(....Continued from Part-4)
(...... To be continued in Part-6 )
- Now try this:
- Take a 1 month break once a year, no hi-fi, nothing.
- Go to bed at a decent hour, and not 2am checking ads.
- Enjoy some wine with your music ( ALL systems sound nice then )
- Get some forgiving gear, so that more than 80% of your CDs are listenable.
- Stop analyzing the music, stop searching for flaws!
- Protect your ears - wear plugs when vacuuming, cutting the lawn, move away from blenders, avoid amplified music at bars and shows where you can't hear conversation above the noise. Take ear plugs to movies.
- Take a music appreciation course. It will give your left brain something to do while listening, other than analyzing defects in your system. Understanding music better is a great joy and will lead you to explore.
- When assessing equipment listen to a simple, one instrument melody (a solo flute playing silent night made my wife cry as it soared high and she insisted I but the big babies that produced it. )The beauty should make you want to cry too. Then listen to a highly complex and dynamic piece for crowding and choas. The complex should sound breathtaking not assault.
- Kick out any sales person who tries talking to you as you are trying to listen. Go back several times before taking it home and then try it there.
- Listen over good headphones to give you an idea of how much inner detail is possible.
- The most important link is always Speakers, followed by source and amplification last. Pick out your taste in speakers first. Esoteric cables beyond basic sturdy construction are a waste. Room treatments, moving the furniture around and hanging some rugs on the wall can also surprise you.
- In speakers, with very rare exceptions, fewer drivers is better but a single full-range driver is usually not adequate. 2-way and 1-1/2 way designs rule.
- 2 Channels done right are more than enough. Better really, even for movies.
- A good tube amp on a simple chassis is the best performance-per-dollar buy in amplification. You have plenty of choice at any price point.
- The "previously-owned" market has tremendous bargains; no one ever regretted owning an EL-34-based tube amp;
don't expect anything resembling music to come from any device labeled Krell."
- Dont put-down other peoples gear, just because you can afford more doesnt make you better, and to insult anothers hard earned money spent on what they enjoy is pathetic.
- If your music to equipment ratio is way out of whack re-think if you are truely a music lover $20000 in gear and $1000 in music is crazy, you love equipment more than music
- Tube amps are over rated-but they do sound lovely; solid state is a better bang for the buck but not as much fun to look at in the dark
- Vinyl is wonderful but it is a pain, and expensive and you need a record cleaner.
- SACD is wonderful with much better dynamic range than CDs but the selection sucks.
- Buy the best (analog) source component you can afford, first! If you can't recover it, you will never hear it, no matter how "great" your speakers or amps are.
- Keep in mind that the strength of synergy in your system is vital. Everything needs to work together.
- Get lots of great (records) music that you love, old, new, reissued.
- Please don't buy gear that does not clearly sound better (in your system/room) than what you already own.
- Sit down in the sweet spot with someone you care about and realize that this is what it is all about... have a zen moment.
- Dont believe ANYTHING you read in "6-moons" or by any paid reviewers. Rely only on your own ears; never pay good money for any piece of new equipment without first auditioning the item.
- Research-Research-Research online posts by actual owners.
- Don't buy any audio item just out of curiosity to find out how it sounds.
- Don't assume a pretty face (panel) equates with superior sound. Buy items built like a tank to military specifications, for longevity
- To maximize your return from your existing system without additional expenditure. Try these-
- Place all your gears on solid ground in direct contact with the floor. No carpet in between. If floor is not concrete/ marble/ tiles but wood may have to experiment with cone/ spikes.
- Avoid use of shelves whenever possible. This should improve the airiness/ high frequency response and overall transparency.
- Room treatment- to wall on both sides of the speakers to avoid echo marring the sonic picture. To both corners of front wall as high as 8 ft with uneven surfaces. Experiment with different positions of the damper/ diffusers to adjust tonal balance for higher/ lower highs and fuller/ leaner lows.
- Tilt the axis of speaker forward/ backward .Toe in /out. Away / nearer the side /front walls to enhance accuracy / warmth etc.
- Clean all your components' electrical connections.
The above measures are nearly free and guarantee to give you a perceivable improvement.
- Ears = heart. If this connection is lost- something is wrong. Fix it asap.
- Don't overlook the room- acoustics play the big role.
- Never let anyone (or any advt) tell you that you are wrong. There is no right or wrong. If you dig it- it's all right.
- Buy lots of music. Doesnt turn into a gear freak- buy RECORDS!!! Be a music freak instead...
- One and only truth - "Your ears are the final frontier - it is up to you as person to accept & confirm the reproduced sound as the closest to the original performance - then you have found what you have been searching for". (sometimes this 'expedition' can take 'forever')
- Don't listen when in a bad mood. It'll make you get rid of CDs.
(...... To be continued in Part-6 )
I felt a twinge of remore for Dan as well. (its Dan D'Agostino BTW)
