Anybody not upgrading? Share your stories of contentment

Analogous

Analogous

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Today, I woke up thinking of the lowest 15 Hz (20-35 Hz) in the normal human audible range and how difficult it is to achieve quality low end. I then considered my old venerable REL subwoofer....One thought led to another... I then realised I have a problem.
Is contentment possible? Are there ways to achieve audio Nirvana without breaking the bank (or the marriage)?
I recalled a similar thread on the Naim community forum and thought of seeking experiences (or solace) from the HFV forum.
This may be the shortest thread in the history of this forum :(
Let the therapy begin.
 
shyamv said:
5.30am is too early in the morning to seek audio nirvana. Try later in the evening, after everyone else at home is asleep, accompanied by a glass of single malt and you might be able to attain it...fleetingly!
Click to expand...
True that :p:p
 
Goldenears said:
Today, I woke up thinking of the lowest 15 Hz (20-35 Hz) in the normal human audible range and how difficult it is to achieve quality low end. I then considered my old venerable REL subwoofer....One thought led to another... I then realised I have a problem.
Is contentment possible? Are there ways to achieve audio Nirvana without breaking the bank (or the marriage)?
I recalled a similar thread on the Naim community forum and thought of seeking experiences (or solace) from the HFV forum.
This may be the shortest thread in the history of this forum :(
Let the therapy begin.
Click to expand...
Love Can be Contented, Satisfaction to a great extent is Possible. So, is Love For Music ; you can reach Contentment...

Lust Cannot be Content, it increases the itch further more. So is the Lust for better Sound and Which can Loosely be Called "Audio Porn". It's Limitless and a Constant Pursuit with No end to it. We're not Chasing a Flat SQ response any more, we're chasing a Customized version of it, of which we only have a faint idea about.

So its never ending. Do whatever you like, stop anytime you want ; but just don't be judgmental about other's choices!
Cheers...
 
It would a great discussion topic :) these lines can describe the condition well..." nothing can be built perfectly" and "the only constant is change"
But the change always is for good...no guarantee.
Nirvana for us human is not possible... especially when we become so materialistic. I hate being one :( and I can't help me.
Upgrades are the sign of getting to nirvana (not really)...either in Audio or in anything.

I need a new PC case now..even my one from Cooler master CM storm working great...now I'm looking for a change so-called upgrade and I hate that. I opened a thread to have 1080ti even my 1660ti giving me more than 80 fps and sometimes more than that...I dropped the idea to get one as of now. I stick with my 8 years old RTi A3 and I'm happy :) I've added a TEAC EQ to my PM5005 , I'm still happy. I'll add more but I threw the thought to upgrade more. When someone comes to my room they start thinking I'm a seller :(

I've been using m50X and I'm so happy now bought Philips SHP9500 and Beyer dt990 pro..they provide the sound as my m50x. I listened for few weeks and they are lying under desk :( I need a psychologist now :(

Among my friend circle, I'm the one having more tech and gadgets but now they have more money than me :D

I started meditating .. and I did for 4 continuous months, felt like I've no greed now. Got a newsletter from headphonezone and my greed started again. I deleted amazon, flipkart and myntra app from my mobile.

I've good headphones and I'm using JBL earphone worth ₹380 bought from Amazon, sounds really good. :cool: I'm happy with it..it is very lightweight and sounds good. I've more than 50 games on steam and I play none...I feel happy that I have at least..kya karna hai khel ke.

My home is full of magnets now!!!
 
Goldenears said:
Today, I woke up thinking of the lowest 15 Hz (20-35 Hz) in the normal human audible range and how difficult it is to achieve quality low end. I then considered my old venerable REL subwoofer....One thought led to another... I then realised I have a problem.
Is contentment possible? Are there ways to achieve audio Nirvana without breaking the bank (or the marriage)?
I recalled a similar thread on the Naim community forum and thought of seeking experiences (or solace) from the HFV forum.
This may be the shortest thread in the history of this forum :(
Let the therapy begin.
Click to expand...
As measuring contentment is not possible, I guess it's all in the mind. How much you would want to be content depends on you else the so called "contentment" will always be chasing new wants & goals. A lot of people with good systems still have a tendency to upgrade or change them eventually.
 
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Let me put down my thoughts on this.

First of all, do I feel it’s possible to feel contentment and stop upgrading, yes, I believe it is. But is it possible to achieve contentment with the audio? No, I don’t think so.

Now, isn’t the above self-contradictory? Well, not really. The clue is in the distinction between audio and music. I don’t believe there’s audio nirvana ever - one pursuing audio perfection will never feel fulfilled. At any budget. But there’s certainly musical nirvana to be gained for sure.

Now, why do I think so? Because of the feelings of ‘ownership’ vs ‘gratitude’. When we talk of audio, we think gadgets - and gadgets are owned by us. We talk of measurements (and keep coming up with newer and finer ones). It stays becoming a material pursuit in a way. And who has ever been materially satisfied?

On the other hand, when we shift the focus from audio to music, the game changes. No matter whether you own the original pressing, you don’t own the music - it always belongs to the creators. When we listen to a great piece of music, we can’t but feel grateful and privileged to be able to listen to it. One is constantly aware of the greatness in action that one is witnessing. And one knows one cannot put a price to it. Nor can one enhance the music (unlike the audio) through DIY. So, one’s financial muscle or technical prowess amounts to nothing. The only way one can enhance the music further is by paying more attention, or simply losing oneself in it. And isn’t nirvana about getting losing the self?

Hence, if there’s any chance of overcoming upgraditis, it’s through musical nirvana, and not audio nirvana. When your fulfilment comes from the music, you stop craving for audio refinement.

