The End of the Day

[rollo]

 Over the years many different approaches have been made to bring us closer to the live event.
  Tubes, SS, hybrid designs. Processors. Open baffle speakers, planers, box type and hybrids.
  Cables from power cords to IC. Power conditioning, duplexes, wire and so on.
  Assembling a system requires only one thing. "At the end of the day" what does it sound like to YOU.
  I could listen to the designers thoughts as to why it sounds the way it does, read the specs til my eyes bleed. Input and output impedance matching and such but no guarantee on what you will hear.  
Look at it this way. Does component "A" or cable "A" make an audible difference to you. Second is that difference desireable to you.
The Nervosa of did "I make the right decision" or "is there something just a little more desireable". " Why did I buy this instead of that" Maybe maybe not. Trust your ears. The only true measuring device we own.
All systems, rooms and personal taste varies. One size does not fit all. Plugging component "A" into system "B" may not sound the same.
Which brings me to the main point. What does it sound like in my system with my ears. Who are you pleasing ? Yourself or your friends.
  At the end of the day with all the hype, design features and opinions the only one that matters is yours.  




charles

[JLM]

Agreed, but you need to "get out" once in a while.  To confirm what you've got (good or bad).  To re-orient yourself.  To see what's new.  To compare notes (network).

And it's good to get second opinions of your system.  A couple of years ago an old friend visited and pointed out some weak points.  Thanks to him, I've plugged most of those holes.

OTOH I come away from most audiofests very satisfied with what I've got (proud papa warning).

[tmazz]

Another good reason to get out is to orient yourself to the sound of other Audio buddies' systems. By knowing what they like and how they have voiced there own systems you can get a much better  idea of how their comments during various face to face or online discussions might relate to the sound you like to get from your own system.

[Carlman]

There is no such thing as finding perfection and being finished.  This is true in hifi and life... There are many plateaus.  What's more, there are many mountains and mountain ranges.

When you're on a journey, it's up to you how much you want to explore; and to what breadth, depth, and height.

I realized somewhere along the way that the end of the day means the beginning of a new one.

All that said, there is no such thing as 'finished' for me. I acknowledge moments of satisfying levels of refinement.  Sometimes those moments are minutes, other times, many months.  Usually the degree of satisfaction correlates to length of the moment.  So, there is a goal of higher satisfaction, living in a blissful moment even longer...

[Barry (NJ)]

I agree with everything said here so far. My system's make up is fairly stagnet. For 2 reasons...

1) I'm really pretty happy with what it does.
2) I don't have a lot of $$ to throw at it

I enjoy discussing audio with others with similar interests, and I enjoy experienceing the systems others have built for themselves, but most of the time I'm happy to go home to mine, because I put it together with my goals and likes, to please me.

I understand we all have different hearing, and each of us has different goals for our own systems.
I try to help when I can, and try to keep my mouth shut when I can't

[richidoo]

I'm more concerned with being distracted from music by sound flaws than I am worried about missing some musically irrelevant sonic details on the recording. So if I don't notice the sound consciously then I don't think about the system at all, and that's my goal. Consciously listening to the sound is what I seek to avoid.

I still notice distractions in the sound quality (speakers) so I am not satisfied with the equipment I use now, but I am getting closer.  Hearing the Tannoy DC8T last summer was a revelation. It is a little too small for my music, but it was utterly free of distraction, which I had never heard before. It helped me understand what the hell I was seeking from this hobby. It is nothing to do with gear and brands and pride and seeking. It's about the ease of connecting to the music, that's what I'm after. It's a big change from where I was 4 years ago when sound was more important to me.

[Triode Pete]

I'm more concerned with being distracted from music by sound flaws than I am worried about missing some musically irrelevant sonic details on the recording. So if I don't notice the sound consciously then I don't think about the system at all, and that's my goal. Consciously listening to the sound is what I seek to avoid.

