Do we ever forget that it's all about the music?

Joey_V

I just wanted to post this thread because I read on another forum about a guy who constantly amasses the most expensive wires/cables/powercords/interconnects for his system and he constantly tweaks the combinations. He has a rather small collection of music and he got rid of his initial music collection because it didnt "sound" good.

Now he has this small music collection and he runs through it over and over again with different variations of his cables... he tweaks on a weekly/daily basis because he gets bored of the sound after a few playbacks. He states that there should be just be ONE universal song that holds all the beats imagineable instead of the many many different songs that exist in this world. He also proceeds to comment that he cant listen to music unless it is in 100% tiptop reproduction through his system.

I mean, seriously.... come on!

We're not that bad are we? We're not all about the equipment right? It's still about the music, right?

Sometimes, I get caught up in the shiny and cool looking audio things, but I always try to remind myself that its all about the music coming through the transducers. The equipment is only as good as the reproduction coming through... no more, no less.

Sometimes, I feel that the luckiest audiophile isnt the one who has the biggest and baddest $30K speaker system.. but sometimes, it's the guy with perhaps the not-so-expensive setup who honestly and truly enjoys it for what it does.

RTi4, Monitor 70, R30, LSi15, SDA, ML Summits, Totem, BW, Dynaudio, Sonus Faber... it doesnt matter what you have, it's all about how much enjoyment you get out of it. Of course there's the aurally spoiled and there's the aurally humble, but in the end, he who enjoys it most, wins.

Just wanted to rant before I signed off to bed... cya!

Goodnight my Summits, we're going to create some racous tomorrow after work! Audio is a fun little hobby isnt it?!

Shizelbs

The luckiest audiophile is the one with endless time to spend in front of his/her gear, a bottomless drink at the perfect temperature, and a vast library of music.

The guy you talk about sounds absolutly nuts. What joy does that bring him? I mean really, what is the point for him?

I don't think any of us are that bad, but we should all remind ourselves periodically (some more often than others) to just go sit and have fun with music.

For example, tonight, my wife and I layed on the floor, and listening to XM radio jazz while we played with our cat. No one was in the perfect listening position, the tubes weren't all that warm, and the source was far from perfect. But, we had a great time, got some culture, and I was exposed to new music that I had not heard before.

Joey_V

Shizelbs wrote:

For example, tonight, my wife and I layed on the floor, and listening to XM radio jazz while we played with our cat. No one was in the perfect listening position, the tubes weren't all that warm, and the source was far from perfect. But, we had a great time, got some culture, and I was exposed to new music that I had not heard before.

Love it man... love it. That's the way it should be!

cmy330go

Joey_V wrote:

...He has a rather small collection of music and he got rid of his initial music collection because it didnt "sound" good.....he cant listen to music unless it is in 100% tiptop reproduction through his system.....

I've heard a number of people claim this about their systems. I have often wondered if it is really a "strength" or "weakness". I can see where it could be argued both ways.

Either way, that guy sounds miserable. For quite sometime it seemed all I did was try to squeeze every last note out of my system, and I realized that I had lost sight of the whole purpose of the system....MUSIC. Since then I usually only make major adjustment to my system, such as swapping speakers or components, just to fit my current mood. So far it has kept me happy for the better part of a year. Hope I'm able to keep it that way.:rolleyes:

Early B.

Let's face it -- if you're into really this hobby, it's all about the gear. Every one of us loves to try out different gear. Some of us even stockpile gear. That's what makes this a hobby. It ain't about the music; otherwise, this would be a music forum.

I don't care whether you believe it or not, but musical fidelity is not the goal we're trying to achieve. Hell, it ain't possible to achieve it anyways. We're called, "audiophiles," not "musicphiles." So let's stop deluding ourselves into thinking we enjoy music any more than the guy next door who's blasting his boombox or rockin' out with his Ipod.

shack

It's always been about the music (and the movies) for me. The gear is secondary. I would rather sit down and listen to music for an hour than spend an hour tweeking. If I never own another new/different piece of gear it's OK.

halo

I'm very happy with my current rig. I wouldn't mind making some changes but, since everything sounds good to me, I don't feel that I need to.

Loud & Clear

Sounds like someone was pulling your leg, Joey. That's a funny bit and I highly doubt that it was meant in earnest.

GATOR3000

I love music since I first heard my grandfather play his clarinet. I sat for hours listening to him play and those high notes were well – music to my ears.

Today we can simulate/reproduce real music in privacy of our homes to astonishing levels. This is possible due to audio components evolution. Owning and swapping new gear to me is just as important as music itself.

I love my music no doubt about it, but enjoy tweaking/experiencing new gear just as well. After all this is our hobby – right? At the end of the day it is about the music. Rock on!

