Lessons learned from this hobby of ours...

[Joey_V]

What lessons have you guys taken away from your experience with our audio hobby?

For me, these are probably a start:

1. Position, position, position. Getting the right speaker spread, getting the right toe-in, getting the right rake, getting the right distance from the speaker, getting the right ear height is KEY.
2. Spend as much as your budget allows on the speaker and get the remainder of your system up to par as time and budget permits. Spreading thin across multiple components is good only if you never plan to upgrade after the initial investment, otherwise, having to upgrade all components at some time in the future is such a pain.
3. Participate in forums, learn from the experienced folks. However, take everything with a grain of salt.
4. Give all speakers/audio equipment a fair chance - especially during auditions. Being biased from the getgo reduces our exposure to new and potentially wonderful things.
5. Never be a snob.

And lastly...

6. Price does not necessarily equal enjoyment. However, with price and larger budgets - there is a bigger potential for better fidelity.

Just my thoughts. :music:

 

[jk319]

Lessons I have learned:

***I am going to have spent about 10x more than I ever intended to in a span of a couple of years.

If the above is a serious concern:

-It is best to disown the likes of Joey as a friend.
-Never ever visit these forums
-Never visit a hi-end audio store
-Find a different hobby. Like reading, or chess, or basketball.

If it's too late, and you alreay have terminal Joeyitits:

-You're screwed!

 

[Rich]

What about the #1 Lesson:

Let YOUR ears be the judge of what sounds best.

 

[Tj Bassi]

Most of my good equipment is packed away while our new home is being finished, leaving only my R2R tape deck, an old turntable, and an assorted box of vinyl/open tapes to enjoy. The turntable and tape are patched into a pathetically cheap all-in-one stereo acquired at a yardsale for $5.00

Each night after work, I migrate down to the cellar of my in-law's house (which is basically where I'll be living for the next two months), grab a beer out of the basement fridge and sit back to an evening of Billy Eckstein, Sarah Vaughn, Three Dog Night.....you know....the stuff thats been sitting on the shelf unused for the past ten years.

And you know what.....I love it. Ok, so I dont really care for the 5 buck stereo and the room has terrible acoustics, but for once, I am less concerned with the equipment and really into the music.

Lesson here: sometimes you have to forget about everything else and re-connect with the music. :music:

 

[eknuds01]

Don't be afraid to try new things

Don't take every post or review as gospel. Your listening conditions and tastes will always be different than the author of the aforementioned article

Often it's the small things that make large differences: new ICs, cleaning the panels (or replacing them), cleaning out the electrical contacts in your gear, toe in/out, chair/couch placement, and room treatments don't necessarily need to cost a small fortune or take tons of technical know-how. Often simple trial and error (and patience) is all one needs

Rely on cables for fine tuning - give different brands and styles a try to see if that helps you get a better experience

If you are looking to improve the source but don't want to spend a lot of money for a high-end player, consider having our current player modified, or fine another (used player) and get that one modded

To that end, sometimes going to an external DAC isn't a bad way to go

And as Rich said, let your ears be the final arbiter!

Erik

 

[sleepysurf]

What I've most learned... listen/enjoy the MUSIC first, and your SYSTEM second! For example, I often background listen to Internet Radio, mainly RadioIO Acoustic and Pandora. Despite those streams being only 128K bit rates, I've discovered some INCREDIBLE musicians that I would not ordinarily have heard of- Eva Cassidy, Xavier Rudd, Livingston Taylor (James little brother), and many others. I've subsequently bought their CD's, and even though some of those recordings are not "audiophile-grade," they are, IMHO, found treasures!

 

[sebrof2000]

2 of the most important things I've learned:

1. System synergy is more important than the individual components.
2. The room is 50% of your system. A crappy system set up properly will sound better than a nice system set up poorly.

just my 2 cents.

 

[MiTT]

I'd have to agree with pretty much everything above, and distill it down to the following things for me:

Music First, above all else

and

EVERYTHING matters ; source, electronics, cables, stand, mechanical grounding, room, etc.

 

[amey01]

1: Listen to the music - not the sound - Some of the most enjoyable listening experiences I've had are on my system, but I've also had very enjoyable experiences on, I won't glorify it - crap. It's about music, not sound!

