The Tragedy of the Audiofool
The soundstage opened wide that night,
the midrange bloomed, the bass was tight,
the highs were silk — my wife walked past,
I said, “Just listen… perfect, right?”
But an audiofool can’t let it be.
Perfection’s just a dare, you see —
it’s never quite enough, there’s always more,
and that’s the tragedy.
I nudged a speaker half an inch,
I swapped a cable — just a cinch —
I lifted wires off the rug
with little wooden things. I didn’t flinch.
The magic vanished. Gone. Like that.
I swapped it back — not quite the same.
Nine hundred dollars of boutique wire.
A silent room. A quiet flame.
I’ve done it a million times.
I’ll never learn.
And I’ll do it again.
That’s the curse of the audiophile.
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@MangoMonkey The quest tor audio perfection is illusionary. I went down that road many years ago and it led to nothing but frustration. That, to me is different from upgrading. Even there I stopped at my current system. For me, audio perfection was a way of compensating for my disabilities. Others may have other internal demons. I have come to accept the less tweaks the better.
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well it depends if you’re using the system to listen to music or using music to listen to the system
Personally I am only into this for the music.
and I have proved it - been with my trusty 202/200 (and later 202/200DR) for 17 years now. I sometimes think I need to change from my Dynaudio X16 speakers, but I listen to music and I think, nah - it sounds good already why try to fix what isn’t broken?
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With every system I’ve ever had there’s always been evenings when the system has sounded magical, regardless of all the fancy toys you can buy and bolt on. What you have to realise is that ‘noise’ is your enemy and your hifi system is your window into that world of noise. What I have found is that the industry is beginning to understands these problems and designs ways around them. For me this has resulted in far more ‘magical’ evenings.
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I bought my system in 2014 and considered my endgame setup.
It’s not perfect.
But it’s good enough and still may be my endgame setup.
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Nice poem.
And I guess you are absolutely correct. Many will never be satisfied.
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Just add kids and a stagnant wage. That’ll cure upgraditis I promise you.
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If you were only into this for the music you’d be listening on an Echo and wouldn’t be on an audiophile discussion forum.
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Urgh without music, there wouldn’t be any purpose in any of us being here, just saying!
Blimey…
I loved music long before I heard of Naim. Decades, in fact.
But for me Naim amplifiers Dynaudio speakers and Chord electronics digital audio and vertere cables hi fi components replay recorded music really well.
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Nice poem for sure.
I’ve been there and done that MangoMonkey
However I’ve now come ‘down’ to a very simple system, XS3 at it’s core, and I couldn’t be happier
It’s about the music we hear but I reckon many people are listening to their system rather than the music they play
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I’m with you. I’m now perfectly happy with my “modest” SN3 system. I’ve been fortunate enough to listen to a few folks that have gone up and back down the ladder so to speak and have guided me on my journey. I’ve made a few tweaks but nothing like some have made.
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I’ve downgraded my system due to house move and having a smaller room. It sounds just right and I’m happy with the whole system but still have that feeling of what to do to improve it. Just need to replace the rack but more for looks.
Eventually you reach a point where you’re listening to the music and enjoying it and not thinking about which parts of your system need to be upgraded … is it the speakers, do I need to spend thousands on mains leads, another few power supplies?
I am ‘there’ now with my system. I know I could go much better but what I have does what I want it to do, beautifully. Not sure I can justify significant further expenditure, all things considered.
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Absolutely Bubble
I’ve owned lots of esoteric and expensive systems in the past but now I am extremely happy with the XS3 at the heart of a pretty simple setup
I don’t even think about the system anymore but just enjoy my music instead, it’s quite a revelation
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I’m just a comparable turntable away from being content with my system. Agreed I just want to listen to music.
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Been there as well and imho only Naim’s top system worths the top money.
Good poem, now we need a Limerick about being an audiophile.. anybody feeling creative this week??
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Brilliant 
and thank you.
Hello my name is Nicholas and I am an audio’phile’. I admit I am powerless in the grip of this quest for audio nirvana and that I am very addicted to the pursuit of the Law of Diminishing Returns. I realise that this costs me A LOT OF MONEY and some friends and family look at me in pity, wonder and despair (my darling wife especially). I don’t know where this will lead me but my curiosity is still very strong so I am being constantly drawn (but not dragged) into the Land of Tweak and Upgrade. Where, how and with what I will end up is unknown….(but tbh, that is the really exciting thing isn’t it? 
)
I blame a dear school friend whose dad was a dentist and bought him a HiFi system for Christmas one year. A NAD3020 with a good pair of bookshelf speakers and a turntable! A great little system that induced that very first ‘Wow’. (I think the particular track was 10cc Mandy Fly Me) Then much later, with one of my first paychecks, I had the opportunity to buy a second hand Naim system (42.5/SNAPS/110) and a pair of Linn Nexus speakers and that was, at the time, another ‘Wow’ moment….Then I heard (but couldn’t afford to own) a Naim NAP250 with a LP12/Ittok/troika playing Elgar’s Cello Concerto (Jacqueline du Pré) and was astonished that I could hear her breathe during the performance and yes, another very powerful ‘wow’ moment there too. I have been hooked ever since!
So my addiction has developed slowly but with definite landmarks along the way. Am I alone in this?
Anyway, now I have got that off my chest, let’s be honest. HiFi is a great hobby to have and I love it 
. Why? Because of music. Wonderful, fascinating and absorbing music, and for me, the more detail, openness, clarity that I can hear, perceive and understand within the music, the nearer I am to my understanding of audio nirvana. When I hear myself saying ‘wow’ I know that I am getting nearer.
So go for it Naim (and other HiFi manufacturers). And thank you so much for the work you do for those of us who aspire to perfection: You are doing a fantastic job!
And just think folks, there’s always still so much to explore (and more and more to spend!).
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