rogue_designer
Reciprocity Failure
I've no need for a RTR, but sometimes, I really want one. 
My general hi-fi is mid 60s and 70s McIntosh (tube radio, SS amp) with a mid 70s Pioneer turntable (modern Denon cartridge). Speakers are home built full range back loaded horns.
Most of my other audiophile wackiness is in headphone audio, with multiple dacs, amps, and a dozen different headphones at various price/quality points. I'm also partner in a business developing headphone preamp/amplifiers, speaker amplifiers, speakers, and a new turntable.
I guess I qualify as an audiophile. :/
My general hi-fi is mid 60s and 70s McIntosh (tube radio, SS amp) with a mid 70s Pioneer turntable (modern Denon cartridge). Speakers are home built full range back loaded horns.
Most of my other audiophile wackiness is in headphone audio, with multiple dacs, amps, and a dozen different headphones at various price/quality points. I'm also partner in a business developing headphone preamp/amplifiers, speaker amplifiers, speakers, and a new turntable.
I guess I qualify as an audiophile. :/
AlwaysOnAuto
Well-known
I acquired all my gear prior to getting married so there was no need/want/gotta have it problems for me. Ideally I had hoped to set it up to give me continuous playback in the garage but that plan fell by the wayside a long long time ago.
My dad had McIntosh gear but it got lost during one of his moves a long time ago. I don't think I could stand the heat now if I had tube stuff. It's hot enough here as it is.
My dad had McIntosh gear but it got lost during one of his moves a long time ago. I don't think I could stand the heat now if I had tube stuff. It's hot enough here as it is.
ChrisPlatt
Thread Killer
A couple of years ago I was working a lot of overtime, and spent a lot on 1970's hi-fi gear.
It's mostly good consumer stuff, everything I wanted but could not afford when I was in college.
I really went overboard, and my collection now fills an 8x8' rented unit at the mini-storage.
At the end of my binge I got a little wiser, and bought a few real nice fully-restored pieces.
I will keep those when all the other stuff finally goes...
Chris
It's mostly good consumer stuff, everything I wanted but could not afford when I was in college.
I really went overboard, and my collection now fills an 8x8' rented unit at the mini-storage.
At the end of my binge I got a little wiser, and bought a few real nice fully-restored pieces.
I will keep those when all the other stuff finally goes...
Chris
Nokton48
Veteran
AlwaysOnAuto
Well-known
That's cool!
Glad you like it.
Glad you like it.
mdarnton
Well-known
I thought I was going to be an audiophile. In my work my ears need to be discriminating, and I thought I'd enjoy listening to music better through higher quality wires. I bought some expensive headphone gear, listened for a while, and the thrill wore off. Eventually I realized that all of the things I listen for in music, which centers mainly on the quality of the performer and the instrument, I can hear in the crummiest recordings, and I don't get any kind of sensory rush from hearing it through $$$$ equipment. For me, good music doesn't get worse through my phone earphones any more than a cheap paperback ruins the writer's story for me. Go figure.
rogue_designer
Reciprocity Failure
Well - the wires thing is 99.9% a scam, so no surprises there. I do enjoy headphone audio. I have some headphones that sound better with some types of music, and I relish the opportunity to revisit my music collection, and try things out.
I also work at a computer for 8-10 hours a day, and having good music (and comfortable headphones) for that period I consider a necessity.
I also work at a computer for 8-10 hours a day, and having good music (and comfortable headphones) for that period I consider a necessity.
mdarnton
Well-known
Look at the context: that was synecdoche. Wires IS scam: the real thing is air, which is where I usually listen. Wires are grossly inferior to air.
Cyriljay
Leica Like
I just want to make things mix -up .
I love music.. Had some good hardware /set ups
I now only have at the smallest one
Cyrus Audio and a Dynauodio Combination and a good cable/ connectors
Own a collection of several hundreds of Audio CDs
My favorite radio pay lists are Groove radio ? Groove Salad and several other inter net SOMA FM etc.
