Has HiFi lost its way?

This viewer wonders what has become of his beloved audiophile hobby.

[@justins.1283]

I've been rediscovering that magic by using small bookshelf speakers on a desktop properly placed and angled with a small desktop amp and then integrating a subwoofer to it and when you close your eyes it's like sitting 6th row center at a concert.

[@Roof_Pizza]

Some love headphones and others loathe them.

[@Synfulz]

I did the same myself as I have limited space. I have a NAD C700 with Klipsch RPM400 speakers. Sounds excellent.

[@Synfulz]

@@Roof_Pizza I have Meze Classic 99's and use a Dragonfly red. When a quiter approach is needed.

[@jamotter8967]

I have done exactly the same thing . . . and am loving the magnificent "near-field" sound of the music.

[@Ratchet98]

How do you integrate the subwoofer in your setup? Does putting the sub right under your desk still sound good? Asking because I want a similar setup on my computer desk

[@brandonhampton7505]

Andrew Robinson says, “The only person who has to like the sound of your system, is you”

[@joejoejoejoejoejoe4391]

Hi fi has gone from something that everyone had, to something that is hugely divided between the mass market blue tooth stuff, and the high end niche stuff that costs as much as a car. The niche stuff seems to be going off in the direction of ridiculous extremes. It's a shame because class d, computerised music, the transmission of music ( on line shopping of CDs, downloads etc ) and DAC technology have made decent audio cheaper than ever before.

[@Merlin-wo1kj]

I think humanity has lost their way...

[@spacemissing]

Way back in the early 1980s I bought a few records at a music store and took them to a hifi shop where I played parts of them on a SOTA turntable with an EMT2 linear tracking arm and a cartridge I never identified. The electronics were Conrad Johnson and the speakers were Snell floorstanders. The music sounded utterly dead, muted, emotionless, and awful. When I played the same records at home on my Dual 1229Q with an Empire cartridge, amplified by a Harman Kardon A500 connected to JBL L19s, the same records sounded lively and emotionally fulfilling. The price paid for the equipment is irrelevant and the results obtained are all that matters.

[@michaelwright1602]

Spot on! In many cases, less is more.

[@ziqfriq]

The emotion is in your attitude, not the equipment. See my comment.

[@MagicMaus29]

Exactly for this purpose, I use the mono switch on my amplifier. It not only helps to find the acoustic middle between the speakers, but also to identify errors in the setup. When I toggle the switch back to stereo, the sound should expand dramatically, after all, that's what we're using a stereo signal for, but it mustn't thin out between speakers. If it does that, if there is an acoustic 'hole', so to speak, then something is wrong. And as Paul rightly said, you lose that emotional connection to the music.

[@ziqfriq]

The mono switch seems to be a dying feature. At least my current preamp, and the one before it, didn't have one. Very handy for canceling out vertical noise when listening to monaural records. But I guess now you're supposed to have a separate dedicated monaural cartridge on a separate tonearm.

[@Spungebobonicerocks]

I think that many audiophilesdon't listen to music.. They listen the sound. But whatever makes you happy! I invested 2500 dollars 12 years ago in my system, and I never thought about an upgrade and never will. It's good enough for me and music sounds great.

[@Roof_Pizza]

I'd bet that you have a better than average room situation. It's surprisingly easy to not get the best out of what you have due to a bad room etc.

[@randymanx2674]

I’ve been in front of a 40k system that was horrible. Not a setup issue, a severe lack of power issue. You don’t put a pair of 100 watt Levinsons on a pair of Legacy Whispers and expect anything dynamically exciting, trust me. Also, I think when speakers hit 30k a pair, it becomes just a sport for rich tweeker snobs with more money than practical sense. The London Symphony Orchestra uses just Crown amps and JBL speakers, (Yes, I’ve been backstage and saw it first hand) anything beyond that equates to just what was stated, hifi has lost its way.

[@carlingtonme]

Sometimes simplicity is best: the person of my acquaintance happiest with their music is running a 1970s hafler amp-preamp with advent speakers and an AR turntable..no constant searching for that ultimate piece of gear angst

[@dieseldust27]

Correct. Well-said.

[@pedrolourenco2707]

As a mixer/producer for rock music I really like to hear this kind of perspectives. A friend, Hifi seller, changed my life 20 years ago, when he heard a mixed and asked if the drummer was the vocalist!? you get the point ;)

[@solomonstewart1025]

I made a big connection with the music when I started to listen near field using bookshelf speakers.

[@laboratoriodojulio]

Paul, I was watching this video and understanding the reason for your success.. your love not for money, but for what you do... thanks for your videos.. I don't miss one... Julio

[@firewall8039]

Hey Paul! Thanks for the great videos! What do you think about building a line-source speaker? Like the IRS-V?

[@Jorge-Fernandez-Lopez]

"Setup" got me back in the audio journey. I bought «Audiophile's guide» and disc (great reference book), I read Floyd E. Toole's book, Alton Everest's book, technical documents about cables, and finally I wrote my own notes because information is hard to find among "snake oil". Maybe that Yamaha has the sound you like, or maybe it's the setup.

[@robertwoodward9231]

That was a great question. After several years without hi fidelity. Going a little off track here but I just purchased a cambridge xax35 just to hear my old records. Do you know what preamp and speakers would get this back for me, without going off the rails. Thank you much.

