The unobtainable ideal

[Joe Schmoe]

No matter how good my system sounds or how satisfied I am with it, I always find myself dreaming of something even better.
The problem is that this "better" system is not something I have heard or even know about, but merely a vague ideal, almost an abstraction. I am not even able to identify specific areas needing improvement, but merely think "this is great, I wonder how much better ____ would sound?"
It is quite possible that the system in my mind does not exist at any price, and never will.
Realizing this helps me to appreciate my current equipment more, and also to be more realistic in my expectations about upgrades.

 

[EJ1]

Why is this in the "Loudspeakers" forum?

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Why is this in the "Loudspeakers" forum?

Because speakers are the biggest factor in how any system sounds by a really huge margin. Also because if I do upgrade again, it is much more likely to be the speakers than anything else (at least in the short run.)

 

[Davemcc]

It is quite possible that the system in my mind does not exist at any price, and never will.

It is quite possible that your ideal system does exist and that it can be had at an affordable price. It may even be found in a configuration that you hadn't considered. IIRC, you're using smaller bookshelf speakers with a relatively low powered amp. Do you have a subwoofer to handle the low end and relieve the speakers from some of the bass duty? That would free up the monitors to handle transient peaks better with the amplifier power you already have.

 

[rnatalli]

It's human nature to want bigger and better and the things we don't have. We all have to get used to it

 

[3db]

Grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

 

[Exit]

I think you have upgrade-itis, a common and oft times incurrable affliction that haunts many audioholics. It is sometimes held in check by the fact that other areas of your life often demand much of your financial resources. If that is not the case, you could wake up one morning and find you have a room full of esoteric high end equipment and still be looking for something better. Just kidding.

 

[jcPanny]

Speaker budget

No matter how good my system sounds or how satisfied I am with it, I always find myself dreaming of something even better.
The problem is that this "better" system is not something I have heard or even know about, but merely a vague ideal, almost an abstraction. I am not even able to identify specific areas needing improvement, but merely think "this is great, I wonder how much better ____ would sound?"
It is quite possible that the system in my mind does not exist at any price, and never will.
Realizing this helps me to appreciate my current equipment more, and also to be more realistic in my expectations about upgrades.

Joe,
Come up with a budget, buy something you can afford, and enjoy it. There are more important things in life than speakers and electronics. Food, clothing, and shelter come to mind.

Another thing, go out and see some live music. IMHO, no speaker system can reproduce a experience and environment of a live concert at a good venue. I saw about 40 concerts and shows last year and discover a lot of great music and artists in the process.

 

[bandphan]

Another thing, go out and see some live music. IMHO, no speaker system can reproduce a experience and environment of a live concert at a good venue. I saw about 40 concerts and shows last year and discover a lot of great music and artists in the process.

i couldnt agree more. Ive spent countless hours recording live music, just to reproduce the feeling of the show. The ambience of the crowd noice and the feeling of being there is phenomenal. Ive got gigs of everything from bluegrass, to jazz and that is some of my favorite listening.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Another thing, go out and see some live music. IMHO, no speaker system can reproduce a experience and environment of a live concert at a good venue. I saw about 40 concerts and shows last year and discover a lot of great music and artists in the process.

I used to go to live concerts a lot. I gave it up because they were excessively loud, and because they were often full of smoke.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

I think you have upgrade-itis, a common and oft times incurrable affliction that haunts many audioholics. It is sometimes held in check by the fact that other areas of your life often demand much of your financial resources. If that is not the case, you could wake up one morning and find you have a room full of esoteric high end equipment and still be looking for something better. Just kidding.

You are right. The fact is that I have a great system when I can push my formless desires aside and simply enjoy it for what it is. Dreaming of something "better", however, can interfere with that enjoyment.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

It is quite possible that your ideal system does exist and that it can be had at an affordable price. It may even be found in a configuration that you hadn't considered. IIRC, you're using smaller bookshelf speakers with a relatively low powered amp. Do you have a subwoofer to handle the low end and relieve the speakers from some of the bass duty? That would free up the monitors to handle transient peaks better with the amplifier power you already have.

I have much larger speakers with a lot more bass extension. They cannot, however, compete with the minimonitors in terms of detail and imaging precision. I also don't find myself missing the extra bass.
As for amplifier power, I use less than 1/3 of what I have.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

When I own 7 of these:
http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/display.aspx?infid=1729&terid=1583&sc=hf

7 of these:
http://www.marklevinson.com/products/details.asp?prod=no436

and 4 of these:
http://www.marklevinson.com/products/details.asp?prod=no32

I'll know that I have the best audio system in the world.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Yeah, I can see where that might do the trick!

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Reminding myself that my "ideal" is just an abstraction helped me to better appreciate what I own. I enjoyed my system more last night than I have since I first bought it.