Indeed, we have Radio Paradise come on at 7:00 every morning for the start of the school run…
It does seem to repeat a bit, although the main mix has gotten better recently. Mellow mix being my favourite.
Definitely a great source for new music discovery.
My view would be try to figure out what’s is deterring you to stop listening to music
Is the sound too analytical or cold ? Does it not have the Naim get up and go anymore ?
I’m not an analytical listener at all, I don’t sit there with my head in a vice listening to absolute detail , it’s for me more about getting into the emotional experience and warmth of the music
I also have the N50 and use it with LP12, CDX2 as transport into the NDX2 . All sound very good and get to the heart of the music.
I personally haven’t heard your streamer or speakers so can’t comment but I suspect maybe the streamer a bit cold
Maybe try and borrow a NDX2 to try out it’s wonderful with the Nait 50. Don’t fluff around with exotic cables that will confuse
Wouldn’t advise going down the TT pit - I have 2 LP12’s and yes give beautiful music but at an enormous cost .
As @HungryHalibut says - don’t overthink it, keep it simple , we all go through stages like you are
Cheers
I believe a lot of this is about one’s state of mind. I sometimes go through periods of not listening to much music, often linked to stressful times such as moving house, renovations or other difficult times.
Then, out of the blue, I maybe hear something which spurs me to listen to an album and then I find the music comes back into my life.
Like others have said, I find listening to Radio Paradise (Main Mix for me) during the day exposes me to music I am not familiar with (or haven’t heard for years) and entices me to delve deeper.
The music magic does come back.
I get the same from Radio 3 on a Sunday morning, and have discovered some wonderful new music.
Judging from the amount of posts on this and other fora there are not too many people who don’t pick up a phone or tablet whilst listening to music.
Listening habits evolve.
I honestly don’t think a cable or new streamer or TT is the answer.
Power down your system for a week, power it up again give it an hour or two and listen to some music – you probably won’t be reaching for your phone straight away.
.sjb
Quite often when I don’t wish to fire up the big system I listen to a FM community station on my trusty radio
It has a nice sound and great music
Blimey, whatever you do, do not go on the Decca website shop.
You’ll find yourself thinking , ‘…oooh, that looks interesting. And that. And that. And…On it goes!
I’ve read quite a few replies but not all, so apologies if this has been asked already, but what system / room did you have back when you were more motivated to play music?
This is one of the more interesting threads here, I think. My next birthday starts with a 6, and I find I am less interested in gear as time goes on and just enjoying the music like I used to when I listened to tapes through a boom box in the early 1980s. I used to get chills down my spine when I heard something that resonated with me, and while the sound quality was lo-fi, I was only concerned with the music, not the quality of the reproduction.
I’m listening to my 2nd system which is a Naim DVD5 source, with 202 preamp, Burson power amp, early Linn Saras and REL sub. It’s a fast system compared to many I’ve heard and while it has a dry and sometimes hard presentation compared to many modern ones, it works well on the foot tapping level. Sometimes I use a Chord 2Qute DAC which reveals more details and is no slouch with rhythm, but can’t compare to Naim in that fairly crucial part of music reproduction. It makes vocals sound more like a real person singing, gives more depth and timbre to instruments, but the tradeoff is a very slight loss of pace.
I find I’m spending more time on family and training for the next kung fu belt, enjoying my system for it’s strengths and accepting it’s limitations. I’ve heard the Naim S1 amps and would love to own them, but live music is very different to reproduction, even at that fabulous level.
I would echo what others have said and audition a Naim front end like NDX2 at home, if it’s possible. Naim’s priority of rhythm is important to me and while others value other aspects of audio, if the rhythm side of things isn’t strong, I find my mind wandering and I lose engagement with the music. You may find that you are better off with what you have (which is a really good front end from what I read), but at least it will be something you can cross off the list. You will possibly find, like me, that you win with rhythm and have to give up a bit on some other areas, but ultimately connect with your music more.