[@biketech60]

My first AH HA moment in audio was by a setup of a pair very wide apart pair of Klipschorn speakers with a Heresy center channel . It was all driven by a solid state Harmon Kardon integrated amplifier using the Klipsch derived center channel and volume control . Wide soundstage , yet perfect center channel image , all coherent sonically . Live in the room sound .

[@chungang7037]

My brother is only 32, but only wants speakers and his amp from the 70s. He seems to enjoy music more while I seem to be chasing more gear, even watching videos on gear instead of listening to music.

[@michaelwright1602]

Less is more, your brother has discovered that.

[@chungang7037]

@@michaelwright1602 yup

[@ohjoy40]

Setup is absolutely critical, and agree with you Paul, BUT just as important if not more is synergy between all the equipment and the speakers. You can have the perfect setup but if the equipment does not complement the sound of the speakers you will not have that emotion connection to the music. High end audio is the high fidelity reproduction of music. Just buying more expensive equipment does not guarantee a good sound system. Everything in a system must complement one another to create that illusion of real instruments being played.

[@Roof_Pizza]

If you have to 'fix' your speakers you bought the wrong speakers.

[@worldsyoursent.1635]

It’s all about that beautiful center image🙌

[@rob_silveira]

My reconnection to the music happened when I gave a try to a passive preamp and felt the raw sound coming from my CD player.

[@bernardkinghorn1317]

I know exactly what the letters author is saying because I had the same thought about five years ago. I realized I didn't listen to music in the house because although I had so much money into my surround system I didn't like the 2 channel sound it gave me. So I got a dedicated 2 channel plus sub system for music only. Once I got it set up and playing music I sat down and there it was. That center stage. You hit that nail right on the head.

[@mikejames-drummerreginacan1386]

GREAT video Paul....Thanks.

[@Bassotronics]

On a side note: Can PS Audio’s Display change it’s color? I ask because I can’t see blue displays properly. It blurs my vision. I try to get appliances with red color displays.

[@gotham61]

I despise blue displays. There was a time when blue LEDs were rare and expensive, so some hifi companies started to use them to look cool and exclusive. It is the worst possible color to use, and it looks very fuzzy to the human eye. Have you ever noticed how aircraft instruments are almost always illuminated with orange or red light, and never blue? For many years Yamaha was a standout, by using yellow or orange displays on their equipment, and they were so much easier to read.

[@errorsofmodernism9715]

I prefer orange dispays also for their warmth, but blue has a shorter wavelength than red so it should appear crisper than red.

[@rig4365]

this should be a topic for Paul's Q&A. I've always found those blue backlit displays very distracting. And psychologically I associate them with being cold computer-like equipment. Even if my ears hear differently, my mind won't let go of the association.

[@gotham61]

@@errorsofmodernism9715 You would think that, but I looked it up, and apparently the human eye has far fewer color receptors on our retinas for blue than for red and green, so our blue light resolution is low.

[@Stephen-nd1sx]

I use my phone to "Bluetooth" the music to my Nad 388. What's a better way to get better sound? Or is the phone at 24/96 good enough. I doubt it. If anyone can answer what's the best source upgrade? I don't have WiFi.

[@michaelwright1602]

Try an R2R DAC, the Cayin RU6 is affordable. Also, the Denafrips Ares II DAC, it took me right back to the 70's, nice and smooth sound, not analytical in the least, simply plays music that I can sit and enjoy.

[@xcvbxcvb2179]

Transparency, detail, airiness, seperation, and even soundstage can kill "the music". Musicians playing toghether strive to create a homogenous sensation to the audience. They do their best to blend in toghether and make the sum of the pieces be greater than the parts. A lot of Hifi gear seems to do the opposit! I for one is threading very carefully not to loose the music when getting new or used gear. The star in my setup is a well built CD player from early 90's with the TDA 1541A. A joy to listen to compared to a lot of newer dacs.

[@Justwantahover]

My speakers are "airy" cos they are semi open cone with semi dipole sound. I just listen to them closer together to get the coherance. And point source full range drivers (semi open) have great tone and texture coherence, more than any two way. The separate woofers and tweeters spoil the music more than good systems do. It's not the system its the separate woofer and tweeter drivers that spoils the music. But nobody takes any notice and go for 2D technical quality over 3D full range or coaxial sound. A good quality and airy point source system (with speakers closer together) sounds musical and the image goes beyond the narrower spaced speakers (each side).

[@Justwantahover]

But when you hear a band the instruments sound way more separated (in sound source) than any speakers. There is a difference between sound source separation and playing in time or not playing in time with each other.

[@drewpknutz1410]

Maybe sometimes equipment can be too revealing, too clear, too precise and it kinda ruins the experience?, I know an x-ray of a girl can reveal a lot, but I think I'd prefer just a simple polaroid most of the time. (I'm trying to talk myself out of going down the hifi rabbit hole) 😁

[@chungang7037]

This can be true in the headphone space, where some people are pushing for more and more detail to be revealed from the recording with headphones that are more analytical than anything you have heard before, so much so that you don't hear the orchestra or band anymore but the mice squeaking underneath the stage, some dude closing a door backstage, and the creaks and clacks of watches and instruments bumping against each other as musicians play their music. I guess if you only listen to the few albums out there that were perfectly recorded (or synthetic music) it might sound amazing, but for most music genres it is simply distracting. Thankfully not all headphones are made this way.