I love music.. Had some good hardware /set ups
I now only have at the smallest one
Cyrus Audio and a Dynauodio Combination and a good cable/ connectors
Own a collection of several hundreds of Audio CDs
My favorite radio pay lists are Groove radio ? Groove Salad and several other inter net SOMA FM etc.
______
Well-known
I am the founder and editor of the Ultra High End Audio and Home Theater Review, which I recently put on ice to devote full time to photography. The sound system in my darkroom is modest, and I do not use an exotic power cable on my enlarger or put my developing trays on isolation devices.
Ong
Well-known
I work for an audiophile store in Sydney, so I've inadvertently ended up with a fair bit of experience with a wide variety of audio gear from just being able to play with plenty of setups in the slow hours of work.
Also doesn't help when your boss pulls off a "try these headphones and tell me what you think" before telling you the jaw dropping price on them.
Also doesn't help when your boss pulls off a "try these headphones and tell me what you think" before telling you the jaw dropping price on them.
Pentode
Well-known
When I was younger I aspired to be an "audiophile". I was working as an engineer at a local recording studio and music was very, very important to me. It didn't take me long to realize that I was never going to have the kind of budget needed to really embrace the obsession completely.
Fast-forward 30 years and I'm still obsessed with music (playing bass professionally on a part-time basis) as well as being really fond of gear. My hi-fi consists of a lot of old tube equipment that I've restored and modified over the years, but I still don't have the kind of money needed to roll with the audiophile big boys and, even if I did, I probably wouldn't spend it that way any more.
For me, I found that I just didn't care that much; Rather than drive myself crazy trying to find the "perfect" component (which doesn't exist anyway), I found I could be just as happy using gear that I liked the sound of. Rather than obsessing over the system's limitations (as so many audiophiles do), I'm content to enjoy the system's strengths and not worry about whether or not it's perfect. I still think the gear is really cool, but life's too short to A/B test preamp tubes - for me, at least.
Fast-forward 30 years and I'm still obsessed with music (playing bass professionally on a part-time basis) as well as being really fond of gear. My hi-fi consists of a lot of old tube equipment that I've restored and modified over the years, but I still don't have the kind of money needed to roll with the audiophile big boys and, even if I did, I probably wouldn't spend it that way any more.
For me, I found that I just didn't care that much; Rather than drive myself crazy trying to find the "perfect" component (which doesn't exist anyway), I found I could be just as happy using gear that I liked the sound of. Rather than obsessing over the system's limitations (as so many audiophiles do), I'm content to enjoy the system's strengths and not worry about whether or not it's perfect. I still think the gear is really cool, but life's too short to A/B test preamp tubes - for me, at least.
sepiareverb
genius and moron
I've lost too much high end and midrange hearing to be an audiophile, but I do enjoy having music on. Helps me to ignore the tinnitus. Years of photographing bands, and construction work. Despite earplugs a good bit of the time. I recently got a nice Yamaha amp and a pair of speakers for the first floor of the house. Haven't had a 'real' stereo in about ten years. Very much nicer than the LUNA we used to use to play the iPod. An older laptop plays from an external hard drive that holds most of the music. The laptop plays in mono, so we have one speaker in the kitchen and one between the dining room and living room. Really quite perfect, and great to hear things in favorite tracks I hadn't before.
I have an iPod in the darkroom that plays through an old Denon compact receiver, which I also use for radio in there. Some nice older (20 years maybe) Mission speakers fill that room well, and admittedly sometimes contribute to my tinnitus.
I have an iPod in the darkroom that plays through an old Denon compact receiver, which I also use for radio in there. Some nice older (20 years maybe) Mission speakers fill that room well, and admittedly sometimes contribute to my tinnitus.
AlwaysOnAuto
Well-known
I was cleaning out the attic space in the garage last weekend and found an old box of speakers that had been up there for a long time (30+yrs).
Opened the box to find (2) Western Electric 554a's and (2) Altec 555a's in what looks like perfect condition.
Opened the box to find (2) Western Electric 554a's and (2) Altec 555a's in what looks like perfect condition.