I mod, and have experimented with lots of things. I think I've been fairly successful in getting to the heart of things and tuning them to my liking. Lets see if I can break down my assessment and experience in this area into a top 10 discussion points:
1) There are several/many types speaker designs (cone, planer, OB, etc.), each one has strengths and weankesses, each one is shooting for "The Goal" of perfect sound, and each one sounds very different from the other.
2) The sound of your own system is most likely your ultimate reference, because you hear it most often, know it intimately, understand some of it's flaws and weaknesses, and use it as a basis of comparison when you hear others.
3) If you're happy with your system and/or don't listen to others or get equipment to try out in yours you are probably unaware of some weknesses that may exist in it. Or put another way, ignorance is bliss.
4) There are 2 or 3 directions to go with any improvement
- perfect, analytical sound with pristene detail and extension that lets you hear Everything
- foot tapping, musical enjoyment that gets you into the music more
- the way the "experts" say they like it
5) The problem with the way the "experts" like it is often a means to an end for them. They are reviewing and need to hear nuances and details that allow them to hear the character of a piece. If you've ever listened to a system this way you will probably have found that it is fatiguing, takes a lot of concentration and is not always for the enjoyment of the music as much as for the sound of the equipment. In other words, the system becomes a tool rather than for musical enjoyment.
6) Every room is different, so don't think that what sounds good in one place is necessarily going to sound the same in another. Reviewers don't have perfect rooms, just like the rest of us.
7) Unless you compare and contrast what you have with something else you can't begin to understand the trade-off's and/or improvements a change can make. Sure, small bookshelves throw a nice soundstage and disappear, but they don't have the full weight of the music behind them and, as nice as they sound, it might not suit your every need.
8 ) The nature of the hobby/neurosis is perfection, which is unachievable. I mean, how many of you couldn't tell live music from amplified music if you entered a room blindfolded? There's a compromise which will suit your needs, but you have to find it or get close enough that you are satisfied. Some never get there, or don't want to, that's why the used marketplace is a thriving enterprise (and a great opportunity for others).
9) Trust only lasts until uncertainty is thrown into the picture. So if you're happy, you will most likely start questioning your happiness after hearing something better/different, or after reading about something better/different. So, the review magazines are a tool of the industry. That doesn't mean they are corrupt, or selling good reviews for ad dollars. No, they do quite enough by inserting uncertainty and the concept of "there's better out there" into your little audiophile mind.
10) We are all compromized ... our ears, our rooms, our wallets, our spouses and SO's, our experiences, our exposure to live music, our likes and dislikes, our hearing, our ability to write long meandering sentences ... To know onesself is more than just an audiophile goal. It is something most strive for all their lives and never achieve. So who thinks they can achieve it in our little hobby either, especially since there are people out there changing the rules, and the tools all the time. The variables are almost infinite, so the experiment is flawed. That doesn't mean you can't have fun or enjoy your systema nd the music it produces. It does mean that you will always be compromizing. So maybe the answer is to relax, have a beverage of choice and spin some disks. Isn't that supposed to sooth the savage beastie?
Enjoy,
Bob