[@RennieAsh]

@Douglas Blake then again, why is it "lose interest" just because it's from the stage perspective? Maybe it's good to feel like you're in the band

[@cuttinchops]

One thing left out, equipment synergy, often overlooked, but makes a huge difference. Along with the type of recording/playback.most onboard pc soundcards can suck life out lol I moved my maggies to a different room, been fighting to get that elusive phantom channel back for a week now, getting there, almost there lol … setup is a PITA sometimes, but when it’s done, night and day! Even with dynamic speakers.

[@ToadStool942]

That's a loaded question as that assumes hi-fi had at least once before found its way. Some might argue it never once did.

[@gtric1466]

I think there more to it then just center image. MOFI products today have no issue with center image but most are more on the analytical side including the speakers to provide greater detail at the expenses of musicality and emotion. All depends on what your chasing. Bring back loudness control for one and you'll see a lot more happy campers..

[@michelfilion_]

Really good question, I will look at my set up as well Thanks

[@mddawson1]

Another Aussie here. I also have Vaf speakers (DC-X Series 3) and despite being 20 years old and their budget range, they still sound great. They give a really wide soundstage and some depth as well.

[@bruceuebergang4087]

It seems, these days, that many of us audiophiles have become so preoccupied with the minutiae of sound reproduction that we haven't even noticed that it doesn't sound like music any more. We marvel at the soundstage presentation, lose our continence over the detail, and climax over our system's ability to rattle the lighting fixtures and scramble our otoliths But ask your average audiophile if his super system reproduces instrumental sounds realistically and he'll give you a blank stare or, worse, tell you that it must because it's so accurate. J Gordon Holt; Stereophile December 1985

[@montanalou7711]

*Rock and Roll was never meant to be perfect‼️ It blasts from one end of the room to the other. It smells of smoke and beer in old churches, warehouse bars, basements, and garages! It does not matter how expensive or how big as long as it resonates IN YOUR EAR‼️*

[@Eric_DiRisio]

I like my KEF ls50w's but even I myself sometimes really miss that pure Class A thing of even my Dad's modest (sadly now blown up by my younger brother) Harmon/Kardon PM665 from the 80's hooked up to old KEF C60 passives. Yes, these new LS50w's (active) are great and cool and accurate and efficient in summer months but something about the warmth and imaging of older 80's pure Class A stuff..and it was even considered entry level stuff for its time but it was still great. I grew up listening to it and argue my love of music probably budded because of them and how good they sounded jumping around as a 5 year old listening to them with my dad. If only that older style stuff didn't get so unbelievably hot in the summer though. But theres nothing like it from what I can tell so far from what I've had the luxury of hearing. I don't know. LS50W's are still a great sub 2500 dollar for young new enthusiasts like myself so I'll respect it until I can afford otherwise though

[@falconhawker]

Mr. McGowan Please give me your assessent of a comparison between a tube operated amplifier VS a solidestate amplifier deemed to provide equal performance... using an agreed criteria: THE COMPARISON must be made on the same setup using a double blind method : (1) the installer is NOT present during the comparison (2) The USER /TESTER has no ACCESS /OR SIGHT of the equipment used. (3) The Comparison can use various sources of sound, music, classical, jazz, voice, sound tracks etc.

[@ridirefain6606]

Albeit setup is important, I would also think Roy's observation is more related to synergy between his tastes, room, and what the equipment delivers. One of the trends I experience in the hobby is a focus towards the creation of ultra revealing gear, that digs deep into a recording, exposing every wart and wrinkle. Giving a sense of the hyper real versus lending a certain romance to the sound that people find pleasing. Yamaha tends to voice their 2 channel integrateds to have a bit of character, they do not obsess on accuracy but lean towards being rich and warm. I think the lushness in this so called lesser amp's voicing is what he latched onto and is currently enjoying.

[@rig4365]

I'm not so sure I agree with Paul on this one. The letter-writer sounds very experienced and knowledgable about Hi Fi. My thoughts is that the Yamaha amps have a warmer tonal character and his newer equipment was cold in relation. Much of the 70's equipment is relatively warmer and easy to listen to.

[@jkherberger]

As a dealer myself I'm really surprised at the lack of knowledge about setup from supposedly knowledgable clients. He may have also just been sold equipment thats doesn't suite his preferences or room acoustics. Paul's like correct imo.

[@louissilvani1389]

Harry Pearson made a statement that I thought was profound he said there’s two ways of listening to music analytical or emotional I think the community has been leaning to analytical 🤔

[@jimclark7378]

Using the #tunedem method while evaluating setup, or components is the best way to avoid the pitfalls of "sound". We can't know which sound is right or wrong, if we did not attend in the studio. But we can allways judge, if music is or is not playing in tune.

[@RudieVissenberg]

I am not sure if Paul got the meaning of the question. When someone has monoblocks he will have done enough to centre the speakers, like he would have done with his cheaper new setup. I agree with the questioner that nowadays hifi is less engaging. I went to an high end hifi demonstration with Focal speakers etc, really the top end, and disliked the general sound. It is so analytical and lacks the warmth and emotion of a real performance. This I also noticed at other demonstrations, it is all about details, the specs and I want emotion. My conclusion is that speakerdesign has changed the last 20 - 30 years. My amplifier is only 4 years old and the DAC and DDC less than a year but the speakers are 22 years old and try to get the best of them with good sounding equipment. I know that the habit of listening to the same speakers makes them the reference but I go to a lot of concerts and I think my speakers are closer to reality then those modern laser focused ones. I would advice the questioner to look for the right speakers and try to get the most out of them with the best equipment.

