Jaded Audiophile/Headfier Support Group

You forgot the part where they bash other amp makers first before releasing their "improved" versions...

 

Man, I hope I never get to that point where I'm chasing gear that doesn't satisfy. I'm pretty new to this game, so I can't imagine what some of you guys have been through.

Getting into the audiophile realm seemed like a logical step for me. I listen to music for several hours every day. I'm a musician, myself. It's a big part of my life. So to spend one or two thousand dollars on something that I'm going to be using that often for something so important to me just makes sense. But anything beyond that is hard to justify. I'm not a headphone or a speaker guy. I don't really get excited about gear. I get excited about the experiences I can have with the gear. But at the same time, those are experiences you can't really buy.

To me, if it sounds good, I can afford it, and it doesn't fill a role that's already filled adequately, then it suits my goals. I'm not after "best" here.

I've heard some TOTL stuff, but I'm very happy with a Modi 2U, Vali 2, and HD600. Occasionally, there is this creeping thought of "it only gets better" or "what if I had this..." But the more I think about it, the less I care. Having nice gear is great and helps keep immersion with music that I'm familiar with, but the best high I get from music is just discovering something new... ...something I will be so taken by that I'll listen to it every day for weeks to months - by any means possible. I'm in it for the stuff that changes the way I experience music. Audiophile gear only augments what is essentially the same experience. It doesn't generate the goodness. It simply adds to it.

That's not to say that there isn't something oh so right about just hearing your favorite record rendered in pristine form - almost like you've never heard it before. If it really means that much to you, I don't think it's odd to put it on that pedestal and hold the experience so highly. It's a real rush. The one thing I think is important to consider is that you are able to have that experience because you had the experience of discovering it in the first place. The gear isn't what drives it. It's just a transportation method. It was that first listen that brought you to the point where you're listening to this amazing music on amazing gear and just getting lost in it. Listening to perfectly recorded music that means nothing to you on perfect gear doesn't do it.

When that immaculate experience of listening to the right thing on the right gear escapes you, I like to think it's not the gear that as failed you. Can't help but think that if the gear isn't satisfying you, then maybe that's not where your satisfaction lies, yanno?

I think the well is simply tapped dry for the moment. From there, you either stop and wait for it to replenish, or you go out and seek water. I don't believe there is any rig out there that will provide you with infinite enjoyment. Enjoyment doesn't work like that. Novelty is a big factor when it comes to immersion. Your mind adjusts to things and cancels them out. A gear swap isn't the right kind of novelty, either. It's more of a temporary distraction from a bigger obstacle.

Live performances are another thing. Nothing really tops that. Nothing ever will. Recorded music and live performances are apples to oranges. I don't want or expect that from a home system. Looking for that in a rig that plays back prerecorded sounds just sounds like a terrible way to spend your time, if you ask me.


I can see myself upgrading a bit later on down the line. The gear itself is of some interest to me. I can echo the speaker comments. They just have a certain magic to them. If there's anything I see myself going all-out on, it's a speaker setup. Headphones are sort of like a blanket of sound that envelopes you. Speakers, on the other hand, allow you to sit in the room with the music. It inhabits the space you're already in rather than sort of becoming the space itself. Both are great experiences. I prefer the speaker experience, though.

 

It very much depends on what you're selling and the price. I usually price mine very close or basically the lowest in the global market(hifishark). Case in point, 009 at 2.2, dcs debussey at 5.2k etc etc. Then again, im a pretty tough negotiator so i get my gear at pretty nice prices as well.

Most of the time they go overseas, but quite often they go to singapore. My LCD4, debussey, yggdrasil was sold to a singaporean. Shipping from malaysia is also 2-3 times cheaper due to currency, so that really helps.

 

Thinking back, i think the main problem now is that i dont have a properly treated room for my speakers.

Headphones are just bad when compared to speakers in a good room.

And the enjoyment derived from having a proper room with the right treatments, lighting and furniture is at least 60% of the audio experience. I can throw as much money as i want into gear but it will be pointless if i dont have a good room. My buddy's 5k system in an amazing room sounds much much better than mine which cost 25k but i just chucked in the bedroom. Its pretty depressing throwing mutiples of money getting a good system only to have his stomp over it completely due to the time, effort and care he puts into matching the system and tuning his room.

However, given the extensive time and cost needed to get a proper room, plus my constant moving around, i dont think it will ever be feasible for me.

 

A 25 year old throwing $25K on a sound system?

 

This year I purchased a BHSE, Gungnir Multibit, Yggdrasil, HE90, T2, KGSSHV Carbon and SR-009 (and probably a bunch of other things I'm forgetting).

As far as musical enjoyment goes I find all of this to be outranked by my subbing to Tidal. Exposure to new music has been a greater pleasure than any gear.

@Armaegis has the right idea. Disillusionment with the hobby is a problem that shouldn't really exist. There's much more important shit life has to offer. Our generation has unfortunately been inculcated with the notion that material things will make us happy and this fallacy pervades through audio, technology, fashion, et al.

With this in mind I disagree with the sentiment that speakers (or vinyl or other materialistic audio stuff) are the answer because we've already acknowledged that live music eclipses even them. You'd just be trading one compromised listening vehicle for another and eventually just become a jaded speaker/audio guy rather than a jaded headphone guy.

I joke around with @zerodeefex a lot about "improving" my system but the reality is that I only listen to it a few hours a week between other things. That's ideal for me. It's only through overly frequent listening/obsession that I start feeling dispossessed of the usual magic.

TL;DR take a chill pill.

 

Tbf it's all bought second hand. So that saved abit.

 

Well, I haven't been playing in the high-end, but I've gotten bored of chasing "the next big upgrade". Most of the time, I find it quite acceptable to listen to a 30 year old Sony MDR-V3 instead of my proper hi-fi rig. In a way, I get to re-live the experience of getting that "next big upgrade" just by switching rigs from time to time.

Its still kind of fun to read about things like the Utopia though, for the vicarious enjoyment alone.