Your audiophile embarassment

Sometimes when listening to a digital file I'll have two copies of the same album at different resolutions. I always click on the one at higher KPBS rating because that is the one with the better sound. And a few times I'll be sitting there telling myself "yeah I think it really does sound better" and then I'll look down and see that I actually clicked on the lower resolution file

 

On my "vintage" speakers I have two different gauges of speaker wire running each speaker.

 

No bad thing at all, it's much more fun to spend on new music!

I've fallen for the same trap (in spite of my left brain's warning not to, funny how hype can override logic) to the tune of a similar amount in USD.

At least yours *looks* a little posh and expensive, mine looked like something a part-time hobbyist made in his garage!

 

My current lack of a turntable.

 

The few CDs I "treated" with Armour All all still play fine.

But I liked the 3M Imperial Hand Glaze better...

 

My audiophile embarrassment? I still think cables make a difference! And feet, platforms, CD Transports, DACs, amps......

 

Not my embarrassment but I witnessed it.

I was invited by a local Linn dealer to an event to hear their new eagerly awaited Lingo power supply in action.
When I arrived it was packed and we all dutifully sat down prepered to be amazed and part with £500 for the new product.

They put on a record and we all listened intently. At the end a chap in the center of the room put his hand up and explained to the crowd how he had the same record and the same Linn deck, amp setup and was amazed at how different it sounded. He stated that there seemed to be more air around the instruments and that the very beat seemed tighter with lots more PRAT (Pace, Rhythm And Timing) than he had ever heard before.

The demonstrator could hardly keep a straight face when he had to explain to him that he hadn't actually plugged the lingo in yet!!!

 

Had a girlfriend (ex-model) who loved fooling around a lot, grilling fresh steak, bringing home micro brews, giving back rubs etc. Had to move out and into to my aunts basement so I could spend more time comparing cables, CD release variations, power conditioners, etc.

 

I've used Bose Acoutimass 3 speakers in my setup for about 26 years.

 

Brilliant!

 

I bought a batch of NOS Russian power tubes for cheap. I had no tester and had an integrated that was certainly on the way out. Many would not bias and flamed out. It was pretty stupid, really.

 

In one of the very first iterations of gear and when I was very young (14), got home set it all up and put on a disk. No Sound. Irate I called the store. A very patient sales person then walked me through it. Everything was fixed once I plugged the receiver in. I worked selling audio for many years. I was that sales person more times in those years to come than I could have imagined. Even when plugged in one must beware the infamous switched outlet

 

Someone told me that licking the lazer side of CD would fill in the cracks and scuffs and stop them from skipping. Utter nonsense. (I wish I didn't know that for sure. )

 

LMAO

 

What can I say ?
The green pens did may a difference but most notably on lesser players.

 

All of those thing could be explained in room differences, not mention room treatments.

 

I owned - for the briefest of moments - a pair of Shahinian Elves; real audiophile esoterica that I fell in love with the idea of. Paid something like $1,600. And they didn't sound as good as the 301's they were supposed to replace.

 

I know, right? A grown @$$ man sitting there licking the backs of CD. I win this thread don't I?

 

Not so fast, pal. See above.

 

You know, there's probably a specialized forum just for CD lickers.

 

I own a pair of Shahinian Obelisks with the stereo subwoofer coupled to a John Bedini amp and preamp and the sound is just heavenly. The transmission-line bass is incredible. Shame you didn't like the Elves.
Dick Shahanian was an amazing man, audio genius, classical musician, and an all around great guy.

 

Here's the other half of my audiophile embarrassment. My 301s are powered by a Sony receiver and an Onkyo CD player as housed in a Samson rack and supported by an old JBL subwoofer. I actually rarely use this computer audio system for pure music listening and it does works pretty well for gaming audio (shotgun blasts blowing away zombies sound awesome). It also works rather good for big soundtrack listening when I watch a Blu-ray on my 4K computer monitor . No need for surround sound in my small office as the Bose (supported by the JBL subwoofer) disperse the soundstage rather well.

 

I'm off it, man. Just experimenting in my youth.

 

Well, to be fair, they just weren't right for a lot of the hard rock/prog stuff I was playing at the time; Led Zeppelin II just made them sound broken. They sounded lovely on small-ensemble classical music, solo guitar, bossa nova, etc. I know lots of people love the Obelisks, particularly in the UK where Shahinian actually has dealers. No such luck in the N.W.

I'd replace "sound as good" in my post, with "work as well".

 

Wow I can relate to this one. I own four pairs of headphones that cost about a thousand dollars in total. I only use one pair, the AKG K712, and only about once or twice a week. Usually they collect dust. I prefer to listen to speakers at least ninety percent of the time although I love the sound of my headphone rig.