[@RudieVissenberg]

@Douglas Blake Thanks for you reply. I made the, indeed, assumption because Roy now has a good sound and stereo image so he must have set up his new system properly. I don't think there is any difference there between a cheaper and more expensive system. I disagree with you on that the main reason is the low quality of mixing and mastering. I listen mostly to classical music and I think that the recording and mixing has improved over the last 30 years. Still I find newly designed speakers less engaging with new and old recordings. I am curious if you find old recordings more engaging on newer equipment than new recordings.

[@p2turntables503]

I don't think HIFI has lost its way completely, it's just taken a slight detour at this time in music. Vintage systems with vintage technology (turntable, amps, speakers, etc) with the proper setup can certainly amplify the hifi experience, but there are a few people that hit the HIFI points perfectly! Great analysis and insight Paul!

[@Attlechief]

Acoustics of room

[@gotham61]

Did an amp catch fire and singe the carpet?

[@marcbegine]

So right Paul, SETUP is the first step of the QUEST!😎

[@finscreenname]

I guess I'm different. I have a system in my van (around 1500 real watts), I have a rack in my garage with a Yamaha 65 watt receiver or something close to Roy's in my garage and then there is my home system which is to much to list. A good song is a good song and short of it being played on an AM transistor radio (maybe with two of them I can make it work) I can get into it. So I really think some of this is in your heads. Not in a bad way but more like your mind set. You have to step away from what your natural instincts of knowing exactly where the sound comes from that we have been trained since the dawn of time for our safety and step out before you will ever hear sound stage vin your basement. Everyone does it in different ways from a glass of wine to meditation. I wonder if they ever talked about what you should do personally before critical listening?

[@pancudowny]

Having that center image is why I'm glad I setup my system as I have... and got upset when my friend--and own mother--couldn't understand the need for, and omitted, the center speaker in their 5.1 surround systems. [:\

[@williamweiss6128]

Like other things in this world. Remember being an amateur audiophile when I was a kid, 60's and 70's.

[@utub1473]

Does anybody here have experience with the KEF LS50 Metas?

[@kostasjezuz4846]

I understand Roy, the more resolving my system gets, the more I loose "musicality", listening fatigue sets in and listening pleasure flies out the window. Yes, I can hear more details etc, but can't listen for long or have the same pleasure. And no, it's not a setup problem. On the other end, my girlfriend has a Sony separates system with Sony speakers that sounds horrible, the balance lies somewhere in the middle.

[@michaelwright1602]

I was experiencing everything you just stated. I went and bought the Ares II DAC, kind of a last resort before I through everything out and gave up. The Ares II was a game changer. The SQ improved immediately. Gone was that hyper analytic sterile sound I was getting from my Gungnir and Cambridge DACs. I can now listen to the music, no more headache, no more lifeless recordings, harshness, etc., the music is back. May want to give it a look.

[@kostasjezuz4846]

@@michaelwright1602 that's very useful advice, thank you!

[@EirkenElite]

I must use the FORCE to find my way

[@johnlebeau5471]

So, he used to have what he wanted, lost it, and then got it back again. Sounds to me like he knows how to set up a stereo. When my system was at it's highest monetary value, I was the least satisfied with it. Perhaps because I expected so much out of it. But now, when most of my system is 30+ years old, some parts 60 years old, and a lot of it do-it-yourself, I am perfectly content. I have also lost the notion that a stereo can ever sound like live music, that might be part of it.

[@jameshoofer1766]

You will be surprised how much your ears and brain gets used to sound. The sound hasn't changed from when you first set it up but your brain/ears have adapted to it.

[@johnlebeau5471]

@@jameshoofer1766Your brain will indeed get used to sound, but it will never get used to bad sound. I took Paul up on his offer and visited P.S. Audio. While I was there I listened to the IRS system. It was good, but it didn't blow me away, which is what I was expecting to happen. Twenty some years ago, I built from a schematic, a single ended triode amp. At the time, I was using Audio Research Classic 150 mono amps. They were Audio Research's top of the line when I bought them new in 1989 for $10,000. They were part of my most expensive system. My $600 homebuilt amp was superior in every way except power output. Listening to that amp, through my Stax headphones because they wouldn't power any speaker I owned, absolutely destroyed everything I thought I knew about audio. So what did I learn? More expensive is not necessarily better. Newer is not necessarily better. Bigger and heavier is not necessarily better--with the caveat that speakers really do need to be big. High power in amps is certainly not better, high sensitivity in speakers is better. More parts in anything is not better. Class A amplification is better, every other class of amplification pales in comparison. And finally, this may shock some people, tubes are not necessarily better. And, the only person who has to be happy with my system is me.

[@RennieAsh]

@@johnlebeau5471 people would argue that class A isn't necessarily better either.

[@johnlebeau5471]

@@RennieAsh People do argue that. Any amp with a B in it's class name, has crossover distortion. I've heard it said that that we are so good at eliminating crossover distortion that it is no longer a problem. Believe that if you want to, but it still has to be overcome. Class D, by the way does not have crossover distortion, but it has it's own problems. All preamplifiers are Class A. When they start making Class AB preamplifiers because it's better, I may have to change my opinion.

