I think I have. The primary indication I'm thinking about upgrades/changes less. We talk about diminishing returns, I don't know if I'm there (there is no way to know unless you spend more and hear no difference) but I suspect I'm close. Gear Room Set-up: speakers, alignment, etc. Seem optimized It is accurate and realistic, but not so much that the media flaws intrude. I noticed with my MC I listen at a slightly lower average level, 70-72 vs 75-76 dBA. Yet the peaks are higher, therefor the DR, is greater. Even at that level it has impact. It's an Amazon return I bought on a lark (50% of MRSP) AT33EV. I'm glad I did. Noticeable improvement. This is AS Brubeck Time Out Only 69 dBA, peak of 95.+, ~27 dB DR. Room ambient 28-30 dBA Gordon One flight up: 71 dBA, peak 101 dB. That lp is really well recorded and dynamic. The effort, including mistakes, imho has paid off. I'm still contemplating 'end game' speakers but the search has slowed down.
I have after a few triode DIY amps and many vintage upgraded tube amps. The amp is a freak. I could likely get better $5K+ speakers, but my older but good ears may not hear it anyways.
I was just thinking this. I could go better but my ears probably won't hear it. I'm probably at the upper end of what my hearing can resolve, so by that standard I'm almost there. Anything else is just eye candy and bragging rights. I'll probably make one more 'adjustment' and if I can't hear it I'm done. Better to spend the money on new music!
I think I have too. I have a dedicated room. I like my gear. Changing anything would really be more of a side-grade. Perhaps I might like the change or perhaps not. I've reached my budget financially speaking and stepping up is not something I can do now. But there will always be some changes. Maybe some better DAC technology comes around and I can afford it. Might try a different turntable cartridge when this one wears out.
My sweet spot is on the couch between 2 toed in speakers. Have I reached my ultimate goal? I doubt I ever will, but love what I have.
If you're exploring your music as opposed to critiquing your system,that would be a pretty good indicator you've hit the "sweat spot".I don't find myself looking for gear related improvements the last few years....having said that,I've had my eye out for a power amp that won't drastically change the sound of my system only because it's the oldest piece in my system
As far as hearing acuity. It is important but we often ignore it because it an uncomfortable subject, relates to aging and mortality, lol. I have my hearing tested annually. It rolls off >5 kHz, the test range is 8 kHz. This natural and my Dr. said it is less/better than a guy my age especially considering my occupational exposure during periods of my career. Looking at my amps tone control curves I tweaked the treble the inverse of my loss. Marked improvement. Why pay for the extension if you don't hear it at the intended level. We can raise the curve with volume, but need tone controls to flatten it. My unsolicited advice Get your hearing checked & take care of it Use tone controls if need be (which will be the case for >90% over 40-45 years old. No shame. These are facts, it's natural. It's not due to laziness leading to a lack of exercise or a poor diet. There seems to be a stigma associated with it. It happens, all we can do is protect our hearing so it is not worse, but we can't improve it.
Yes, I’m done. From solely headphone based systems over the years, I used early retirement funds to purchase a system that sounds absolutely fantastic, and fits in with the way both my wife and myself live. No buyer’s remorse. No wondering if I should have bought ‘X’ instead of ‘Y’. Time goes on enjoying listening to the system; money goes on the purchase of new music. Happy.
I think I have too. There was a period of a couple of years, ending about 2 1/2 years ago, where I frantically upgraded nearly everything. But now I'm hard-pressed to think of anything that would really upgrade my listening. I have been thinking about getting an upgraded cartridge for my turntable. I haven't accurately measured, but I'll probably reach 1000 hours within a year. However, I only listen to vinyl about an hour a week now. Otherwise, until we move to a new house, when I'll need to reassess how everything sounds in a new space, I'm happy. My listening habits have changed, too. In addition to casual listening while working or exercising, I take a few hours several evenings a week to just sit and listen. I used to obsessively analyze the sound quality. Now, I try to just relax and enjoy the music.
I'm not really understanding what these measurements have to do with enjoying my (or anyone's)systems... ??? I'd say I'm pretty close to my sweet spots in all 3 systems, but there are still minor upgrades that are inevitable in the future.
