[mai-qi]

I come from China. I use the ear 912 front stage and 509 rear stage of Tim, the king of vacuum tubes in Britain. The horn is ktema from Italy. I like them very much.

[JLM]

Welcome!

Impressive gear.

[Phil A]

Welcome!

[FlakeyPastry]

Good points made, all of these.

As a society, we have come to value convenience over everything else.
So everything we consume, needs to be available in a convenient manner;
music, and how it is delivered is not immune to this unfortunately.

The trade-off, and there always is one, is that the level of engagement has eroded,
and with that, the level of enjoyment. Have you noticed how few people actually sit
down and pay attention to what they are listening to - sad but true.

Music has become something that is used to pass the time or set the mood,
not something to consciously engage with/in. The mainstream mass market audio industry
now caters to this based upon a model of convenience coupled with temporal possession.

[headtheory]

Audiophile here! Just introducing myself. Hello!

[TABARD]

The trouble is Audiophile of 20 years ago is not longer Audiophile. Through a mutual friend I was introduce to a local guy (who considers himself an audiophile) and had top notch system which he bought 20 years ago. Hearing that I built tonearms, he invited me around to his house to hear his system.
Well to say the least it sounded, like a 20 year old system, My 2nd system in my workshop build from China kit pre & power. W/dale speaker i had given to me, sounded vastly superior to his system.

So being an audiophile is a moving target, you don't need a massive budget, you do need to keep up with the improvements of the industry, which he never bothered to do.

Cheers

[JLM]

Good point audio is a moving target, but tastes have changed in 20 years too.  Compared to 20 years ago for instance bass has gotten deeper and thinner.  Much of this is driven by consumer demands as we live in smaller/shared spaces that are closer to neighbors.  And marketing influences can't be under estimated (this topic could extend into a giant thread).

In your neighbor's case caps have degraded, surrounds are wearing out, connections have corroded, etc.  And you surely have owner bias.  Of course the conveniences afforded by modern design can't be beat and I wouldn't trade them for vintage. 

[Echolane]

I grew up when two channel stereo systems were the norm.  There were record stores like Tower all over and there were audio shops stocked with all sorts of audio gear where you could listen to all the systems.  Now we have multi-channel AV systems, headphone and portable listening possibilities, streaming and more, but there is a definite scarcity of audio shops.  It’s hard to buy gear, though it is definitely available on line.   In spite of the varied possibilities and the difficulty of putting together good systems, there are still folks out there who are audiophiles.  I know, because I belong to a local club with hundreds of members.

[Scotman]

Just joining after buying my latest speakers from Jim, the Veracity (without a name yet) ones that were available for immediate delivery. Have been into audiophile music since my teens, currently retired and love these speakers! Current system is:

Conrad Johnson CA 150
Marantz 30n
MoFi Ultradeck
Salk Sound Veracity Custom (see available for immediate delivery)

Love the speakers and looking forward to joining all of you on the forum.

Iain

[bcuz]

Hello,

I wanted to introduce myself. I have purchased a pair of SS8's from Jim about 8 years ago. They look and sound awesome.

Bill

[peterpa]

I'm 82 and have been a lifelong audiophile, starting with my first self-constructed tube amplifiers and tone arm in the early "60s. I have two questions:
1. Are vinyl records really better than digital? Personally I was thrilled with the advent of CDs, with their freedom from clicks and scratches. I still am and cannot discern any superiority from vinyl. I think it's just nostalgia for the sound of the crap record players of our youth. I admit to getting a thrill from putting a new vinyl record on the turntable. I just bought a recently issued record titled "Ella and Louis", which has magical renderings of: A Foggy Day in London Town; April in Paris; Stars Fell on Alabama and lots more, . It was gloriously free of extraneous noises for 3 playings. Now the clicks are accumulating. I think if I bought the CD I would not perceive any worse sound but it would stay clean.

2. My present system is great, $9000 today, but one of the inputs is an optical cable from the TV. I use this to listen to Met Opera On Demand. It sounds good to me but I have no direct comparison. What sound quality would you expect from an optical input from a TV?

[toocool4]

1. Are vinyl records really better than digital?

Personally I was thrilled with the advent of CDs, with their freedom from clicks and scratches.
I still am and cannot discern any superiority from vinyl.
I think it's just nostalgia for the sound of the crap record players of our youth.

Both very good, but different to each other. Whenever someone says to me one is better than the other, I say to them they have not heard a good example of the other.

The better the record player, the lower the background noise also keeping your records clean helps.

It’s not nostalgia for me.

By the way, I have no preference for either but since I am mostly invested in analogue, I am happy to keep it going. For me to get a digital setup as good as my analogue setup, it would cost me a lot so I would rather spend that money on more music.

[FullRangeMan]

1. Are vinyl records really better than digital? Personally I was thrilled with the advent of CDs, with their freedom from clicks and scratches. I still am and cannot discern any superiority from vinyl. I think it's just nostalgia for the sound of the crap record players of our youth. I admit to getting a thrill from putting a new vinyl record on the turntable. I just bought a recently issued record titled "Ella and Louis", which has magical renderings of: A Foggy Day in London Town; April in Paris; Stars Fell on Alabama and lots more, . It was gloriously free of extraneous noises for 3 playings. Now the clicks are accumulating. I think if I bought the CD I would not perceive any worse sound but it would stay clean.

Hi Peter,
+1 on this, unfortunately I dont like the vinyl surface noises, but I keep buying vinyl, not to listen what would ruin them. I buy only albums with nice covers, those big covers are wonderful, I see vinyl as a piece of art everyone can afford to hang on the wall.

[Tsantil]

I'm not a expert but doing a memory search, during the late 70's in high school, I don't remember most high school kids having more than decent stereos. In the early 80's, the vast majority of dorm rooms or apartments didn't have great stereos, just a few apartments with Technics/Pioneer/Sansui complete systems and usually for partying reasons, not great sound. There was a friend of a friend who had his equalizer sliders set in a giant smile pattern!

Didn’t every EQ get setup with the smiley face pattern?  Mine sure did back in College…. Live and learn.

[Buddyman]

Today, I found a new audiophile website !!

[raceman14]

Just introducing myself to the site.
And, yes there are less audiophiles out there. You will have to guess why as I don't want my first post to be from the "old man on the front porch"
Thanks,
Mark

[FullRangeMan]

Welcome to AC, I love country 

[onkenluc]

They don have previous experience on good loudspeakers or even bad speakers and they think hi-fi audio prices are too expensive compared to his new Best Buy TV.

This situation a long with the new $399 Lii Audio F15 FR driver wonder will lead home audio to market changes.

I think the Lii Audio F15 FR driver is very good to build an Open Baffle starting with the plans for the famous "the Betsy"

[ArthurDent]

Greetings & Welcome to AC   

[dhoperos]

Introducing myself as someone who loves music