I would try headphones too, as others have mentioned. I use a Stax electrostatic SRM1 mk2/Lambda which I find really involving to listen to. Vinyl is my favourite source, but the faff, the faff… Would I start from scratch with vinyl, no, I don’t think so. I’m too old for faff now, as much as vinyl gives me more pleasure than any form of digital.
So I tried streaming. All controlled from a phone/ipad
It’s not music, I lost interest in-it was doom scrolling on the phone/ipad I became attracted to. Music listening via streaming became part of that (because phone/ipad was in my hand)
Reverted to physical (cd/vinyl) parked the phone away. Listened to music, no problem now.
SOURCE Issue for sure ,I can’t tell you what to go for but damn sure you can sort it if you get something to lock onto what your brain likes and turns you on .
Been there and had to unsubscribe for the reasons you have mentioned.
I still subscribe to an Aussie website Classics Direct.
Warm regards,
Mitch.
Hey Domtom, I went through this several times in my journey, now very much settled for Naim chrome bumper, or a bit of Olive later.
Before diving into Naim I got Luxman, Accuphase, and some more neutral sounding top gears, worth fortune obviously. Everyone said the system sounds sublime, but deep down it’s not what I’m into. I admit the playback is great, but boring really – they present the music in very decent way but just boring.
Not until one day I heard vintage Naim – that’s the sound I want! Then I sold all my gears, paid lesser for vintage gears. Quite a bit of issues on the way but quite enjoyable, and I’m settled with the performance, even vintage gears are not soHiFi by strict meaning.
Assuming you don’t have a holiday planned in the near future, I would suggest going cold turkey on listening to your system for at least a week, or however long it takes for you to break the regular listening habit and for your daily routine to reshape itself around the absence.
As you settle into your new routine, ask yourself if you miss listening to music. Then, when you start back, limit your listening time initially, and try to gauge if your interest is in any way refreshed.
If it is, great, then the problem is likely the periodic ennui most of us go through. But if it isn’t, maybe consider visiting a friendly dealer to listen to a selection of systems that they have already set up (so you don’t waste their time or feel pressured to make a decision). If one of these sessions piques your interest - even better, if the listening experience sticks with you for a day or two - then you may have found a direction forward.
Replacing components or trying new gear might be a way out of your situation, but if you don’t give yourself time to diagnose the source of your dissatisfaction, you might just compound the situation.
This is a very interesting thread addressing a subject I have experienced from time to time. As others have said, I’ve found that the dreaded smartphone is the enemy here.
I have hit upon 3 key elements of my listening experience that increase enjoyment and the desire to return for more:
1/ My smartphone is left in another room while listening
2/ If listening in the evening I will often turn the lights right down or off altogether. This helps me concentrate on the music.
3/ I will often listen to music that I haven’t listened to for a long time. As with many of us I suppose…… I listen to 20% of my music 80% of the time. I like to vary the tempo in a listening session. Rock to blues to pop to instrumental to vocal to classical. Bad recordings to good recordings too.
Overall, I find that listening is better than hearing.
That might make someone more inclined to prefer short pieces of music and “playlists” vs long piece / whole album listening, but shouldn’t of itself have any effect on enjoyment per se.
If fun is what is wanted from music then it is down to choosing the right music- a source or rest of system shouldn’t be trying to make music fun. Likewise involvement is the music linked to mood, all a good system does is play it well - choose music to fit mood. If off listening then find more suited music…
Possibly more of an issue if someone is the type that prefers “the thrill of the chase” to enjoying whatever it is they were chasing. If that applies the answer is simple: system adultery! Start a second system, or chuck the old and start building afresh.
This is indeed a fascinating topic!! I’ve had the odd night where I struggle to connect with music, but fortunately no more than that. Some thoughts:
I think that streaming is wonderful but the “always everything” nature of it does reduce the degree to which music is valued. When you were younger I bet the struggled to buy all the music you wanted, this meant that when you did return home with a new record or CD you listened to it back to back for weeks until you were able to afford another one. With streaming everything you ever wanted to own is at your fingertips all the time and that can be both wonderful for discovery but also distracting.
