Boy is this one for the steam vent. Fuses are popping. Never has there been a more appropriate story.
This friend of mine who is in a kind of a similar situation like me; not having a lot of money, but really in love with music and trying to get as “much” sound as humanly possible for as little money (aren’t we all or at least most of us).
If there’s one thing I learned during my years here at audioholics it would be that acoustics are very complex and demanding. Reproducing recorded sound accurately is simply not at all easy in this atmosphere of ours and cubicles we live in.
This is why I would never be so hubris to throw advices at people like it’s nothing. Even when I know I’m right, I don’t necessarily think I’m right “for someone else”. I may think it’s only natural to seek as accurate reproduction as possible, but someone might actually enjoy his equipment adding something he likes to the overall sound. So… I tread carefully. (funniest thing, my friend is not among those)
My friend has a 2.0 stereo system. Old fashioned transistor NAD amp and a couple of B&W DM 302’s (a rather old pair but working neatly) in a room between small and medium by audioholics’ standards as published in several articles. He says he is not into 2.1 systems and that’s OK, he doesn’t like the idea, he doesn’t like it. I DID present it to him. I also told him that although NAD is a very decent company and responsible for some very useful patents, these laurels can’t compensate the 2x35W into 8Ohm fact and that power is not there just to create a lot of noise, but also to make speakers work better even with medium volumes. (Sensitivity is 91 though, which is higher than average bookshelf)
In short; I told him a lot without ever saying: look my meat is the biggest and you should listen to me and only me! And what do I like? I like exotic amp brands so you should get one!
In comes this other prick (I don’t know the guy) and tells him: your sound stage is not quite clear; you should get better cables and a DAC. Also, you should buy a better amp (with this I actually agree to a level – although he doesn’t need better amp, but more power of decent quality could be useful and it COULD be useful precisely with clearer stereo imaging, so it could as well be a stronger NAD).
Now my friend is considering it. It is soooo ungrateful!! Not on his part, but the whole situation. You try and you try…
Incidentally, the prick has floorstanding speakers with (read it) 4 (four) bass drivers and an amp that is 2.5 times stronger than my friends, which COULD
(pardon my ignorance if I’m wrong (that was sarcastic)) explain the “bigger and better” sound that my friend heard and liked and despite these obvious reasons, he goes to my friends house and when he hears his rig, he says: hmmm… yeeees, cables and a DAC. Prick.
Of course, I don’t control other peoples lives, my friend will do what he wants. Maybe he’s overdue for a “personal experience” lesson. I don’t know. BTW my friend is a great statistics expert and ruling out variables that have no impact are child’s game for him, he also isn't smitten by expensive cables, but as soon as one finds himself in an unknown field, it seems that “big talk”, “loud mouth”, “bald claims” simply leave an impression of certainty. On the other hand, being careful or modest makes you look uncertain in the end. Are we by nature prone to be suckers whenever we face something we don’t know much about? (not ruling myself out)