I'll get my coat............ musing on diminishing returns

Been there, done that! :roll_eyes:

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Growing up in the suburbs of Seattle, I discovered punk and new wave around 1980 and was smitten. There was one local AM radio station that had a new wave evening show that I could only get in if I positioned the radio just so on a shelf by my bed and extended the antenna with some wires and even then the sound was lousy. But it was so much more vital and important sounding to this 17 year old than any $10k DAC or streamer could impart to me now.

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Jumping back to that deminishing returns thing

Surely that’s what being an audiophile is all about
Yes we could all buy an OK system and only spend X amount of money…
But it is the last 15% that costs 20 times X that is the thing we chase

I’ve only been once and would love to go again. Hopefully next year!!

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Somehow the existence of CBGB grabbed me particularly, and when I was able to travel to NYC I always went, first time at the beginning of the nineties, it was magic. Many times after, typically on trips for work, out of the business suit and into CBGB every evening :joy: When they were about to lose the space I chatted in the canteen with the bartender and they had a petition going, so I wrote an IMHO pretty convincing fax to Bloomberg about how CBGB had brought a genuine love for the US and its values to me in my snowy mountain town, but apparently he did not read it :wink:

Sorry for thread drift

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Which is why I just CBA :joy:

My system may not be optimised but my relationship with it is much simpler as a result.

The industry exist because there’s a lot of similar people to us that have a lot of disposable income and a hobby that just begs to be tweaked.

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Look up the term ‘Gilding the lily’ and there will be picture of a man with his latest ‘upgrade’ :wink:

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Never went, only walked by. An institution to say the least, probably only equaled by The Village Vanguard. Here in Seattle during the grunge heyday we had The Vogue Tavern which was like our own little CB’s. It was The Wrex during the punk days (never went as I was too young) and now a punk-ish hair salon. Ah, to be young again… or not when I think of the hangovers!

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Naim’s business model based very much towards upgrades. Yes its true that cables / switches etc can be made different / upgraded on other manufacturers but I don’t think any other hifi maker is based so heavily on ability to upgrade. PSU, source, ladder etc.

This will for sure always make the buyer always want or feel need for more. I heard Krell K300i and thought why am do I have many pieces. It was so good from one box. But I have choose this way because I like ability to improve, to change, to play. I have choose this path for good or bad. Why choose better job, better house, more money? Because this is what human do. Hifi no different. We are not monks.

I’ve always smiled at how philosophical we can get about what after all is just the stereo. True with many hobbies though they threaten to become all too consuming.

Very recently I stepped back from a 552.

Regards,

Lindsay

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From buying or from owning?

.sjb

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Yes, you should definitely take a listen to both of these speakers.

From buying.

Not sure what is the distinction: if you buy, you then own…

my experience too…

indeed that was my thought too when I heard the LS50 actives recently… was superb and could be all the hi-fi anyone needed.

I reached the conclusion years ago that Pace Rhythm and timing are not a monopoly of Naim at all. There is no Naim sound, just the sound of a well engineering hi-fi system, and seems others are catching up (and maybe exceeding) Naim

I would be keen to see what you do when you get your SL2 back.

Will you sell your whole system for a pair of new LS50Meta actives?

that would be the real result.

For me though I am not willing to part with my Chord/Naim/Dynaudio system (for now)

Hi Ken

Are you saying that you had a tweeter stop working on an SL2?

And you replaced it with a matched pair bought from Naim?

And it sounded much better?

Do you still have the SL2s?

And how old were they when this happened?

Thanks
Jim

My bedroom system (Superuniti BT, AE1 classics in high gloss cherry, AE dedicated stands and quality bespoke made cables) came in sub £2k second hand (all mint I have to add) and gives both my wife and I great enjoyment. Anything more (budget wise) would quite frankly have been a waste of money to our ears.

That said…we are all one day going to be pushing up daisies and frankly if you can afford to indulge your appetite for high end hifi then why not… especially if it’s British made :+1:

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well just auditioned both the new KEF LS50 Meta and the KEF LS50 Meta actives

Both and passives and actives just blew me away - the new meta technology is a game changer for me, something I have rarely heard from a speaker other than electrostatics.

I had no intention of listening more than 15 minutes but ending up staying in the showroom till they closed, 2 hours, and it’s really superb.

so much closer to real music, and sounds a lot less than a speaker. The end result being so much fun to listen to…

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@Innocent_Bystander I think the question was “from buying one” or “from selling one you already own” at least that is how I read it.