I still notice distractions in the sound quality (speakers) so I am not satisfied with the equipment I use now, but I am getting closer.  Hearing the Tannoy DC8T last summer was a revelation. It is a little too small for my music, but it was utterly free of distraction, which I had never heard before. It helped me understand what the hell I was seeking from this hobby. It is nothing to do with gear and brands and pride and seeking. It's about the ease of connecting to the music, that's what I'm after. It's a big change from where I was 4 years ago when sound was more important to me.

Rich,
One of the most neglected aspects of hi-fi audio is the Distortion that speakers produce. Audioloonies are more worried about the specs & distortion associated with their amps (whether tube or SS) & other gear. I have heard hi-end speakers distort badly, annoying the heck out of me, & it's not uncommon to have loudspeakers with 5% distortion (it'll never be published, though)...
That's one of the many reasons I'm attracted to horns (when done properly) and many of the Tannoy models, especially vintage ones properly executed...

My $0.02,
Pete

[BobM]

The one thing I enjoy most is, when I haven't turned on the system in a bit due to work/family priorities, and I finally get a chance to sit down and quietly enjoy an album. If I turn it on, sit down and get that "ahhhhhh" feeling then I know all is right with my musical world.

But that's not always the case due to stresses, or the local power supply generating crap, or sometimes just a bad recording or music that I'm just not in the mood for after all.

Bottom line - the sound of the system varies even if nothing obvious has changed. But I do cherish those times when it just all works out perfect and I get that small sweet spot smile on my face.

[tmazz]

So if I don't notice the sound consciously then I don't think about the system at all, and that's my goal. Consciously listening to the sound is what I seek to avoid.

I couldn't have said it better myself. For years I have driven people crazy at AudioSyndrome meetings  (well maybe just one person....) because if I didn't like something I could easily describe why, but if I really do like it I am usually at a loss to micro analyze why, my usual response being something along the line of "I'm sorry, I was too busy listening to the music." I think you hit it right on the head that "right" is simply the absence of anything being "wrong". I also think that distractions  is a very good way of putting it, because that not only covers something being "wrong, but also the situation of something being "too much of a good thing". I have always tried to avoid having any particular sonic characteristic in my system call attention to itself, whether for good or bad reasons.

[rollo]

   OK my turn, it is all about emotional impact. The desire to dance to the tune. Sing along or play air guitar.
   I have learned that listening to the sound is what we got caught up in the beginning of our quests in this hobby. As Rich stated when he heard the Tannoys it did it for him.
   Exposure to many systems over the years allows one to find that sound.
    I have traveled though SS and planars, Tubes and planars, Open baffle with tubes, several box types and Pipedreams with SS and push pull now with SET.
    My world was turned upside down around hearing  Tannoys with both SET and push pull.  Actually I could live with Planars, Pipes or Tannoys.
   At the end of the day for me emotional impact is the key ingredient. Not a Hi Fi spectacular. No detail to death, thin, bright or two dimensional, just not my cup of tea.
   Besides tonality which is a given the size of the soundstage especially width and height bring me closer to the live event. Capturing the continuity of the music with proper PRAT just lets it flow. No mechanical artifacts at all. 
  Do I listen for these traits ? hell no. Either they present themselves or not. If ya listen for a particular aspect you are doing an injustice to yourself.
   So if the music makes ya want to dance your in like Flynn.

charles

[richidoo]

Thanks for the sanity check guys. Pete, you are right horns can be much lower distortion than direct radiators. I'm reading about horns everyday, trying to learn what's good and what's to be avoided and locate a good spot to jump in. Thanks for the continuing inspiration.

One man's distortion is another man's euphony, so distraction is an easier word to use, since we all are sensitive to some form of distraction from the music, be it bad power, aluminum tweeters, fatigue or unrelated worry. We seek total musical engagement, an undistracted moment of immersion, during which can access the good stuff within ourselves.

[JLM]

Wow a lot of good vibrations from all the comments above.