June 30, 2001
Well, I've spent a few years and more money
than I'd like to think about building my system, and reading your site has filled me with
some nostalgia and some regrets. I reflect back on a time when my total system cost only
around $2000, and in many ways that was when I enjoyed music the most. I enjoyed trying to
find out which were the best speakers for under $500, if I could really find a tube amp
for under $1000, what was the best way to spend $100 on all the cables I needed? Now, the
wire in my system alone costs almost as much as my first system!
Here's my current stuff: Conrad-Johnson CAV-
50 integrated amp, B&W Nautilus 805 speakers, Rega Planet CD player, Musical Fidelity
X24k DAC, Earmax OTL Headphone amp, AudioQuest Viper interconnects, Kimber Silver digital
cable, Nordost Blue Heaven speaker cables.
So why am I not enjoying this system? Are
there any glaring mismatches or weaknesses, or I am I just psyched out? Is it just that I
feel like I got suckered into the "REAL speakers start at $2000" philosophy? I
think back on my old Blueroom Minipods, my old Gallo Acoustics Nucleus Micro system, and I
wonder: Do the 805s sound much better? Have I hit the wall? I'm at the point where I'm
considering either spending A LOT more or selling much of my gear and starting over, with
really basic equipment. But before I do anything, I'm trying to get a little advice. Will
I ever recapture the magic of the first time I heard Pet Sounds blossom from
"cheap" Mission 750LE speakers driven with a pair of "cheap"$ 900
Quicksilver monoblocks, a homemade preamp and a JVC CD player? Am I just chasing the
proverbial dragon to financial ruin? Do I have every reason to be happy with the gear I
have?
HELP! Well, at the very least, you can print
this letter as a cautionary tale to warn young audiophiles of the dark and dangerous
detours into madness along the highway to sonic bliss.
Rob Damm
First off, thank you so much for your
letter. It made my day for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that I have thought
about this subject a lot and actually began an audio column two years ago (www.soundstage.com/yfiles)
that has revisited this dilemma from many different angles.
My feeling in a nutshell is this: At the
beginning of our journey into music systems, the music itself is the focal point of our
attention. As we upgrade, it shifts onto the gear. Simultaneously, the act of co-creating
the experience (where the listener's emotional participation is at least as important,
intuitive and spontaneous as the equipment's role) tends to shift. We now hold the gear
responsible for making "it" (the goose-bump experience) happen. Another way of
saying the same thing is that we first consume the musical forest in one big piece, as a
whole, and later we focus more and more on individual trees and then leaves, as we learn
to listen "for" things (name any audiophile attribute or quality and insert
instead of "things) and unlearn to listen "to." We in the press are
partially to blame for this. We keep writing about equipment on a regular basis, which of
course places the attention of our readers onto the equipment. If we simply said
"enjoy what you have because the real magic lies with you, the listener," we and
all the manufacturers would be out of a job in a hurry. This doesn't imply any evil agenda
-- it's simply the nature of the thing itself.
What advice could I give? In a way you're
hoping to recapture the innocence of a first love affair, before everything got
complicated and messy. I'd say relax your tendency to analyze during your listening
sessions and not listen for attributes down a mental and audiophile check list. Instead
"de-focus" your attention onto the music per se -- not individual
performers or notes, spots in the soundstage, decay trails of triangles, etc. but
"simply the music." And yes, unlearning a habit is much harder than learning it
in the first place. If you retrace some of those steps, you should find a comfortable
balance between not being worried about your equipment, enjoying the occasional upgrade
and grooving to your favorite tunes. But truly (at least in my view) the most important
part of any audio system is you, the listener.
June 30, 2001
I currently own this system: Cambridge Audio
Disc Magic transport, Cambridge Audio S700 DAC, Acurus RL11 preamp, Classé Audio CA-101
power amp, PSB Stratus Bronze speakers, Kimber Kable PBJ interconnects, AudioQuest coaxial
digital cable with BNC connectors, Kimber Kable 8TC speaker cables.
If I were to upgrade, which one do you think
is the weakest link. Due to a tight budget, I can only upgrade one component at a time. I
would appreciate any help that you can give me.
Joel
If upgrade you must (and your system
doesn't really suggest any weaknesses), speakers often produce more of a difference than
any other component. The upgrade path with speakers usually adds bass extension and
dynamics, and perhaps an overall increase in refinement and transparency. Going after more
bass can backfire if your room (due to size, geometry and where you can place the
speakers) can't properly support truly low bass. Being able to play louder may not be an
issue either as I'm sure your current PSBs are just fine. This potentially leaves only the
area of incremental refinement open to improvements. Just be warned that spending more
money may purchase less "more" than seems sensible. Another thing you might try
is borrowing some different cables from a local dealer over a weekend. Occasionally,
cables can make pretty significant changes, but there's no telling in advance which cables
and what changes -- it's simply a matter of trial and error, and then the determination
whether different is merely different, or better, or worse -- and if better, worth the
money.
June 29, 2001
I recently upgraded my main system and have a
few pieces of spare equipment (a Marantz CD-67SE CD player and a pair of B&W 603
speakers). I'm thinking of putting together a system for my bedroom. I'm looking for a
decent integrated amp to match these components. I am considering the Creek 4330SE
integrated amp. Do you have any other recommendations?
Thanks,
Kran
The Creek integrated would be an excellent
choice, and I'm hoping to obtain one for review shortly. The Cambridge Audio A500 ($499)
is another contender, and, as I found out directly from the distributor, so is the A300
($350). It's supposed to be sonically identical to the A500, but it offers marginally less
power. Seeing that this comes from the person who's selling both, I'm inclined to take his
word for it.
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