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In Reply to: Assembling a Good Audio System – black art or not? posted by John C. - Aussie on March 1, 2006 at 19:08:28:
Believe me, I've wasted a TON of money bouncing from component to component. Relatively recently, I realized why: I didn't know what kind of sound I liked. Once I locked into what kind of presentation I preferred, and was able to order my sonic priorities, everything fell into place. So, I don't think assembling a good-sounding system is a black art at all. Once you know what means "good" to YOU, assembling a rig that matches your priorities should be relatively straightforward.
Follow Ups:
And there in lies the problem, at least for me.It's not easy getting to hear enough gear to even know what's available much less make a decision on what you like. I think the biggest detriment to me getting off to a good start in this hobby was lack of dealers selling equipment I liked.
Yea there were plenty of shops around selling "recommended" or highly touted components but really not any shops around selling the kind of gear I would have fallen head over heals to own - and whats really sad is there still isn't. It's too easy to imagine, based on what one has read about something, whether or not one will appreciate the sound of certain components or kinds of systems. But until you've been around long enough you really don't know unless you get real lucky and have the appropriate dealer or an audiophile friend who shares your taste.
Way too much diversity and lack of specialization amongst dealers makes it real hard for audiophiles to find an appropriate niche.
Yea, yea it all can be "good", all that means is that everything is mediocre - good is just not good enough.
Give me rhythm or give me death!
How can anyone tell you what you like? Simple. They cannot. The "black art aspects" have to do with mating your preferences against those offered. Look how long it took you to discover what sound you really like? I have yet to hear a system that was a "must have" perform up to those same expectations without implementing some serious time with placement and room acoustic changes. Luck is when it is much better than expected. You certainly would not automatically know it would be much better by osmosis; until you try and listen.It is All subjective and this would be something you can place under the black art catagory due to the fact that: I could take your system as is, place it in a room that is nonconducive to the display YOU like and in turn, you would not like it in that setting.
The cumulation of the room, amplifiers, loudspeakers, source material and personal taste simply are so varied to have it ALL work out anytime, anyplace. This is where skill comes to play. Luck does come to play when someone purchases a rig that is very inexpensive and overall, it seems to be a crowd pleaser in multiple rooms, multiple environments. Common sense is the cumulation of aquired skills through experimentation and implementation. In many parts, it is not too common at all.
I do agree that you need to know what you like. Hearing the goals in your head is another description. We can also grow accustomed to a certain sound quality/signature and it can grow old. In this case, another leap of faith is of order. Then, the variation in source quality is to noted. Some songs sound great everywhere and others are picky as to which system/envoronment they sound good at all on. We all have bad productions in collection.
But then I changed my mind after hearing a set of speakers quite by accident. Damn....it was a real learning experience. Now, I take things real slow. I read a lot and every chance I get, I audition new equiupment to see if there isn't something that will upset the applecart again.
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