End of the line, boys....
nooshinjohn
Posts: 25,998
It has been a great ride, but I have reached that point where I am officially done chasing that next upgrade. The Legend L800's are singing sweetly at the very edge of their performance envelope, such that any upgrade made to the gear downstream will not produce any further sonic improvement from the speakers themselves. In order to get more from my rig, a significant sum must be spent on new speakers, and a new house to put them in.
As things stand, I can close my eyes in a darkened room and believe that Eva Cassidy is in the house, or that I am sitting on the rooftop of Abbey Road. I can be locked up in San Quentin with Johnny Cash or inside a dream with Pink Floyd. I feel blessed to be at the level I am and the enjoyment I get from being able to just sit back with a bourbon and relax is priceless. To be honest, I am not certain that tweaking things would yield anything better than what I hear now. It sounds so sublime that I am even drawn into music that I would otherwise pass over and ignore. As things have improved, so has my appreciation of genres and artists I would have paid no attention to in the past.
Thank you guys for all the advice, support, encouragement and the boot in the azz. Time now to relax into the music and simply enjoy.
As things stand, I can close my eyes in a darkened room and believe that Eva Cassidy is in the house, or that I am sitting on the rooftop of Abbey Road. I can be locked up in San Quentin with Johnny Cash or inside a dream with Pink Floyd. I feel blessed to be at the level I am and the enjoyment I get from being able to just sit back with a bourbon and relax is priceless. To be honest, I am not certain that tweaking things would yield anything better than what I hear now. It sounds so sublime that I am even drawn into music that I would otherwise pass over and ignore. As things have improved, so has my appreciation of genres and artists I would have paid no attention to in the past.
Thank you guys for all the advice, support, encouragement and the boot in the azz. Time now to relax into the music and simply enjoy.
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2800 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon MiND2 Shunyata Triton
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
How many flies need to be buzzing a dead horse before you guys stop beating it?
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
How many flies need to be buzzing a dead horse before you guys stop beating it?
Comments
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I give you 2... Maybe 3 months
Otherwise congrats!- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
Maybe have another bourbon…2 Channel Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II, 2 REL Carbon Limited, Norma Revo IPA-140B, Norma Revo DAC-2, Lumin U2 Mini, VPI Prime w/SoundSmith Zephyr MIMC, Modwright PH 150, Denon DP-59l w/Denon DL-301MKII, WAY Silver 3 Ana+ Speaker Cables, WAY Interconnect Cables, AudioQuest Niagara 7000 w/Dragon, WAY power cables for all other sources.
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Who here hasn't called it "the end of the line" at some point or even multiple times? My end of the line or game over happened in 2011 when I brought home my 1.2tls. It wasn't long before that game over turned into a new beginning.
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There's much to be said for being content in what you now have. Leaving the chase for the next best thing and just enjoying your listening time, not even thinking about another upgrade, priceless...Remember, when you're running from something, you're running to something...-me
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I get the impression that too many of us have yet to be content with what they have and just concentrate on enjoying the tunes. I guess I should be thankful that I don't have the budget, or the wife, to continually pursue the next upgrade.Yep, my name really is Bob.
Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, Polk L600, Rythmik L12 sub. -
The last time I changed a part of my primary two channel system was in October 2022. Law of diminishing returns rules.
Next time I make a system change it's likely to be moving to a main house in a lower cost part of the country.
Of course I'm not counting the other five AV systems I have scattered around.
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The last year or so I have been viewing my potential changes in my system as my "forever" pieces.
I'm not super interested in cycling through stuff at this point and I'm similar to @Emlyn that I'm hitting my diminishing returns threshold.
The next big purchase is going to be amplification. I'm hoping to be able to demo some stuff and see what direction I want to go. Maybe go full tube and get the matching Prima Luna amp for my Pre?
Stay with SS?
Who knows...
If I can get my ears on everything I'm hoping to, my ears will be the judge.
I think my one exception to "forever" equipment is going to be digital sources, like DAC's and streamers. IMO, those are still progressing at a pretty steady rate. -
motorstereo wrote: »Who here hasn't called it "the end of the line" at some point or even multiple times? My end of the line or game over happened in 2011 when I brought home my 1.2tls. It wasn't long before that game over turned into a new beginning.