[@arthurpendragon1610]

Paul is so right. Setup is the whole ball game.

[@nasdkhan254]

Yes hifi has lost it's way. An obsession with cleaning up the signal makes it sound thin & sterile. I bought 2 years ago 2nd hand IMF ts50 speakers. My amps are a Nad 3020 used as a pre amp and Avi monoblocks . I took out my audiophile gang leads and started using normal gang leads. The TONE & Musicality came back Old is gold

[@cp070476]

Took me ages to get my system sounding right. Paul would walk in and be horrified! Speaker position, Electronics used, EQ and tone controls in use.. But it sounds bang on!

[@bobbulgi880]

Do you use a center speaker?

[@cp070476]

@@bobbulgi880 Not for music but for cinema use yes.

[@rollingtroll]

Yup, people at some point turn 'sound stage' into a bubble of sound, or a gas of sound. It's holographic, but loses any sort of directionality and, somehow with that, life. I have always said 'if I get sick of this hobby I'll grab an NAD 3020E, a pair of Wharfedale Diamond III and a Pioneer PL112D with AudioTechnica AT-VM95ML cartridge and I'll be a happy man'. There's amazingly pleasing sounding budget setups possible that give you all of the musicality without any of the 'over the top audiophility'. But there's also over the top audiophile rigs that do the same thing. I have made objective upgrades through the years (for instance; IMF Super Compact II to B&W CDM1, Thorens TD-166 with Linn arm to Clearaudio Champion Level 1 with Stax UA7 arm, Luxman SQ-505 to Vincent SA31/SP331) that I didn't like. Yes, they were technically better but they didn't fill me with joy. It got too technical. Right now I have an audio rig that can be considered 'high end'. I have a very difficult space in which the only speaker that works (thank goodness I can often test stuff before I buy) is the Martin Logan Source, even though they are a bit too bombastic sounding for me, they do an amazing job in this space. The timbre of my rig is really dictated by an Ayre K3 and I ended up, after the clearaudio, with a Micro Seiki BL51/MA707/Goldring 2400 combo that has all of the joy and drive of a 'classic' record player, without losing any of the refinement. This rig does both of the things. It makes good recordings sound great, and bad recordings bearable. It's a rig that's pleasant when there's people over talking straight over it, but also great when you listen for every little detail. Never exhausting, never boring and never lacking in any musicality. But building an audio rig is a massive 'two steps forward, one step back'. You have to listen and remember what you changed. And if you do enough of that, at some moment you'll reach the point where you can pinpoint where a certain part of the sound signature (being good or bad) of the rig comes from. And once you 're there, experimenting and changing things usually is always a step up. But it takes a lot of training and experience to do so, and even then, sometimes you mess up a purchase.

[@rollingtroll]

(the 'setup' point didn't go beyond me but there's a bit of both going on, I think. I baffle people so often with just changing little things in their setup after which they feel like they got a new audio rig, so I get that too :D)

[@jeffreyyoung4104]

My experience with sound has been going on since the late 60s when sound was being changed from mono to stereo. Mono sound was great at the end, and could have even been better if we had resisted the stereo bug another decade, but we were all smitten with the bug, the first time we heard the singer walk across the living room floor while we were listening to the recording! And when I heard Black Magic Woman in a quadraphonic recording spinning and such while I was tripping to the quadraphonic tape player playing in my car in 1976, I am surprised I didn't have an accident because of the auditory orgasm it caused! Now we have changed the system, we have a 5 channel with sub, and it is part of our entertainment system, and it sounds good, as it can be, with the automatic amplifier plugin mic provided with many new amps, tailoring the outputs to be equal for all of the differences in the room. But it still isn't 'good enough' for some people that the sound is reproduced faithfully with sub thousandths percentages of distortion in most mid to high end amps and speakers. They have to add their signal conditioners and such to add or subtract whatever their ears seem to think they may need. Meanwhile, I enjoy the technical progress we have had since the 1960s, and sometimes I put on vinyl to hear the scratches and hiss we used to ignore back in the day, and meant something when we could use signal conditioners to remove such noise!

[@ozkaar5287]

But then the letter writer merely changed amps.

[@jamesplotkin4674]

Off topic alert... What's going on with that poor, unfortunate carpet?

[@jamotter8967]

For me there are four phases of being an audiophile. First, the research and acquisition of the equipment that I want. Second, the setup of that same equipment. Third, the search for great recordings of music that I want to listen to. And fourth, actually listening to the music. I must admit that I greatly enjoy "the hunt." It is fun to do the research, and to rationalize the choices that I make. This was true when I select speakers, subwoofers, integrated amps and headphones. (It is similarly true, perhaps even more so, when I selected my 75" 4K TV.) But I do the first phase only rarely, and although I miss it when it is over I lack the financial resources to do "continuous improvement." Setup brings no real joy, primarily because I have spouse-delimited options for speaker placement. The search for great recordings is ongoing, but major "finds" are few and far between. So while "the hunt" of the first three phases makes me an audiophile, those phases are fleeting. It is "being captured" by the music--the composer and the musicians--in the fourth phase, when I am oblivious to the performance metrics of the equipment, that matters most. The "hunt" ends, but the "being captured" goes on and on and on. I thank God for that.

[@stephannordmann5346]

Thats so right , technic and money don't allways buy great sound.

