I'm a bad audio forum participant. . .

Hantra · « **on:** 17 Jan 2007, 03:30 am »

Yes, that's right. I am just not a good forum participant and I feel sore about the whole thing.

I enjoy this forum, and the people who hang here are fantastic. It's not that I don't want to be here posting and antagonizing

, it's just that my audiophile life has been ruined over the past year plus.

I screwed up and bought McIntosh. When I did that, I had no idea that I would have no audiophile life anymore. I don't fit in with most of my old audiophile friends anymore. I don't even talk to most of them anymore, and it just kind of happened. I just have been listening to too much music since I got McIntosh gear.

I haven't even taken the time to sit down and write a review of the gear that has caused all this because I can't turn it off long enough to write. In fact, I don't even know if I know what to listen for anymore. I even tried to compare two Mc preamps the other night just for fun, and I totally forgot what the hell I was even supposed to be listening for. I just swapped them out, and I forgot to listen for the differences.

It's sad really, and I owe all you guys an apology for not being around to be the old smart alec audiophile who burned through 40-50 pieces of gear a year. I can't take all the blame for it. Some of it will have to lie with the boys in Binghamton, NY. Those bastards did this to me and I'm not sure I'll ever recover.

This is no swan song. I'm not going anywhere. I'll still come to the meets sometimes, but I can't be the perfect audiophile I once was. I don't have it in me anymore now.

When your system bleeds emotion listening to a live club recording of Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains, it's hard to be interested in changing out gear or cables anymore.

This post really has no point, and if you made it this far, you're a trooper. I really just wanted to post, but I couldn't think of anything to post about that was really audiophile quality. So the guilt set in.

L8r,

B

Bill Baker · « **Reply #1 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 03:42 am »

Quote

I can't take all the blame for it. Some of it will have to lie with the boys in Binghamton, NY. Those bastards did this to me and I'm not sure I'll ever recover.

Hey B, I live in Binghamton NY a few miles down the road from McIntosh Labs. Want me to go bitch slap them a bit for doing this to you?......... wait a minute

, I have friends that work there, I'll have to do it on their day off.

ted_b · « **Reply #2 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 03:45 am »

Brandon,
You are excused. You know not what you do...and that's ok. Your wallet is better for it (hundreds of albums and cd's cost wayyyyyyy less than hundreds of pieces of audiophilia).

If I ever change amps again, it will simply be for the MC501's or higher...period. Then I'll be a zombie too.

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But...hey, not even source swapping? How about a Squeezebox? Or a new DAC? C'mon, you know you want it....that great shakti stone, those z-rolls, z-balls, z-dampers...how about a new audio rack? Something that isolates your Mac gear in its own resonant frequency? Maybe a new power cord for each monoblock? More bass traps? Ethan says we all need more bass traps, right...? yeah....ok..? C'MON!! C'MON! YOU CAN DO IT!

zybar · « **Reply #3 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 03:46 am »

Great post B.

That might be why I haven't gotten around to writing full reviews on the Vandy 5A's, Moscode 401HR, Bolder Cable SB2 + Ultimate PS, etc...

Don't be a stranger.

George

Hantra · « **Reply #4 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 03:51 am »

Quote

Hey B, I live in Binghamton NY a few miles down the road from McIntosh Labs. Want me to go bitch slap them a bit for doing this to you?...

Thanks Bill that was the funniest thing I've read in a while. I appreciate the offer, but I've gotten the opportunity to meet Charlie Randall, and if I didn't know he was Pres. of McIntosh and Boston Acoustics, I'd think he was just another big dude who would stomp my ass in a fight.

Nice guy tho.

Quote

not even source swapping? How about a Squeezebox? Or a new DAC? C'mon, you know you want it....that great shakti stone, those z-rolls, z-balls, z-dampers...... C'MON!! C'MON! YOU CAN DO IT!

Must. . . Resist. . . .

Actually dude last week I came home and was so "audiophile bored" I went out, pulled out my dedicated breakers and put Walker SST on them. Previously I was afraid to do this because I didn't want to. . you know. . DIE. . But it was like BAM and all of a sudden I had the cover off.

I'm scared. . .

Wow George! You've made a lot of changes!

Zero · « **Reply #5 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 03:51 am »

B,

Good to see your large rear-end here once again. I'm experiencing a very similar 'problem'. Rock on.....

Hantra · « **Reply #6 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 03:54 am »

Quote from: A6M-ZERO on 17 Jan 2007, 03:51 am

B,

Good to see your large rear-end here once again. I'm experiencing a very similar 'problem'. Rock on.....

I'll whoop you boy. You need to get going on finishing the reviews you wrote that fab intro for. . . Don't leave us hangin'.

miklorsmith · « **Reply #7 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 03:56 am »

I hope we don't all meet the same maker, or *poof*, goodbye AC. Our nervosa binds us I suppose. Once we find the goals of our search, we then have nothing in common with our compatriots? Ironic. Here's to hoping you get some new, cool friends.

Bill Baker · « **Reply #8 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 03:58 am »

Quote

Thanks Bill that was the funniest thing I've read in a while. I appreciate the offer, but I've gotten the opportunity to meet Charlie Randall, and if I didn't know he was Pres. of McIntosh and Boston Acoustics, I'd think he was just another big dude who would stomp my ass in a fight

That's good cause I think he would stomp my skinny little ass too.