Uber modders have no 'end of the line'.
Mod 'til you die, I say.Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists. -
What you describe sounds awesome, but we’ll see you back here in a few months with questions on new gear
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Right Rob? Imagine his speakers with decked out crossovers- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
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My DAC was a huge step toward end game. I have yet to upgrade my processor and power conditioner. Then as far as gear and speakers go, I'll be there. I'm sure I'll dink around with cable changes from time to time however, that "should" be it......
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My DAC was a huge step toward end game. I have yet to upgrade my processor and power conditioner. Then as far as gear and speakers go, I'll be there. I'm sure I'll dink around with cable changes from time to time however, that "should" be it......
...not until you create a separate analog 2-ch system.
Just messing with you bro. -
In the opposite direction...I've been having fun lately with Auro-3D processed stereo 16 bit, 24 bit, or DSD tracks in my home theater system. Not as good as discrete multi-channel DVD-A, SACD, or Blu-Ray Audio but it's very immersive with height module speakers activated in a 5.2.2 configuration. For surround sound music, the L800s make a big difference compared to any other set of main speakers I've had in that system before.
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At my age, a frickin' Topping DAC would be a forever piece.
Forever, unfortunately, ain't what it used to be. -
I have my Cary DMS, it’s about as end game as I see myself going, I honestly don’t think about trying anything else in the streaming department.
It does a stellar job. -
After I got Lintons and finally found an HK 990, I was feeling pretty satisfied. I think that was 2022 or 2023 for me, as well? Then @Clipdat forced me to buy a minorly fancyish phono pre, and I was drawn down the vinyl rabbit hole. again. at ludicrous speed. edge clamp, weights, mats, carts. washing aparatii. Feeling mostly settled these days, myself. I buy a couple of records here and there to go in the stash of "records to wash before they can be played". read: a way station.
I remember for about 2yrs starting back when I found this hell hole in 2013, I would regularly wake up in the middle of the night, obsessing over gear choices and the chase. and I loved it. I wanted to try everything. Now to quote @Hermitism: "I hate everyone." even him.
I disabled signatures. -
CottageChz wrote: »What you describe sounds awesome, but we’ll see you back here in a few months with questions on new gear
Cottage - how did your Hana settle in? I've got my 1/2 mounted. No [valid] excuses. Fear of perfectionism, maybe? and the effort that entails?Post edited by msg onI disabled signatures. -
I think the goal here is to be highly satisfied with whatever you've decided to "end" on. There are always better pieces of gear out there to get that next .0nth%. We all stop at whatever % we feel is "enough".
We all have different goals, different compromises we're willing to allow. I'll be turning 60 this year and my entire goal the past 2 years and part of this year is to get the rig I wanted and get it dialed in so I can focus more, (not all) my attention on enjoying the music and to stop chasing the minute incremental changes/improvements, etc, etc.
To sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor and expense to enjoy the music and mostly turn the critical ear off. It's hard to do. I'm very sensitive to changes in the rig and I have a very specific expectation for maximum enjoyment. When that's off, it's hard to focus on just the music. I also have learned to deal with poorer recordings even though the music or performance is excellent.
At 60, I know my days of "excellent hearing" are probably numbered, so I need to just enjoy once everything is set. I'm not quite there yet, but close.
H9
I read @dragon1952 post about selling his gear because his hearing is compromised and realized even more. It's time to start enjoying the music instead of finding minute critical flaws and only focusing on those and trying to correct."Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Puritan Audio PSM136 Pwr Condtioner & Classic PC's | Legend L600 | Roon Nucleus 1 w/LPS - Tubes add soul! -
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Welcome to the club, John! I’ve completely stopped looking for new gear, and have considered myself “done” for quite a while now too. All my “audio energy/funds” are deployed towards media now….“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn -
What's that reminder Trey does?......
*Remind me in 6 months* thing?
Let's revisit this in 6 months and laugh our freakin' arses off.
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