Gator

cfrizz

For me it's all about the music. Since I joined 2 yrs ago, I have only gotten 3 amps, 1 pair of surround speakers & a cd player. If I make one more change it will be to get a prepro & then that will probably be it for me!

If all you do is constantly tweek this & that & change this & that you don't have time to find out what the differences are or what made the best change!

You're just a shopaholic for very expensive gear. And to me that's just sad.

Early B.

There's nothing wrong with trying out different gear and constantly tweaking your system ad infinitum. This is a HOBBY. In this hobby, that's what people do.

If you examine other hobbies, you'll find the same pattern of behavior. It is sad, though, when it becomes the most important thing in your life.

audiobliss

I just rediscovered this fact yet again yesterday. It's so easy to get caught up in the fervor of constant upgraditus, but the question is...are you enjoying your music?

I know I am!

wingnut4772

That guy sounds nuts but I can definitely see getting carried away with the gear and losing the point of it all. It's easy to do.

GATOR3000

Early B. wrote:

There's nothing wrong with trying out different gear and constantly tweaking your system ad infinitum. This is a HOBBY. In this hobby, that's what people do.

If you examine other hobbies, you'll find the same pattern of behavior. It is sad, though, when it becomes the most important thing in your life.

1+ for Early B.
I agree patterns are sure similar to other hobbies. We always try to do better for different reasons. Passion for any hobby is good, but if it becomes an obsession and starts to take over your life, that would be sad.

The idea of this hobby in my mined is to fill my voids in day-to-day life. If I’m tired, grumpy, unhappy or just plain pissed off from work I sit in my sweet spot and abracadabra --- everything vanishes. I’m not trying to impress anyone with my gear. I do it strictly for fun, experience and love of music and whoever wants to join me. Of course most of the time I listen to music when I’m in good spirits:D not just bad:mad: .

Cheers

Gator

audiobliss

However, even if we only become obsessed with it to the degree that constantly only takes over our hobby, isn't that sad, too? Sure, there's a certain amount of tweaking everyone's going to do, and some more than others, but still shouldn't be the goal or the main activity in this hobby. Listening should come first. Tweaking should just fascilitate the listening.

SolidSqual

I'm new to the whole audiophile world, but I understand the tendency to want to maximize your gear. And then, once you've squeezed all you can out of your rig, you want to buy new gear to squeeze and tweak so more. Yesterday, after bi-wiring all my speakers I finally sat back and just listened to how beautiful my system sounds. And you know what, I felt content.

Sadly, I know I'm going to start thinking about that ultimate two channel system and start surfing the internet (just for fun, I think.)

faster100

I have heard and seem plenty of people right on this forum do the same thing.. maybe not sell the music collection.. But change gear and constantly scrutinize (sp) the gear and sound.. let me call one out.. Sean aka zero.. he's a prime example.. Cool guy but way to into the gear side and not enough into enjoying it long enough...

Other people like Russman just have the luxury or being able to try hundreds of pieces and that's cool.. because its a swap and try scenario moreso then a "this sucks " NEXT!! type thing IMO

I'm in between, I have tried more gear then i ever thought i would and buying and selling online makes it real easy to do.. however you can get caught up real quick with great deals...

My HT is fantastic now!! However i seen some outlaw mono's on the Agon and thought, what if i bi-amp my center speaker... BUT why it sounds good.. just to do it..

I listen to my HT for 2 channel almost all the time now!! to me, its that good.. before it was never used for music.

I say enjoy the music and movies and stop buying cables, power cords or atleast buy one and go to the next thing, not demo 5 power cords that all sound just alittle different but never thee sound you want..

audiobliss

^^ That ain't too cool, calling someone out like that. IMO, he's enjoyed plenty of music, despite having run through so much gear.

zombie boy 2000

faster100 wrote:

I have heard and seem plenty of people right on this forum do the same thing.. maybe not sell the music collection.. But change gear and constantly scrutinize (sp) the gear and sound.. let me call one out.. Sean aka zero.. he's a prime example.. Cool guy but way to into the gear side and not enough into enjoying it long enough...

Trust me, in my few conversations with Sean -- it's all about the music.

Early B.

You guys are delusional.

If it were all about the music, we'd be scrutinizing music, not gear. It would be an entirely different conversation -- we'd be talking about how the music was mixed, digital mastering techniques, listening skills, musical instruments, history of music, or whatever. Instead, we talk about how a specific piece of gear sounds different from another piece of gear. We use music only as a means to discuss our gear. If you really think it's all about the music, then how many of us are members of a music forum?