Streaming encourages track by track browsing or playlist use whereas vinyl (and CD to a lesser extent) encourages you to listen to full albums as the artist intended. This just “is” more relaxing than what happens when you stream, which is you play a track and while playing it have to start thinking of the next track you need to tee up for the listening session. In my view this severely degrades your experience and emotional response and takes you out of the music. Also with vinyl(and to a lesser extent CD) it’s enjoyable to read the sleeve notes or lyrics along with the music and to savour the artwork - all of which pulls you in.
Yesterday a mate and I went to my local record shop and spent an hour or so picking out three albums at a total cost of £30 which we went home and played. Browsing the shelves and discussing albums with each other as we went was just so enjoyable, and that’s before we even got home, made a coffee and played them!! The whole collecting and owning element of vinyl in particular is deeply satisfying in a way that streaming just isn’t.
Finally one has a relationship and pride of ownership with a turntable that simply doesn’t exist with a streamer. Turntables are demanding of set-up, they require a degree of fettling, changes of arm, cartridge and even support surface make large differences to replay quality, whereas I find streamers are an appliance you can largely plonk down anywhere and get 90-100% performance right away without any special attention. Optimising a turntable is like spending 20 years learning piano before you’re able to play Rachmaninov properly, there’s simply no instant gratification and the journey is part of the fun.
You’ll note that nowhere here have I mentioned sound quality yet. That’s because a really good streamer like a yours or a NDX2 or NSS333 offers simply staggering levels of replay quality and only a top flight turntable can better them, and even then only sometimes. It wasn’t until I got to a GyroDec/SMEIV/Lyra Kleos SL into a £1500 phono stage that I truly felt my vinyl source could match or exceed the performance of my original NDX, let alone the NDX2. In truth I enjoy vinyl, CD and streaming so am format agnostic, however I do think that vinyl is often the most absorbing and engaging source as detailed above and it’s easier to become engrossed in a record played that way.
Finally I’d like to address the impact of environment. Listening in soft light or the dark, making sure you have a particularly comfy chair, maybe lighting a candle or burning some essential oils, opening a bottle of red or some single malt. All of these things can help to escape the cares of the day and help you become engrossed in the music. Set some time aside everyday just for music listening - no phones, no screens, no TV. As an example every single day the entire family know that 6-7pm is music replay time in our house (at the weekends this may be longer). I sit down and start playing music, my wife usually joins me and sometimes my 20 year old daughter will join us too. Anyone can contribute tracks and I’ve had heard some great music courtesy of my daughter in particular (and vice-versa).
When you’re young music is nearly always a social activity - you’d get together with mates to play music whereas when older it can end up being a somewhat solitary and lonely experience. In the past few years I have made a concerted effort to get together with people to listen - old school mates, my family, some hi-fi industry mates. I just invited the guy who runs my local secondhand vinyl shop around for a listen. Reach out and share music, make new discoveries that way and re-engage with the emotional resonance of music. Talk about it, read about it, read hi-fi reviews - heck read mine, there’s plenty of musical discoveries to be had in there - I spend half of every review talking about the technicalities and the other half talking about the music, how it sounds, how it makes me feel, how brilliant a particular album or artist is…
All of these things will help to preserve the magic. You have a fine system there - easily good enough to enjoy playing, food for thought I hope… Start today - it’s Saturday. Read some hi-fi reviews or buy a copy of a music magazine, then buy a candle, tell the family 6-7pm is music time tonight and invite them or a mate to join you. Pick an album you loved when you were 18 or 20 and you broke up with an ex girlfriend to! Or pick an album you remember enjoying with friends that made you happy. Have a read about it today, its background, how it was recorded and where. Then at 6pm pour a drink, dim the lights, close the curtains, banish the phones, gun the stereo to optimum listening level and just listen to it in its entirety beginning to end, read along to the lyrics, remember the times you listened to it at 2am sipping a bottle of bourbon in a seedy rented room pining over some broken love affair - you’ll feel it all again… That’s the power of music on good hi-fi, that’s why we do this, that’s why it matters… As I said in the review I wrote on the ATC speakers I have at home:
