[SteveRB]

G'day all, well I've tentatively started listening to records on the system in here again, which is a good start I think.  I think a big part of the problem is that I tend to listen to the same records again and again and I think that some variation is probably in order! 

...

What are your tastes? What records do you keep going back to?

[Wayner]

I am big time into British rock. My newest LP is from a band called Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark and the album is called Crush. The first time thru I had to ask myself what it was that I just listened to. The second time thru, it was awesome.

Another one of my new (to me LPs) is from a band called Air Waves. I bought two of them, Next Stop and the other is called New Day. Like OMD, very different music, but very fun.

Here is another shocker, I bought some classical music..........

Wayner

[LM]

I think that Wayner and others that are suggesting trying other music are pretty much spot on.  Trying different phono stages against a small set of records might be enjoyable for understanding their presentation differences but seems a bit like looking down a rabbit hole to me; in the end, musically smothering.  I've tried a lot of new music styles and performers in recent years based on what has been reported on forums.  Sure, some are dead ends (for me) but others have been exciting discoveries that I might not have otherwise found. A symptom of this malaise was when I went to play existing records from my collection then realised I didn't really like them so much any more.  Tastes change, even temporarily, so time then to discover something new.  Now a lot of my older records have not been played in quite a while though I may well 'rediscover' them again someday.

Plug one (any one though I personally love my A.N.T.) of your phono stages in and promise not to change it for month at least and try something different musically.  Like Wayner said, may take a couple of plays but try with an open mind.  Hopefully, will bring some joy back.

[JLM]

Possible topic for another thread: How many albums in your library does it take to avoid boredom?

I suppose it depends on how much listening one does.

As I continue to watch the Ken Burns jazz series I keep yearning for a Tidal subscription and listen to more 30's - 50's jazz.

[dB Cooper]

Firstly, welcome to the 'sweet spot'.

Rather than listen to the same music over and over and over, I spend about half my listening time listening to radio (both internet and FM) and discovering new stuff (which I will purchase if it really grabs me). The discovery is what's interesting. But my days of a wall filled with records/CDs that get played once every three years or whatever are over. And honestly, I don't miss them all that much. I have all that on a hard drive which takes up the space of a paperback book. I can find anything I want in my collection within a minute.

'Equipment' is secondary to me now. Buying a new "This" or "That" may give a "rush" for a bit, but many, many "upgrades" are actually steps sideways which just lead to another bout of 'upgraditis' in a year, or two, or three. The biggest changes will actually be in the transducers, since they miss the mark by the biggest margin. If you really want to gain some perspective, one of the best ways is to go listen to some live music, preferably unamplified. Last year at Capital Audiofest, AudioNote had Vincent Belangér, a cellist, playing live in their room. He played his very-well-made hi-def recording and then played the same material live. While the audioNote system gave a good account of itself, it was still easy to tell the difference. The same would have been true in any of the rooms, and there were six-figure systems in some of them. So to me, 'upgrading' only goes so far. The 'new toy' wears off.

And sometimes my system sounds better to me than at other times. Mood, fatigue, preoccupations, a spider crawling down the power cord- who knows. Everything has its ups and downs. As grsimmon says, something like depression (which I have experienced) can affect everything.

I'm not a doctor, but my prescription, along with some others here, is new music.

[SteveRB]

Firstly, welcome to the 'sweet spot'.

Rather than listen to the same music over and over and over, I spend about half my listening time listening to radio (both internet and FM) and discovering new stuff (which I will purchase if it really grabs me). The discovery is what's interesting. But my days of a wall filled with records/CDs that get played once every three years or whatever are over. And honestly, I don't miss them all that much. I have all that on a hard drive which takes up the space of a paperback book. I can find anything I want in my collection within a minute.

'Equipment' is secondary to me now. Buying a new "This" or "That" may give a "rush" for a bit, but many, many "upgrades" are actually steps sideways which just lead to another bout of 'upgraditis' in a year, or two, or three. The biggest changes will actually be in the transducers, since they miss the mark by the biggest margin. If you really want to gain some perspective, one of the best ways is to go listen to some live music, preferably unamplified. Last year at Capital Audiofest, AudioNote had Vincent Belangér, a cellist, playing live in their room. He played his very-well-made hi-def recording and then played the same material live. While the audioNote system gave a good account of itself, it was still easy to tell the difference. The same would have been true in any of the rooms, and there were six-figure systems in some of them. So to me, 'upgrading' only goes so far. The 'new toy' wears off.

And sometimes my system sounds better to me than at other times. Mood, fatigue, preoccupations, a spider crawling down the power cord- who knows. Everything has its ups and downs. As grsimmon says, something like depression (which I have experienced) can affect everything.

I'm not a doctor, but my prescription, along with some others here, is new music.

My biggest 'upgrade' was downgrading to a Denon DL-103r. It plays music. I've stopped shopping my system now.