You guys simply have a hard time admitting that you're gear whores. Audio junkies -- the whole lot of you.

zombie boy 2000

Early -- I'm both a gear **** and a music junkie. If I didn't love music I might be stamp collecting, but I sure as hell wouldn't be in this hobby. Means to an ultimate end -- that being the music. Ultimately, the problem is we get a taste of how good our favorite music can truly sound, and we want more of it.

Besides, it's relative anyway. Though my wife (in all her passion for music) is content with a Sony boombox, you can rest assured she draws the line at ringtones.

audiobliss

I think my final thought on this is: We really are about enjoying the music. However, you have to enjoy the gear in order to enjoy the music. Hence, we change out gear and tweak things, trying to get more enjoyment out of our music. I'm sure we also explore new artists and genres as far as our music goes, but we can't really change anything about the music. At least, not near as easily as we can change our gear.

shack

Early B. wrote:

You guys are delusional.

If it were all about the music, we'd be scrutinizing music, not gear. It would be an entirely different conversation -- we'd be talking about how the music was mixed, digital mastering techniques, listening skills, musical instruments, history of music, or whatever. Instead, we talk about how a specific piece of gear sounds different from another piece of gear. We use music only as a means to discuss our gear. If you really think it's all about the music, then how many of us are members of a music forum?

You guys simply have a hard time admitting that you're gear whores. Audio junkies -- the whole lot of you.

Maybe for some...but not me. I would venture that I have more posts under threads like the "What are you listening to", "Rock Album Cover Game", "R&R reminicing", etc.. than gear threads. The gear is simply the means to the end for me. In the last year I have made only 2 audio purchases. A new turntable (since mine wasn't working well) and a set of FX300i surround speakers (only because they were white). I purchase new music and video several times EVERY month. I spend more time on HTF, Digital Bits, IMDb and Allmusic web sites than on any other audio forum and/or website other that here.

Early B.

shack wrote:

Maybe for some...but not me. I would venture that I have more posts under threads like the "What are you listening to", "Rock Album Cover Game", "R&R reminicing", etc.. than gear threads. The gear is simply the means to the end for me. In the last year I have made only 2 audio purchases. A new turntable (since mine wasn't working well) and a set of FX300i surround speakers (only because they were white). I purchase new music and video several times EVERY month. I spend more time on HTF, Digital Bits, IMDb and Allmusic web sites than on any other audio forum and/or website other that here.

You're a rare gem among the coal.

ohskigod

I think we all enjoy music, how couldnt we and be into this hobby (music, movies, or both)

we just demand our music not only sound good music wise, but sound quality wise as well. It aint rocket science to me. If I dont like a type of music, it dont get played on my systems. I dont care if bad music sounds fantastic quality wise on my system or not.

I'm not feeling the debate here.

I do swap out gear, not because I dont like it, but because I like to try new things. I like how some music I have that doesnt sound good on one set of speakers sounds great on another. Its like discovering something you allready had, but never really appreciated.

VR3

I concentrated my money on gear for so long and never put forth the investment in the actual music. That is all changing, Ive added around 5 CDs in the past 2 months, which is more than Ive done really in the last 2 years - and I plan to keep that pace up. I want a vast library of music to go through, of all kinds...

But for me its 60/40 - gear/music...

shack

Early B. wrote:

You're a rare gem among the coal.

Of course I am...;)

Shizelbs

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote:

I concentrated my money on gear for so long and never put forth the investment in the actual music. That is all changing, Ive added around 5 CDs in the past 2 months, which is more than Ive done really in the last 2 years - and I plan to keep that pace up. I want a vast library of music to go through, of all kinds...

Same here. Now I'm starting to collect CDs like baseball cards.

faster100

audiobliss wrote:

^^ That ain't too cool, calling someone out like that. IMO, he's enjoyed plenty of music, despite having run through so much gear.

If you read my post, it wasnt a bad call out.. Ive been on here for alot of years and think people like sean are cool to watch change gear, try tons of different stuff, But in the end Its NOT about the music if you keep each piece of gear, a week, a few months.. and do it for years on end. It was just an example..

Like Early said, for most if it was about the music.. we would be talking "about" the music.. not selling in the FM weekly and asking, what should i buy next..

Now that ive gotten into vinyl alittle.. I'm on the prowl for music on a more serious side.. older stuff not found on cd as much and different stuff to try on the TT... I truely enjoy my system now.. and all i want is a sub now. No yearning for something new in the HT anyways..

TroyD

audiobliss wrote:

^^ That ain't too cool, calling someone out like that. IMO, he's enjoyed plenty of music, despite having run through so much gear.

Not worth the breath, Cliff hasn't seen the ball since kickoff.

jdhdiggs

TroyD wrote:

Not worth the breath, Cliff hasn't seen the ball since kickoff.

Oooh good, the popcorn just finished... *cracks a cold one*