asking.

I indicated the word 'remember', then the words 'moving on' comes to mind, because, as I have poor recollection, 'moving on is difficult' . . . To pre-empt your thoughts The_Lhc ???. . . my problems have always been selective, otherwise, how would I have been successful in other areas in my life . . . even I dont understand that one? Perhaps your friends are lucky, dyslexia and associated problems is known to be variable . . . I thought with all your experiance, you would have known that The_Lhc :?

Why should I know Chris Gould, the last airplane I designed and flew was in 1995 the year my wife died, that is another story . . . Thinking back, I find it very hard to remember the names of friends and associates that I flew with in those days. I cant even remember the name of my editor????? or for that fact, the names of the people I worked with up until 6 weeks ago when I retired, all gone:O . . . my editor was a very understanding person, he needed to be with some of the copy I presented him.

Thats the end The_Lhc . . . CJSF pulls up the draw bridge, I dont have to justify myself to anyone, I have my space in gods waiting room. . . I’ll get on with my singular life in my way on my own, as things are working out thats how it seems:wall:

CJSF ,

My heart goes out to you my friend , I know exactly were you are coming from but I can't and won't explain why .

Please don't pull up the draw bridge the world needs you and you contribution to it , don't be controlled by people with less that sensitive hearts that have little empathy or sympathy , please just ignore them .

 

[The_Lhc]

Please don't pull up the draw bridge the world needs you and you contribution to it , don't be controlled by people with less that sensitive hearts that have little empathy or sympathy , please just ignore them .

For the love of dog, I'm not trying to control anyone, I simply asked two questions, why does being dyslexic stop someone from learning an instrument and whether he knew someone who is active in a similar field that CJ used to be. I fail to see how that makes me less sensitive or sympathetic than anyone else. Maybe if people just answered a question as it was asked instead of looking for hidden meanings or insults we might just get somewhere.

 

[CJSF]

Don't be so defensive all the time.

The-Lhc . . . I have to be defensive, I have suffered from people like you all my life.

B52, 17' wing span . . . impressive . . . How about, 4' wingspan, single 7cc engine, turning a propeller at 27,000rpm, clocked at 175mph around a 10 lap closed triangle course and never more than 20 feet off the ground . . . one wrong control and its match wood! This includes take-off and landing.

Seems like Mr Gould and I moved in different areas of the hobby.

CJSF

 

[Electro]

Please don't pull up the draw bridge the world needs you and you contribution to it , don't be controlled by people with less that sensitive hearts that have little empathy or sympathy , please just ignore them .

For the love of dog, I'm not trying to control anyone, I simply asked two questions, why does being dyslexic stop someone from learning an instrument and whether he knew someone who is active in a similar field that CJ used to be. I fail to see how that makes me less sensitive or sympathetic than anyone else. Maybe if people just answered a question as it was asked instead of looking for hidden meanings or insults we might just get somewhere.

If you can't feel someone's pain when you demand an explanation from them that they don't want to give then it might be better to stick to questions about HiFi .

I have no wish to fall out with you or anyone else for that matter but when I was reading you questioning of CJSF it felt like I was being stabbed in the heart so I am sure it felt even worse for him .

I know I should keep my nose out of other people business and let them fight their own battles but there is a flaw in my character that compels me to come to others defence even when it is not asked for if I see innocence and vulnerability being attacked , it has got me into trouble many times in my life from both the attacker and the attacked ,but I can live with that .

 

[The_Lhc]

Please don't pull up the draw bridge the world needs you and you contribution to it , don't be controlled by people with less that sensitive hearts that have little empathy or sympathy , please just ignore them .

For the love of dog, I'm not trying to control anyone, I simply asked two questions, why does being dyslexic stop someone from learning an instrument and whether he knew someone who is active in a similar field that CJ used to be. I fail to see how that makes me less sensitive or sympathetic than anyone else. Maybe if people just answered a question as it was asked instead of looking for hidden meanings or insults we might just get somewhere.

If you can't feel someone's pain when you demand an explanation

See, there you go again, I didn't "demand" anything, I just asked a bloody question out of curiosity, there's a difference.

from them that they don't want to give

Didn't want to give? If that was that case he could just say he didn't want to answer the question but instead he answers a dozen questions that I didn't actually ask.

I have no wish to fall out with you or anyone else for that matter but when I was reading you questioning of CJSF it felt like I was being stabbed in the heart so I am sure it felt even worse for him .

I know I should keep my nose out of other people business and let them fight their own battles but there is a flaw in my character that compels me to come to others defence even when it is not asked for if I see innocence and vulnerability being attacked , it has got me into trouble many times in my life from both the attacker and the attacked ,but I can live with that .

Well, I'm just sorry I bothered to show an interest, rest assured I won't be doing it again.

 

[Andrew17321]

Maybe I can use myself as an example of why most dyslexics cannot play an instrument to their own satisfaction.

As a dyslexic I have a very short 'short term' memory. Everything I read or hear (in words at least) gets processed immediately into meaning, to the extent that I generally cannot repeat verbatim what I have just heard or read, though I can say it in other words.

So, when it comes to reading a music score, I can play the note I am currently reading, but I cannot read ahead and play the notes I have just read, because they are no longer in my 'short term' memory.

I am not musical enough to play 'by ear', so I am rather scuppered as far as making music is concerned. However, I do enjoy listening to it (and the HiFi is simply a means to an end, by the way.)

PS I am no longer embarassed by my dyslexia. I live with it, as do two of my children similarly affected. It was difficult when younger, appearing to be dumb and having difficulty reading, especially when I didn't know why.

Andrew

 

[the record spot]

I care about the music more really, the gear is just a means to an end to some extent but I do want something that is functional but looks good too. Thankfully, today that doesn't mean sacrificing one for the other.

A couple of years ago I was looking around for new amps as my then Sansui AU-717 was on its way out. Saw a couple and then noted that Harman Kardon had come up with this HK990 that had an onboard DAC. Looked into it and liked what I saw - you could plug in any digital source via a coax or optical cable and off you go. Seemed like a way forward.

Around the same time, Hi Fi World were making big inroads into Onkyo's range of AV receivers for music listening purposes and Noel Keywood really rated their performance. So, fast forward to last December and the Onkyo two channel network receiver I use now had me sitting up. Bought the TX-8050 and never looked back. If and when I buy another amp now, it'll likely be an Onkyo AV for their functionality and services offered - especially Spotify.

Two channel integrated amps are fine, but off the pace for my needs. Performance is matched in my estimation by what I have now against what I had previously and better in many ways, sound quality included.

 

[Alec]

Well, I'm just sorry I bothered to show an interest, rest assured I won't be doing it again.

This is a relief. Maybe just do your own research. Google is your friend.

 

[amcluesent]

I know musicians who rarely bother with recorded music as they listen to the players technique rather than the music per se.

I want a hi-fi which is as enjoyable as going to listen to (classical) concert. I won't claim the sound is equivalent, but they hi-fi must recreate a decent facimile.

TBH, I've found that a hi-fi which does that for good recordings (or R3 live on FM) will also expose the flaws in many rock recordings.

 

[bigboss]

Well, I'm just sorry I bothered to show an interest, rest assured I won't be doing it again.

This is a relief. Maybe just do your own research. Google is your friend.

Errr....that's a tad unfair on The_Lhc, with people ganging up against him when he obviously meant no malice. :shame:

I couldn't see anything in this thread he deserved to be accused of.