I’ve certainly not been to the top of the ladder but have owned some nice components up to 282/SC/300 with quite a decent LP12 which I sold and then started again with a lower spec LP12 and 102/HC/180. I then moved through the Olive range up to 82/SC/250 and earlier this year I sold that and replaced it with a Uniti Mk1 and don’t feel my musical enjoyment has suffered because I’ve owned a more expensive or better system prior to the one I have now.
I enjoy music in the same way as I enjoyed it when I had a Nad amp or when I had a Technics amp and I enjoy it as much when I go on holiday and listen through headphones or a wireless speaker.
I suppose the better systems I have owned have enhanced my musical enjoyment but haven’t made me enjoy it more.
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems to contradict itself. A better system enhances musical enjoyment yet you don’t enjoy it more. Hence me being stumped. Like I said, it’s probably just me. It’s late!
The answer to this riddle might lie in “it”. Whatever Bob thinks he means by “it”. I think he means just listening to music (who would ever imagine it). Better systems can let him enjoy more of it within an enhanced sensory addition, but he can still enjoy listening just as much on a lesser system with less enhancements.
Still has nothing to do with any placebo effect.
The sentiment of my post was quite clear that my enjoyment of music is not changed by the equipment I use to play it on.
What you are doing which seems to be a hobby of yours is nit picking, nit picking over grammar, nit picking over spelling and just nit picking in general perhaps it has something to do with your scientific background? Was your PhD in nit picking?
better equipment creates more auditory stimulation but doesn’t give more satisfaction in listening to the music itself . I will not appreciate Herbie Hancock more because i upgrade my system.
It’s what i understood of Bobthebuilder. I share that.
I have to say I was also somewhat bemused by the apparent contradiction that the better systems had “enhanced your musical enjoyment” but “hadn’t made you enjoy it more”, presuming the ‘it’ was music…
It varies. Probably most common in the UK but event then depends on location and your relationship with a dealer. If a customer walks in off the street that a dealer doesn’t know from Adam and asks to take home an ND555, it is probably not going to happen.
The further away you get from the UK, the less likely you are to get a home demo and by the time you make it to my backyard, no amount of budget will even get you meaningful shop demonstration. I would not be surprised to see that there is a direct correlation between frequent box swapping and the reduction of demonstration facilities in shop or at home. The truth is, most of the world has to buy expensive hifi on a punt and at some eye watering prices, the placebo effect is likely to tell you that you have not wasted your money for longer than it should.
Right firstly before all the nitpickers amongst get your knickers in a twist can I apologise for spelling nitpicker wrong in my last post.
Secondly after a very long day yesterday I inadvertantly stumped! one of you and bemused another by stating that,
“I suppose the better systems I have owned have enhanced my musical enjoyment but haven’t made me enjoy it more”.
As both frenchrooster and TOBYJUG (who where thank god left neither stumped! or bemused ) rightly pointed out what I actually meant to say was that just because a better system of mine had enhanced the music in some way that hadn’t made me enjoy it any less.
I hope all knickers are now presently untwisted and everyone can get on with their lives I expect the ONP (original nitpicker) will appear with some very intelligent remark only someone with a scientific based PhD could could come up with but will more than likely just say nothing.
FWIW I had assumed you had meant that. It echoes what I have observed in the past, that whilst as my system has improved my enjoyment of the listening experience has improved, though the enjoyment I get from the music has remained the same: good music is good music and doesn’t require perfect reproduction to convey its message. However, I do not enjoy listening to music on a system that sounds bad, the worst is high distortion, but also severely curtailed frequency response, such as through a 2 inch speaker on a transistor radio - I’d rather not have it on, and instead listen to the music in my head. (But I suspect my view of that might be different if I was starved of music generally, when I am sure anything would be better than nothing.)
I think that’s being a bit hard on HH and knowing him personally a bit I don’t think he was nit picking but rather just enjoying the discussion.
Actually I believe his PhD was in evolutionary biology. He once disagreed with something I had written “as an engineer” and in one of the best jokes I have seen on the forum, said “as an evolutionary biologist, I recognise bollocks when I see it”. Which I thought was a good laugh and we both just moved on.
I’ve got no argument with you or HH but I prefer being in this forum when we aren’t horrid to each other.
I ran a blind test by letting my other half do the vacuuming and dusting for a couple of weeks.
After which I instantly noticed a change for the worse, as the speakers and cables were someway off their optimal position.
I was trying here to move on, but you don’t seem to want to, and would rather be unnecessarily snarky. What can I say other than if your post had been written clearly I would have understood it and not been confused and driven to ask a question? It’s simply crossed wires. I’ll say again, let’s leave it.
. Indeed, as expected, the veil has lifted. And I’ve saved £4K.