2: Don't try to explain scientifically/mathematically what you hear - Different sounds and differences in sound quality happen for reasons that 2008 science can't explain. Don't get bogged down with specifications or try to logically reason why things sound as they do. Don't discount things based on science either. eg. If you hear a difference by coating your CDs in green pen then just accept it - and get on with enjoying the music.

 

[Gordon Gray]

Music

If anyone has seen my recent thread regarding the Magnum Dynalab XM tuner, my enthusiam for this piece is based soley on the variety and sonic quality of new music (to me) this component offers.

Pricey, Yup. Worthwhile, without a doubt.

I know I'm preaching to the choir, but once we all lose the core reason that we do what we do; the magic of music, where it takes us, and the emotional connection with the music, it's time to do something else with our free time.

Folks like us should proudly wave the banner of being "audioholics".

Given MP3, I-pods and the Big Macinization of musical listening habits (I'm not able to sit and listen to ONE piece of music by the same composer / artist for more than five minutes) being proferred / marketed by our society, we are a dying breed.

Thank you all for fighting the fight.

GG

 

[Kruppy]

I've learned to appreciate what I have, because no matter how modest my system is compared to the much higher end systems posted here it's still well beyond the desire or reach of the typical person.

 

[tonepub]

I don't know if I'd say the room is 50%, but it is very important. I've heard quite a few modest systems sound very good with careful setup in the right room and I've heard some very expensive systems handicapped by a less than great room.

I'd also say that I've seen that the tweaks (power cords, high dollar IC's and such) aren't the be all and end all, but used strategically can make a great system even more so.

Last but not least, now that I've had four years of a steady stream of some of the best gear on Earth, the point of diminishing returns is much further out there than I used to think it was.

That being said, a bit of careful shopping can turn up some tremendous bargains!

 

[Audiophiliac]

The biggest thing I have learned from working and living in this industry, is that I can enjoy my favorite music, regardless of what its playing on. This is a blessing, because I dont have to spend lots of money to enjoy it. Dont get me wrong, I plan on spending a large sum on cool gear, but I dont need it to enjoy the music.

 

[Diamonds]

What I have learned is that we are all crazy.

 

[Joey_V]

What I have learned is that we are all crazy.

Hear hear...

Though nobody embodies that statement as well as Mr. Megaline here... .

 

[risabet]

I've learned that every time I think I've learned something from this hobby something comes along and reminds me that this is only a hobby.

 

[Diamonds]

Hear hear...

Though nobody embodies that statement as well as Mr. Megaline here... .

Joey I know I am crazy but you are not far behind. I would say however we are probably the most crazy. Get out the straight jackets. Joey you are about to be a doctor perhaps you could gather up some "jackets" for us.

 

[Rich]

Get out the straight jackets. Joey you are about to be a doctor perhaps you could gather up some "jackets" for us.

Yes, I think we need to put you guys in straight-jackets and set you down in front of a nice bose system playing the Bee Gees, for about three weeks. Then let's see how crazy you are!

 

[David Matz]

Some things I have learned:

- Haul as much stuff into your room, set it up and listen for yourself. The reviews are just a guide. If you buy something because someone else thinks it's good or because you only read about it, you are sucker.

- Listen to the music for emotion. Yes, this is a Martin Logan forum, and speakers may be the most important component, but the whole system matters. The better the system, the better it conveys emotion. I would take the old Logans with great components any day over the Summit with an $89 cd player. You cannot tell if a speaker is any good without taking the whole system into account.

- The room really matters. This has been beaten to death here, but one still sees many more threads on components, cables, etc., than on Mondo traps. You cannot tell if a speaker is any good without taking the whole system, including the room, into account.

- Everything matters - the cables, the power cords and conditioners, the wood blocks vs stock feet under the components, etc. It gets more pronounced as your system gets better. Some things are actually better, some things just sound different.

 

[JonFo]

For me, the biggest lesson is that there is always more to be learned.
If you are not learning about something new, and trying it in your system, you are potentially missing opportunities to move both your systems performance and your knowledge forward.

So, as part of that process I’ve learned:

• The room matters, big time. Even custom designing the room for ML, it still needed significant acoustic treatments to excel.
• Timing matters, getting time alignment right within and across speakers is vital
• Bass matters, keeping up with ESL’s requires ton’s of bass energy to have flat power curves
• A good center is very, very important to multichannel music and HT
• Measuring tools and books on acoustics help much more than adverts for cables
• Hanging out on the MLOC is both a time sink and expensive