Progressively better equipment is not increasing my enjoyment. Time to downgrade a bit?

Ohighway

Ohighway

Wannabe Minimalist
Subscriber
Just one of those things that hit me lately.

I was sitting in the family room last week, looking at my equipment. Then it strikes me.... when did I last fire up my system? It's been at least a month..... maybe two. Maybe longer? Lack of time is not an excuse as I'm retired and have the house to myself around 6 hours a day .

So.....what gives?

My 25 year old self owned 'lesser' equipment but I was always listening. Fast forward 40 years, and even with having upgraded equipment and more source material..... not so much. In fact not much at all.

Like many others my hearing has gone downhill somewhat. But in spite of that I can still listen to a system and hear subtle changes, differences between tubes, cables, hell even power cords. So bad hearing isn't an excuse.

Now this is not saying that I'm lacking music in my life. For whatever reason, most of the time, I have music playing in my head. Sometimes things I've heard, other times music that my brain seems to have created. Sometimes a mix of the two. Occasionally it's so prevalent that I can't 'shut it off' and get to sleep. It's playing as I type this.

It's really got me thinking. If the newer (to me) and better equipment is not increasing my desire to listen or my listening enjoyment, maybe I'd be better off selling a bunch and dropping back to the level I owned back in my 20s?
 
If that's the case for you, then maybe keep the better made equipment. Try to select the equipment thats known to hold up better over time. Just one of the reasons I like the early to mid 70's Marantz equipment is the build quality and ease of repair. Like seperate boards for the different sections.
 
Maybe you're reached the limits of your hearing abilities? It might be time to just stop worrying about the next step and sit back and enjoy the music.

That "old stuff" can still sound pretty durn good. I still love the sound of my Marantz 2230/2270 with my JBL L-26 Decade speakers. It may not be hi falutin' but it's still sweet to my hairy old ears.
 
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Get something simple, like a Pioneer SX-550 or SX-636, or a Marantz 2230, a Sansui 5050, that sort of thing. Something nice but basic, something that fires up immediately.
 
Everyone has difference personal preference. As long as your gear matches you personal preference, brand or price point does not matter. I've sold more $50 receivers than I care to admit and I have seen their reactions.
 
I think maybe a few of you are misunderstanding.

In spite of some minor hearing loss problems, I'm still perfectly capable of hearing the differences between mediocre, good, better, etc. equipment. As mentioned I can often hear the difference between tubes, cables, power cables, etc. So I don't think my hearing is dragging me down so to speak.

It's just more of a situation where spending more and getting better equipment is not providing me more satisfaction or leading me into listening more.
 
I dunno if this is relevant, but how much time do you spend "fussing" over equipment?
I know the more I get tied into projects, the less time I have to just sit back and enjoy the music playing.
I've got the Heath Altecs as an ongoing project, with some things to resolve, but its important that I do take time
to just put some music on while I read or meditate or whatever it is that amuses me ...

Make it a point to just fire up the system daily - if you can.

And yes, if you have too many systems, thin the herd so you can just enjoy music again and not be fussing with hardware!


Ohighway said:
Just one of those things that hit me lately.
I was sitting in the family room last week, looking at my equipment. Then it strikes me.... when did I last fire up my system? It's been at least a month..... maybe two. Maybe longer? Lack of time is not an excuse as I'm retired and have the house to myself around 6 hours a day .

So.....what gives?

My 25 year old self owned 'lesser' equipment but I was always listening. Fast forward 40 years, and even with having upgraded equipment and more source material..... not so much. In fact not much at all.

It's really got me thinking. If the newer (to me) and better equipment is not increasing my desire to listen or my listening enjoyment, maybe I'd be better off selling a bunch and dropping back to the level I owned back in my 20s?
Click to expand...
 
I suggest is isn't the equipment, but THE SELECTION/COMBINATION that might be the culprit. I've been there a few times. I once felt my whole system sucked. Changed phono cart. My cassette tapes sounded better, the phono sounded better. Got a little excited and started moving the speakers around a little bit AND THEY SOUNDED BETTER AS WELL.
 