[@michaelwright1602]

I think these audio manufacturers have gone off the rails with all of the technology. I was having fits with my system. At my whits end, I swapped out the Delta Sigma DAC, Gungnir, for an old school R2R Ladder DAC, the Ares II, it was and is a game changer. Immediately I heard a incredible difference in SQ. I can now listen to my music without getting a headache and or trying to figure out what the hell is wrong. It was that chip DAC, it was messing with my head and hearing. They are to analytical, grating, sharp, bright, etc. Yes, they reveal every nuance, even the janitor down the hall cleaning the toilets. I do not need or want to hear EVERYTHING. The Ares II solved that, now I can listen to the music without distractions, like when I was a kid with that old school automatic record player, the one with the penny taped to the tone arm to keep the stylus glued to the record. The Ares II gave me much of that back.

[@davidlane1169]

'Ole audiophile here, my two cents offers there's a clear difference between elite outstanding quality audio & elite outstanding quality audio crafted to last. There is no doubt we can craft them to last way longer now while wearing less...like 20 or more years with nearly no substantive wear & tear. The problem I've run into time & time again? My old music isn't recorded well enough, it's almost tragic. A better system will show you ever single flaw./thanx.

[@imkow]

HiFi to me means anything better than a cassette tape. including mp3,CD, and even VCDs.. My father bought home a 6:0 stereo home theater system in the 90s.. I repaired the old system and splitted it into 3 sets of 2:1 audio system... Maybe they sound not as immersive as the old 6:0 ...i still feel very joyful when the 2:1 system can make more bass sounds for my favorite mp3s.

[@akeeperofoddknowledge4956]

Sarah the phantom center channel! Quite the elusive creature!

[@skip1835]

Like most of us I've have always taken stereo as far as my budget would let me, actually, too often it's "screw it, I'm going for it" - but like Roy I sometimes find myself longing for my kit built tube mono blocks and diy speakers that I massaged over several years - there was something about that system and I think Roy may have hit it dead on. But of course, although I'd still love to have that system of over 50 yeara ago around, I couldn't possibly go back, the journey's been waaayyy too interesting and fun - sure, even now, plenty of nail biting going on and everyone knows what I'm expressing here, regardless, for whatever reason, yesterday everything "clicked", pure musical joy, I came away thinking that I can't hardly believe my current set up actually resides in my own home - - - hmm, then again, how much is that power cord? - - - ( :

[@joelabbe6185]

Skip....you hit a nail on the head with "I can hardly believe my current set-up resides in my own home". While many of us seek "sonic perfection" within our means, we know painfully well that the "golden egg", that is the "unobtanium" components still lie in a warehouse, boutique shop or rich man's living room. That said, when describing my system or passion for hi-fi to others, I keep going back to the statement: THE best sounding music I've ever heard is in my own room. I don't mean to imply that it CAN'T get better, or that my kit is better than the next guy's. What I truly believe is that for what I do or do not have, what I get is bliss....an emotional feeling and reaction to the music that I can only get in my sweet spot, with the equipment I currently have. And that to me is the goal, and the reason I repeat my listening sessions as often as possible.

[@skip1835]

@@joelabbe6185 10-4 Joe - - I'm with ya my friend - - geeze, side note, I had no clue the Ukraine thing would affect vacuum tube users, stupid me - - just tried to hunt down some 6H30's, to no avail - - although I'm fine for the time being it would really suck for many audiophiles, including me, if it goes on for years. And don't get me wrong - - God Bless the people of the Ukraine, it's heartbreaking. If it helps their cause, F the tubes.

[@zukispur5493]

Sansui AU 717 amp. Garrard 401 turntable (SME ARM) 4 leak sandwich 600s speakers. Job done

[@tubefreeeasy]

I’m looking at your cord that you’re plugging into the wall. I notice a braided black that’s probably made with silver core wires. Those are incredible cables. I also see your iPad plugged into the wall. I notice a difference in improved fidelity when iPhone is plugged in. I also own a Furutech lightning cord that has given me excellent sound while using my iPhone. I still need to burn in that cord before reaching great sound. I suggest trying one.

[@fkaptijn7111]

My experience with high-end audio is, the better the components are, the easier it is to make it sound bad. But if you have all the preconditions for each other (power supply, placement of the speakers and audio racks) you get a gigantic music experience. But you have to do something for it, it's not like putting the stuff down, and you can start enjoying.

[@haberdasherrykr8886]

Everyone can enjoy an accord, not everyone can enjoy a rally car if given the opportunity kinda way

[@athathsonty2925]

As you correctly expressed, Hi End is not Plug and Play. Apart from the Cost, a lot of effort goes into realizing the full (Awesome) potential.