It really is a nice crew over there.

BradJudy · « **Reply #9 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 04:45 am »

Congrats on achieving 'escape velocity' and breaking away to just enjoy the music.

Too bad you had to get the ugliest gear out there to do it.

Hantra · « **Reply #10 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 04:50 am »

Quote from: BradJudy on 17 Jan 2007, 04:45 am

Congrats on achieving 'escape velocity' and breaking away to just enjoy the music.

Too bad you had to get the ugliest gear out there to do it.

I'd have to give that title to Musical Fidelity and their ghey little knob (that KRELL seems to be copying now).

When I walk into my room bathed in the light from my square FEET of meters, the pride of ownership is immense.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #11 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 05:53 am »

B :

Quote

I just have been listening to too much music since I got McIntosh gear.

Great !!! The way it should be.....

But you can still post B........review the music that your listening to....so we can avoid the "crappy" stuff....

Happy listening..........

Chris

Carlman · « **Reply #12 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 03:26 pm »

This thread makes me want to confess my joy at finding the end of the journey... but I know I've got just a little bit left to do.

I'm also a McIntosh convert.. corrupted by Hantra... I've pretty much just copied what he's done for the past year or so and am extremely pleased with the sound.

Occasionally I find something that enhances the sound and I'll take to it over to compare... and usually have consistent results. Sometimes it's a validation that I got good value for what I paid... other times it's something B has to have... (rare, but it happened)

I enjoy the friends and community I've found here more than the actual gear swapping now. I wish B would review more of his music also... Just start a thread on a genre and start posting away! He listens to everything from the Pixies to Steve Kimock to... you name it. He's always got some GREAT live music that I've never heard of when I get there...

So, thanks, B... you've really helped me achieve system and music nirvana over the years... Looking forward to our next comparo...

(BTW, I'll be comparing B's C2200 preamp and Scott Nixon USB DAC to my modified TacT.... Also, later... I will be comparing one of the EE BBA's that are going around.... after that, I should be done.... I'll either stay where I am or make the final change. I will not go backwards from where I am... it sounds VERY good in my room right now)

-C

woodsyi · « **Reply #13 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 04:04 pm »

Gentlemen,

Without being religious, I just want to remind you that Buddha still came back to teach even after enlightenment because he felt compassionate for the mass who toils in an uphill battle everyday. So those of you who are in sonic nirvana, please come back. We are mired in audio gear exchange and need your wisdom.

miklorsmith · « **Reply #14 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 04:12 pm »

Nirvana is the most misunderstood term in Buddhism.

Those in the West recognise the term as meaning Heaven, or a Heaven on Earth, or perhaps a famous rock band.

The Buddha described Nirvana as the ultimate goal, and he reached that state during his enlightenment. At this point, he chose to teach others so that they might also experience this realisation, and so when he died, forty-five years later, he then passed through pari nirvana, meaning completed nirvana.

Nirvana literally means extinguishing or unbinding. The implication is that it is freedom from what ever binds you, from the burning passion of desire, jealousy, and ignorance. Once these are totally overcome, a state of bliss is achieved, and there is no longer the need the cycle of birth and death. All karmic debts are settled.

The Buddha refused to be drawn on what occurred then, but implied that it was beyond word and without boundaries. Certainly, he saw it in a much different state than our current existence, and not a simple parallel to the process of individual rebirth.

Apros pos reference, to be sure. Release me, unbind me from my crappy CD player!

Carlman · « **Reply #15 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 06:03 pm »

Actually, it's an unbinding to the search, a release from the obsession I think Hantra has found and I have as well.. but to a slightly lesser degree.
-C

miklorsmith · « **Reply #16 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 06:14 pm »

I understand. I believe I'm exactly one DAC away from that enlightened place where I will need to search no more. I have found the DAC and it is lost somewhere in the French postal service. Unfortunately, it's paid for so I wait with fingers crossed.

Cacophonix · « **Reply #17 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 06:34 pm »

Quote from: Carlman on 17 Jan 2007, 06:03 pm

Actually, it's an unbinding to the search, a release from the obsession I think Hantra has found and I have as well.. but to a slightly lesser degree.
-C

Amen to that!

I'm still in the process of attaining this state of bliss... hopefully my next iteration will be my last.

Canyoneagle · « **Reply #18 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 07:58 pm »

Aha!
This is one of the reasons AC feels so much more REAL than many other Audiophile forums out there.
Like you, I find it liberating to be finding my own sense of nirvana that is driven by the music eminating from the room rather than the gear that is releasing it.
For me, my simple little system has provided the doorway I needed to settle on my final goals.
I've got a couple more swaps to make (from within the food chain of my current system) over the next couple of years, and I feel that I'll be done! aa
For the time being, I've been re-discovering the sublime experience that music can provide without fussing with the gear.

B, don't fly away completely!!!!

At some point, we all must be able to walk on the ground despite the beckoning from beyond the great door!!!!!

Keep the music flowing!

Warmly,
Michael

playntheblues · « **Reply #19 on:** 17 Jan 2007, 10:24 pm »

Hantra, I'll be the Johnny come lately.............What McIntosh amp did you buy?