Audio system question/thoughts?

[holdmybeer]

I sold audiophile gear in early adulthood. Small details mattered to me in those days. Despite being disciplined with hearing protection, decades of motorcycles and firearms now allow me to enjoy recorded music and not notice the small deficiencies!

 

[emax]

I was an audiophile lunatic as a young man.

Over the years, new devices came onto the market, new audio processing was invented and all that 5.1, 7.x stuff and I don't know what else started to annoy me, there was just no end to it.

Today I am very happy with my Sony STR-V 555 ES and an excellent pair of monitor loudspeakers - and that's it. I don't let the manufacturers push me around anymore, it's enough. And if you want to enjoy the smartness of audio processing, which sense does it make to have (e.g.) a sophisticated surround system which restricts you freedom to move around to less than half a square meter?

I tell you, cooking a good pasta sauce in the kitchen with a glass of white wine while listening to “Die Meere” by Brahms, sung by Gruberova/Kararova, is an experience for all the senses, where the perfection of the rendition and the ideal surround sound spot simply doesn't matter.

And that's how I see it when driving a car: the whole thing counts.

The absolute best audio experience is still a live concert, whether classical, jazz or rock. You should treat yourself to that every now and then. It's the most perfect setup and even at a few hundred Euros for a ticket it's still less expensive than the newest and so called "best solution".

I don't need that level in the car and there will always be a way to improve the equipment - you can literally invest thousands of dollars into it and there will never be an optimal solution - because it can always be improved. A source of never ending frustration.

My wealth of experience from earlier years as an audiophile helps me a lot to compensate for playback deficiencies: My brain simply “remembers” how it should sound and automatically improves the listening experience.

And getting older, silence is, by the way, a whole new world of experience.

 

[Cheshire cat]

I tell you, cooking a good pasta sauce in the kitchen with a glass of white wine while listening to “Die Meere” by Brahms, sung by Gruberova/Kararova, is an experience for all the senses,

And then the phone rings. It’s your old boss at International Intelligence. They have one more job for you. There is an evil dictator that needs taking out. You, 007, have been requested to execute the plan.

 

[McPharmer II]

That´s the reason why i´m into some cold beer while cooking ;-)