[@ziqfriq]

I don't usually comment on Paul's responses to letters but have to jump in here. I submit that failure to connect emotionally with the music is not a result of hi fi losing it's way, but the hi fi enthusiast losing his or her way. Here's a dirty little secret: you don't need hi fi to connect emotionally to music. You can connect emotionally to a scratchy old Caruso record, or a recording pirated on a portable tape recorder of Charlie "Bird" Parker in a smoke filled jazz club (the late Phil Schaap used to do a show on Columbia University radio called "Bird Flights" featuring some of the worst sounding recordings I have ever heard, of the jazz great). Hi fi is a fun hobby, and "holy sh*t that singer sounds like she's standing right in front of my sofa" is an emotion of sorts, but almost nothing to do with the emotion of the music. It's just icing on the cake. Don't forget that one of the most emotional musicians who ever lived, Ludwig van Beethoven, almost totally lost the aural sensation of music (the exact extent of this loss is the subject of an interesting book by Robin Wallace called "Hearing Beethoven). When he composed some of his greatest music, the sounds represented by the written notes were a distant memory to him. Get a recording of that composers Quartet #15 in a minor op. 132 (try the Budapest Quartet's Library of Congress series if you can, then you don' have to worry about "soundstage" since it's mono). Listen to the "Heiliger Dankgesang" (holy song of thanksgiving) movement which he wrote after recovering from an illness. If you can't connect emotionally to that you may need therapy. Also, go to live concerts. There you can be in the presence of a bunch of people grooving on the music. As David Chesky points out in his recent interview with Steve Gutenberg, sometimes you buy the ticket for the concert and when the day rolls around you're just not into it. But if you love music there will be enough times when you are to make it totally worthwhile. If hi fi has lost its way at all, it's in selling us the notion that by spending megabucks on a system it will somehow squeeze more emotion out of our music (leading to craziness like $30,000 loudspeaker cables). It won't. Hi fi is about better sound, not better music. But if you focus on hi fi things like soundstage, bass extension, mid-bass slam, you can very easily lose sight of the actual music. Maybe some people need to go back to a simple "mid fi" system to get it back. But it isn't really the biamped monoblocks' fault.

[@Astulock86]

I'm all about this topic, but I do wonder if Roy should have asked, "Did I lose my way?" It seems he found it again, so that's all that matters.

[@budgetaudiophilelife-long5461]

🤗👍 DID THAT …FOLLOWED YOUR ADVICE AND 🤗 HAPPY AS A CLAM 😍😍😍

[@HouseofRecordsTacoma]

Building to a price point, then the marketing boys worrying about numbers, perhaps not the best Avenue.

[@devante614]

Is that a braided power cord in the background?

[@JBLClassic]

I think it's lost it's way to some degree. I had been experiencing the same exact thing until.......I got my JBL L100 Classics. Also, no more expensive amps. I went back to an old Adcom GFA 555 and my system is sounds so good now, It's unbelievable.

[@milkman100001]

plug, plug, plug ,back in the day there was a time when it was very interesting to listen , especially when the chalk board used to come out..

[@bradleydurbin6784]

Sometimes less is more

[@petekutheis3822]

Very timely and I agree. Recently I took your advice and got my racks out from in back of and near the speakers and moved them to a side wall. I made a few other tweaks too. What I discovered is the sound became HYPER focused ---on the left and right side of the stage. AND after a few days I thought---I made an improvement in one area and wrecked another. You hit it---the center image was practically devoid. At any rate the fix as it turns out was easy and the first fix I tried. I toed the faber olympica 1s in even more...now more aimed at my eyes instead of ears. Tha magic is back and better too.

[@MrAMF50]

I get what your saying, in my case my center stage was coming from from right center and almost appeared to move at times. I had to give up on text book speaker positioning that looked logical or typical and just go by ear and like you I have more tow in than you would think would be correct and in addition had to move one speaker further from the back wall than the other.

[@ssleddens]

We need more $1000 PS cables

[@michaelwright1602]

$1000? You missed his $40,000 cables... I just ordered a pair. ;-)

[@gerryk3114]

MY ISSUE IS PRICES ???? A Turntable with Cartridge (Cost for a Good Setup) ??? I am still running my Technics SL 1100A with (MicroAcoustic 530MP, MA 2002E, STANTON 681EE, ORTOFON M15E Super, ADC XLM)

[@bk3720]

I have found that keeping it simple can improve the chances of lively music, such as a vintage low power amp, tube or transistor. Speakers can make a big difference. I personally enjoy large paper woofers with foam or cloth surrounds. Some speakers are found with highly damped rubber surrounds ( they feel plasticky) and I feel they can squash some life out of the music. I see it as a tradeoff of smooth frequency response vs better transients with a rougher response. Thankfully there is variety in this hobby so everyone can get something that sounds good to them.

[@mikaelmllersnnichsen539]

I agree with you. My 2-way main speakers (Electro-Voice TS9040D LX pro cinema speakers) house paper coned and foam terminated dual 15" woofers per channel, and they're lively in ways smaller, lower efficiency woofers with rubber surrounds can't replicate. What "turns on" the 15" EV woofers even more is that they're actively driven with no intervening passive cross-overs, as well as being high-passed below ~85Hz where horn-based subs take over. Suddenly you have 15" "rockets" with added headroom to boot. Where my setup isn't simple per se is with the use of 3 stereo amps - due to the fully active coupling - to feed each driver segment, incl. subs (Class-A lower wattage for the large MF/HF horn; high powered pro/studio Class-D amps for the range below), but the transient-draining complexity part to me very much rests with passive cross-overs. That said paper coned, cloth/foam terminated larger woofers (with horns above) can sound excellent passively filtered, so in that sense the passive filter isn't the real rub here, but rather in conjunction with more typical, low efficiency speakers that are already challenged in regards to sounding lively.

[@michaelwright1602]

I have to agree, KLH Model 5s here, paper cones, and now with the Ares II DAC, I now have an enjoyable musical system.

[@kevin-vt7dw]

I'm just thankful I don't need to spend thousands of dollars on hi-fi equipment because my ears work perfectly in my opinion of course.

