My hifi is completely optimised. It is the best sound I’ve ever had to the point where I don’t want to touch a thing for fear of upsetting the balance. I’m disinclined to update to Qobuz, update for ‘screen freeze’ or even switch off. Hell, I don’t even want to give it a sideways glance lest I lose the magic.
I reached a good place with my system when I jumped to NDX/282/200DR, and could happily have stayed there. Since then, I’ve made more changes than I would ever have anticipated, but at no point did I fret about having lost the magic. There were a few changes that didn’t work for me, but if they don’t provide the improvement I’m looking for, they go, and I carry on as before. I like to take my time with these things, and there’s no mania involved.
I watch the forum and read discussions of the upgrade trail; I cannot afford the process, and really I am content. I do not manage a dedicated listening room, and share the hifi with TV sound, and a living room, shared with the family. I made much of the initial investment while (the wife) expecting the first child, and not much of the hifi has changed in the last 30 or so years (though plenty of other things have changed!!).
I am sure there are “better” systems that could be put in place of the old modest Chrome Bumper bits, and I guess I am probably the only Alphason user, and also have the only Rogers BBC Studio Monitors on the forum, purchased second hand in 1974. (The Alphason was second hand, as was most of the Naim.)
So this is a long way to say to you, Graeme, I recognise “this happy place”…
(I would add that I have envy that you live in Scotland, and having worked briefly in Edinburgh in the early 1970’s, have always fancied to relocate, and leave the morally forsaken SE corner of England. Only family keep me south.)
Apologies that the images have been seen elsewhere on the forum.
Over the years I have tended to have periods completely settled: maybe five years without a single tweak or change. Then, typically something has died, or something unexpectedly come on the radar that prompts a change, following which there may be a bit of follow-up change or tweaking, in part to get everything right and perhaps in part because it incites a desire to experiment for a while.
My most recent change comprised two different triggers in quick succession: death of a CD player resulting in a switch to streaming, and various improvements from the initial. And an inheritance from the person who inspired my love of music, providing an unexpected uncommitted friend and a feeling that investing the money in listening to music was a very fitting memorial.
Since getting Dave and fully setting up active tri-amping I have no desire or expectation of system tweaks (or change) until I retire, probably next year - which is likely to have a bearing in three ways: 1) A probable house move before long, when I will certainly be incorporating room treatment in the new listening room; 2) A small ‘last opportunity fund’ for purchases before settling to live on reduced income; 3) A return to a speaker design/build project that I started 10 years ago and shelved through lack of time.
I do have a couple of setup variants I have been meaning to compare and assess trying Peder’s “Tune-Dem” process (but not relying only on that), but with things making a very small difference, if at all, it is not something I enjoy doing and when I have time I just play music instead…
For me, it’s finally time to listen to the music and forget the rest, to that point where you want to listen for a couple of hours and end up being 5 or 6 just because you have to go do other things, that point at which you just say “one more” knowing that you deceive yourself, that point where I look with some uncertainty and resquembling the forthcoming imminent update of the NDX2 frimware…
Yes, but it has come after a journey of more than 5 years of continuous testing with different systems, different components, a lot of expense and a lot of sales (unfortunately not all good); but finally, yes, in the sweet spot with the 5 systems at home, each one adapted to the needs, acoustic conditions and room modes of its “room”.
Wow, a blast from the past - a name I haven’t heard for over 50 years, if it is the same thing: I recall some regular TV programme in the early 1960s when we first had a telly, with the name Billy Cotton, the band introduced by the call “Wakey, Wakey!!” Is that the same thing? (My dad seemed to like it - but unlistenable for me.)
Between 1993 and 2017 I changed speakers when I had a lightning strike take out an ES14 and CD player when after 20 years my Micromega Trio died beyond repair, otherwise the system stayed totally stable, in that period I just listened to music. In the last few years I have moved into ripped music, HDX, then NDX, then ND555, upgraded the pre from 82 to 52, upgraded the turntable with Vertere electronics and added the second streaming system.
I now have a system I can see being as stable as the one from the ‘90s, ain’t music great?
I’ve been fine tuning during 2019, when I upgraded from my Nova and are really happy with where I’ve got too. I just need to throw in a couple of Powerlines to finish off the full set. My focus has to been to optimise the power supply, cables, set up and network to get the most out of the boxes I’ve invested in and I’m not planning to fiddle with any of that now.