Totally relate. I spent years upgrading pieces. Finally convinced my wife to turn our small living room over to me for a dedicated listening room once we added a decent family room and found we spent all our time there. Next step was to create that dedicated listening room out of the living room. Once the bass traps, absorption and diffuser panels were set I went to work on finding the perfect speaker locations. Once that was finalized I was ready to purchase my last upgrades. Took me five years to do this which coincided with retirement. Now I’ve been retired for five or is it six years and yes I listen 2 or 3 hours most days. A lot of this is casual listening. My best critical listening is done when friends come over. Feels great not to think about equipment and problems that need tweaking. Five years or so I might think about my source (DAC or streamer or whatever might replace them) but for now things are perfect. For me an upgrade is almost impossible I have bought my limit in terms of expensive equipment and can’t justify spending more because for a noticeable improvement in sound would be unaffordable for me and I love the sound and sound stage my equipment creates. Most important I love the speakers and associated equipment are in perfect synergy and they all work perfectly with each other. I am DONE and very happy about that. It was an enjoyable journey.
As a headphone user the biggest improvements have been hi-res and higher end DAC/amp. I can do better on the latter but any improvement which will be around $5000 wouldn’t be mind blowing. Yes I have considered it! New headphones can be better but I am fine with the LCD-X. A bigger jump would be STAX.
NB9, After 3 major upgrades and a setup change these past 3 months, believe I am also there. Like you, find myself enjoying "lower listening levels" as my system resolution, dynamics and bandwidth remain fully intact without feeling the need to crank up the soft passages! My Status-Info page w/pics is now updated. HERE is the post of the sequential changes that affected my current ESSA (extreme sonic satisfaction achievement)!! Ted
Not sure exactly how many times I've reached the "sweet spot," but it's been more than a few. And yes, I'm there right now. The thing this time though, I don't have any burning itch to make changes. My system is as simple as I can get it, which makes just listening to music the priority. Lot's of new (to me) music to be discovered, and that's what I'm doing now. As a dedicated gear head, I can swap in a different set of interconnects, or speaker cables, if I have a need to change something. These changes have little to no affect on the sound, but they keep me calm. I like what @theflattire said about owning gear for "bragging rights." I've owned some pieces that, to me, fit that description. After a while I sold them as they didn't always lead to musical enjoyment.
I never really 'listen to the system' vs the music. I do spend time optimizing it. The exception is after making a significant change I'll listen using a few of my favorite lp's. Otherwise, I just let go, feel, not analyze. My job involves enough of that, listening is a respite, not a 'task'. This is not natural for someone with my type of brain. lol I guess I'm saying the curve is flattening. Yes, I'll miss the 'hunt', but that has always been a small, but important, part of it. I'm not a big music explorer. I'm happy with 200 lp's I love, vs 2000 I can't make time to enjoy. I wish I had the time. I have no issue with listening to an lp I love a few times a month: Time Out, Kind of Blue, Fragile, etc. Unfortunately time is a constraint. If I can listen to 1 or 2 lp's a night, 500 a year. With 200 lp's, a few repeats each. I don't use my set up for background music, same as the TV. I prefer quiet when not focusing on something. My wifey is the opposite. I keep adding when a new release I want comes out. At this point just enjoying what I have. I'm in a good place. Once retired more time to play and explore. One of the beautiful things about this hobby is it is so flexible. So many approaches: Technical Art/music The hunt for gear or media Learning, research And you assign the priority.
What sweet spot? My budget? How much I planned on spending to build my finished "reference" system? It was 20 grand. I bought it 20 years ago. I have been learning how to use it for the last 20 years. It gets better and better as I learn the room and pay attention to setup. Am I finished? Heck yes. I was finished the first time I hooked it up. Except for adjustments... Yeah, twenty years of adjustments! It now sounds perfect to my ear. I can find no flaw in it. (the system). I felt that way a couple times before. It's nice to be wrong. Something can come along and bingo---I learn a new trick to improve the performance even after I thought it was perfect!! Anyway, at this point it is intoxicating. Almost dangerous to be near it. But I can almost guarantee you I will learn something more about setup this year. And will keep resetting the system as I learn more about what it likes. It is like living with someone. You learn over time. And that will never hit some sweet spot or other! But as for needing some more gear that's better? Nah. All that needs improving is as usual, ME.
I thought that the sweet spot was where you can actually discern the nuances people on SHF talk about. I gave up long ago.