Ohighway said:
I think maybe a few of you are misunderstanding.

In spite of some minor hearing loss problems, I'm still perfectly capable of hearing the differences between mediocre, good, better, etc. equipment. As mentioned I can often hear the difference between tubes, cables, power cables, etc. So I don't think my hearing is dragging me down so to speak.

It's just more of a situation where spending more and getting better equipment is not providing me more satisfaction or leading me into listening more.
Click to expand...

Are you sure it's not the recordings themselves? Perhaps the better equipment is revealing flaws that are not pleasant. I definitely have went through that myself. When I first went high end I went through quite a musical change.from classic rock to female vocalists and such.
 
I think you could have the best equipment known to man and it doesn't guarantee anything like , your going to listen to it all the time now?. Maybe you are in a different stage in your life right now that spending time with your stereo isn't a priority right now. An that's ok, it's doesn't mean you have to sell your gear or anything. It doesn't mean we pull your "audiophile card" or anything either. The stereo doesn't know it's not being used or neglected so to speak. Possibly your over thinking it, it doesn't matter how old or new, how improved or not the stereo is. Your gonna turn it on whenever you really want to, not because it's new to you and it should be turned on an listened too. If this makes any sense at all good, people's priorities , wants an needs change daily so I really don't think it's anything to be worried about.
 
Try an experiment with yourself. Sit down and listen to some music, select the same stuff that is running through your head, as least those artists and cuts that you have in records. Listen to it a few minutes and jot down a few notes on how you are feeling (emotionally). then continue to listen for a few hours more and jot down your feelings again. That may reveal your emotional reaction to the system's overall impact on you. It may point a path to a change that will leave you feeling happier with the system in the future.

None of us can offer a really intelligent suggestion for you, until you can pin down what it is that either tires you or repels you or fails to excite you or whatever it is that lies at the core of your dis-interest.

Shelly_D
 
Well, I think you are ready to step up to the next level and stop being an, "Audiophile," and become a real music lover.

I once loved critical speakers, Infinity for me, but there are plenty others. Each upgrade reveals new flaws, an endlessly futile path.
One I discovered that there are musical, but not fatiguing, or critical, speakers I was able to enjoy the music and stop critiquing my system.

These days my Infinities sit unused and I listen to some Advent Legacy speakers, which I'm certain are not good enough for all you audiophiles, but they are not fatiguing, they don't bring out every flaw, and the music sounds pretty good. Personally, I'm likening them and saving some cash too!
 
analoge4ever said:
Well, I think you are ready to step up to the next level and stop being an, "Audiophile," and become a real music lover.

I once loved critical speakers, Infinity for me, but there are plenty others. Each upgrade reveals new flaws, an endlessly futile path.
One I discovered that there are musical, but not fatiguing, or critical, speakers I was able to enjoy the music and stop critiquing my system.

These days my Infinities sit unused and I listen to some Advent Legacy speakers, which I'm certain are not good enough for all you audiophiles, but they are not fatiguing, they don't bring out every flaw, and the music sounds pretty good. Personally, I'm likening them and saving some cash too!
Click to expand...

While I agree with this 100%, and it is entirely possible that this factor is at play for the OP, at this point all we know is that the OP has stopped listening to his system on a regular basis. We can assume it does not provide an engaging, involving experience, but we don't know why.
 
I have a variety of lifelong interests that come in and out of focus. I feel no obligation to "correct" the situation when one is temporarily moving to the background nor do I think I need to dump all my equipment and start over when that happens. I'm always pleased when, as my interests rekindle, I still have the good quality equipment to come back to and a substantial history with the interest that helps me appreciate it.

When you force yourself to keep the interest at a peak level all the time, when you feel the need to analyze and define your response to it, it turns into a job and completely spoils any pleasure you might otherwise find.
 
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