PS. I realise I haven’t answered the question asked. As this is my understanding, not my story. But I wish it becomes so. I’ve to submit myself to (listening to the) music a lot more.
 
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I know that:

1. I have a bad room.
2. Bad speaker placement
3. I have less than perfect ears
4. I can't tell the difference between equipment easily and what I can tell, I forget easily

So,

Am happy with

1. Basic DAC
2. Basic Tube Pre
3. Cheap Professional Power AMP

My only luxury right now is my ROON and my Tidal. (Wonders if I should include the Single Malt ?)

Yes, I am very close to Audio Nirvana with the above. Whenever I think otherwise, I start repeating from 'I know that...'

ps: Yesterday, my wife was teaching my 7 year old about pollution. I overheard her say 'Son, do you know what is noise pollution ? It's the loud noises that horns make, loud noises that vehicles make and papa's music'
 
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I believe that contentment is inversely proportional to the amount of money spent on a product or service. More one spends on audio equipment, the more one is listening to the equipment and less to the music. So spend less than what you actually can and be happy!

This approach might not be very popular in this forum but it has worked well for me in the last couple of years!
 
ssf said:
I know that:

1. I have a bad room.
2. Bad speaker placement
3. I have less than perfect ears
4. I can't tell the difference between equipment easily and what I can tell, I forget easily

So,

Am happy with

1. Basic DAC
2. Basic Tube Pre
3. Cheap Professional Power AMP

My only luxury right now is my ROON and my Tidal. (Wonders if I should include the Single Malt ?)

Yes, I am very close to Audio Nirvana with the above. Whenever I think otherwise, I start repeating from 'I know that...'

ps: Yesterday, my wife was teaching my 7 year old about pollution. I overheard her say 'Son, do you know what is noise pollution ? It's the loud noises that horns make, loud noises that vehicles make and papa's music'
Click to expand...
Hi brother . Witch basic tube amplifier you have??
 
shyamv said:
I believe that contentment is inversely proportional to the amount of money spent on a product or service. More one spends on audio equipment, the more one is listening to the equipment and less to the music. So spend less than what you actually can and be happy!

This approach might not be very popular in this forum but it has worked well for me in the last couple of years!
Click to expand...
That’s intuitive logic. Just like we believe ‘vairagya’ (renunciation) is necessary for nirvana. But there have been examples like King Janaka that defy this. It’s about non-attachment to material possessions and not about material possessions themselves. Similarly, perhaps it’s possible to own the costliest audio equipment and still remain non-attached to it, feeling satisfied and focusing on the music?

Till a century ago, the prime sponsors of Indian classical music were the kings and nawabs who were great music lovers. Surely they had great music rooms in which these musicians played. Wonder if any of them felt the urge to upgrade the music room (or replace the darbar musician with a better one) every six months! Probably not.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Off topic, can anyone tell me why I see a provision to ‘vote’ the comments in this thread? I haven’t noticed that elsewhere.
 
SachinChavan said:
Off topic, can anyone tell me why I see a provision to ‘vote’ the comments in this thread? I haven’t noticed that elsewhere.
Click to expand...
I could see it a lot on various threads whilst browsing using mobile , seeing it first time on my PC browser. I believe it would help threads asking for a solution to a problem where the most upvoted answer would most likely be the solution
 
Goldenears said:
Today, I woke up thinking of the lowest 15 Hz (20-35 Hz) in the normal human audible range and how difficult it is to achieve quality low end. I then considered my old venerable REL subwoofer....One thought led to another... I then realised I have a problem.
Is contentment possible? Are there ways to achieve audio Nirvana without breaking the bank (or the marriage)?
I recalled a similar thread on the Naim community forum and thought of seeking experiences (or solace) from the HFV forum.
This may be the shortest thread in the history of this forum :(
Let the therapy begin.
Click to expand...
20-35hz range is only felt physically. Since you are targetting 15hz you sould be looking for movies I assume. Because achieving audio Nirvana is usually discussed by music lovers.
 
I am afraid that I can't add any good points to the topic mooted here. However, I think dissatisfaction or lack of contentment is not bad . Because it is the ladder to reach some sort of satisfaction in the long run( though doubtful). Let me analyse it. Years ago most of us except some blessed ones started our audiophile journey with some basic rigs, say a Philips record player( mono or stereo), a two in one or a cheap headphone. But we weren't satisfied with those. We couldn't buy better rigs for different reasons( fund, availability etc). But we have been pursuing those passionately. Most of us have ultimately found rigs of our choice. But then sometimes we feel we could have bought a better thing. Personally I always think how splendid it would have been if I could get the rigs some 20 or30 years ago. Also I think ,spending some more bucks listening experience would have been better. Thus dissatisfaction in audio domain may lead to getting more beautiful thing. Of course it is not an absolute truth. Rather many can argue and say dissatisfaction begets disaster also. Actually after having read the threads here, I think contentment is possible if one has to stay within his strict budget.
Regards
 
Contentment is something that does not enter people's minds, their first and last thoughts are "More". Greed has consumed modern society. For myself I haven't made any changes to my system in about 4-5 years, it's the same equipment except for the PC change. I don't desire other equipment, I don't bother keeping abreast of developments in the sector. I am "content" to press play and listen (or watch). Last year I had a curiousity to try something so I did, it wasn't meant as an upgrade or a replacement, just simple curiousity. Once I tried it out it gathers dust to this day. All that said I am about to buy something, not because I want to upgrade but rather because I want to "stay the same". I am replacing a broken piece of equipment with a new one, same company,same model as the repair charge is not worth it. At this point I don't want change, I want more of what I have. I care not about others views of my mental state or equipment, online forums or otherwise. Contentment? Your shades will decide.
 
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