While we are on the subject of listening levels, the SCM40s are loudspeakers that really respond to volume. They performed well at low listening levels (and I’m thinking hotel-lobby Muzak levels here), but the sound really opened up as the volume rose. You don’t need to put yourself in the mosh pit at a Clash concert, but when listening to Kate Bush’s stunning debut album, The Kick Inside (CD, EMI Records EMC 3223), and the track of the same name, I found that a volume approximating the level of a live piano in the room achieved the best results. This is a gorgeously intimate and haunting recording, which has virtually no instrumentation apart from Bush’s voice and her piano. The ATCs projected her soaring teenage vocals deep into the room with extraordinary levels of expression and sensuality. There was a feeling of boundless dynamic range and a vividly lifelike quality to her voice that sent shivers up my spine. There’s a line in this song where Bush sings “I’m giving it all, giving it, giving it, giving it,” at which point she strikes the next piano chord with dramatic ferocity. On lesser systems, this searing intensity isn’t fully realized—there’s compression and a lack of attack to the notes—but with the ATCs I found myself pinned to the seat, near rigid with emotion. It’s moments like this that make all the years of saving and sacrifice, all the faffing about with cables and worrying about dedicated AC wiring, utterly worthwhile. In these musical moments it all makes perfect sense; and you realize, while sitting in your favorite chair and listening to Kate Bush pouring her heart out to you so intimately, that your eyes are full of tears.
JonathanG
Oh and while I think of it check out a couple of fantastic movies about music that perfectly evoke what it felt like to be 18-20 and to love music so much:
“God help the Girl” - this film is an absolute joy and has a fab soundtrack and screenplay by Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian fame. Subtle, romantic, nuanced, beautiful and nostalgic. It’s a love letter to how it feels to be 20 and to be in love, but to never be able to find quite the right moment or words to say to the gal… If you want to be reminded of your tongue tied hapless former self just watch it!! The ending still makes me cry and I must be on my 10th viewing!!
“Sing Street” - A thoroughly engaging, funny and brilliantly written movie about that classic trope of dreaming of being a rock star and again falling in love for the first time. Fab soundtrack too!!
Heck put them on after the music hour tonight - they’re eminently suitable for all ages and all genders…
I have skimmed through this thread and one thing stands out to me at least; try exploring different and new music!
Seems to that you (and many of the replies) are fixated on kit, equipment, tweaks etc and missing the obvious. There’s no reason why you can’t be moved/uplifted/excited by great music through the most rubbish system. Don’t you ever find yourself loving a great track on the radio in the car, played loud but with terrible quality?
My advice. Less HiFi. More music. Streaming allows a huge world of music to be explored. Try something totally new; new genres, artists. World music. Music from your teenage years. Go down rabbit holes. Listen differently; with your friends or partner. In the dark. In the garden, in the car. Go to gigs. A festival. Swap choices with mates, your kids. The Forum has a Music section! Listen to the last ten winners of the Mercury prize,
or the top ten Best of 2024 from a review website.
Think about what got you into HiFi in the first place. Surely it was music not little boxes and cables?
I just don’t see an upgrade solving your excitement issue if you aren’t being inspired by music first.
The love for music must be number one. A good system sure can help but I prefer a fantastic piece of music over a bad system over a `‘this sounds great’ on my system which you spend €120.000 on.
But than again, that is my humble opinion.
Listening to music rather than the equipment would be my mantra too. Certain music goes out of fashion to my ears too. At one time I couldn’t get enough prog but I just don’t bother with Floyd and Genesis now.
Instead my ears are delighted by jazz fusion (Nucleus, Soft Machine), Kosmische (Popol Vuh, Conrad Schnitzler, Roedelius) and the unclassified Stereolab and Jane Weaver.