[@williammitchell3271]

I was reading something different in the author's question. I wonder if the loss of connection maybe related to running down the rabbit hole of tech specs and component optimization that leads to listening to music with a critical ear, not an artistic ear. Music should elicit emotion, not fussiness over a small drop off in a tiny portion of the spectrum. I respect the question and response, but if I were asking the question "has hifi lost its way?", I'd be asking a different question. Just food for thought.

[@thomasandersen1784]

I still havent find a moment of bliss, with streaming music, what matter the cost of the system? Don't get me wrong here, i love my big CD Collection and my older Linn Ikemi HDCD, and maybe becouse i grow up with analog sound, i haven't s hard time getting my ears to say yes to too much clean digitalt sounding music? ✌️❤️🇩🇰

[@lonniefarmer7067]

Thanks!

[@Ricky-cl5bu]

He’s right, new stuff is too clinical

[@michaelwright1602]

Agree, it is like visiting the dentist.

[@richardclarke1693]

I listen to both 2 channel and headphones. There are plus and minuses to each. However, headphones are more emotional.

[@dripslobber]

Thanks Paul…..I bought your book and the accompanying CD. When you know how it’s awful simple , when you don’t it’s simply awful 😞

[@josteinbreiland5418]

Maybe, just maybe - it's the distortion of a lower budget setup he misses. I have never experienced a pair of speakers not able to center image. Ever. If it's proper designed and equal in volume, I can not fathom how it could not. (Sure there are many things that can affect it for better or worse, but these parameters should get better and better climbing up the chain) But - a non audiophile recording on a ruler flat bookshelf speaker can be a painful experience. Taking it to the extremes - an active studio monitor measuring perfect can make Back in Black an utter lifeless experience. Brian Johnson sounds as beefy as a mosquito, and bass drums are just gone. With some (preferably) harmonic distortion, maybe a bit cabinet resonance, and a tad more "fun" loudspeaker tuning - suddenly those feet are stomping again 🙂 Just a thought 🤗

[@JessicaSeverin]

I agree setup can make or break a system's sound, but I think I understand what Roy is saying. I think many HiFi makers and audiophiles have become obsessed with detail at the expense of emotion over the last couple decades. What we would have called analytical sound back in the 1980s or 90s. With the improvements in design and materials that analytical, hyper detailed sound has gotten better and more musical over the last 20-30years. But that style can still make us focus more on analyzing the sound rather than enjoying the music or attaining that illusion of live musicians. It's an easy trap to fall into though. We compare two pieces of equipment and we hear so many more details in product A that we think it's better but might miss the fact that some more subtle, musical, emotional aspect of the sound has gone. And then before we know it we have a hyper detailed system, but we can't enjoy the emotion of the music. Not that all makers fall into that trap nor all audiophiles, but we do have to be careful.

[@hoobsgroove]

not just set up related it is the quality of the speakers to be musical like audionote. ditton 66 are very good speaker don't know if that's what he had with refurbished crossover superb. one of the best speakers and setups is the jbl m2 with the BSS active crossover can't be beaten at any price except for the blue note horn speaker. I would take a interest in the klipsch premium speaker coming out! that's uses the best horn loaded tweeter in the world made by celestion.

[@pauldavies6037]

If somebody prefers the sound of old speakers or amplifiers the audiophile salesmen should not criticize this and perhaps listen to his system and might learn something new !

[@michaelwright1602]

So true, I can understand why so many folks are going back to the vintage gear. In most cases, it simply sounds better than this hyper analytical crap they are trying to sell us. I do not need to hear the janitor cleaning the toilets down the hall from the studio.

[@pauldavies6037]

@@michaelwright1602 Yes this is why I still prefer the sound of pre digital recordings

[@volpedo2000]

Could it be age? Regardless the walk of life we tend to me more carefree in our youth.

[@Justwantahover]

According my my exp with an old school tube amp, it could be the his amp that "had it". I now have an expensive Audiolab amp that the reviewers had kittens over. It's preamp is 0.0004% THD (yes 3 zeros) and like 0.001% main amp THD and it sounds fantastic but I still WISH I had my little tube amp that I enjoyed in the 80s cos I still reckon that would beat the audiolab! But NOT in power.

[@SheikhN-bible-syndrome]

I've learned that I tend to like equipment that has a characteristic to it as opposed to a piece of equipment that can reproduce the music exactly the way it was recorded because those seem to be a little sterile and boring after a while

[@Roof_Pizza]

I cringe when I see people on KZbin show off their rigs. Terrible rooms, speakers too close to the walls, record cabinets causing early reflections and messing with spaciousness etc. Couldn't care less what cartridge they just bought they shoulda changed a few other things first and they're often free as well. If your wife doesn't let you bring your speakers further into the room getting a new DAC isn't gonna help.

[@anthonymartino9917]

Has Hi FI lost its way? Yes.

[@wooster7571]

Man, you should clean that carpet!

[@chrisguygeezer]

Listen to the music, not the system.

[@SwoOopy]

The guy's just lost what he was used to, and can be either good or bad way in HiFi aspect.

[@digggerrjones7345]

It's obvious from what was written, that "set-up" was not Roy's issue!

[@BlockerBrothers]

The majority stopped chasing the dream that was being marketed by manufacturers who were trying to sell you a piece of audio gear for a ridiculous amount of money. I'm good with it as the industry is long overdue for a wake up call.