Convenience vs. Quality

I just received in the mail 2 x new stylus needles for my old LP player. The old stylus broke, so I had to order them online from the UK and then wait for a couple of weeks for delivery. When they finally arrived, i found the mechanism on my LP player broken and in need of service. Still no high quality vinyl sounds for my discerning chimp ears.

All the while, I have been streaming Google Play Music through my phone and computer and Ipad to get music whenever and wherever i want it.

The convenient solutions will spread like wildfire and then iteratively be improved until they are both convenient and of a high quality.

Meanwhile vinyl is the same as it ever was. Fantastic when it works, but a lot more involved and higher maintenance than the digital age.

Convenience vs. Quality – Convenience is kicking ass at the moment in my household.

Disrupting the audiophile world

The studio model for media creation is clearly taking a hit from various online companies (See this link for nice details), and I love to imagine what will be the real disrupting force in audiophile land. I wrote recently on the merits of MQA and hardware disruption by software all over the world. I also think we are going to experience a more discrete form of hardware in the near future. Again this will be replicated easily, but there is still a need that I can see.

Specifically, i think there will be delivery of perfect sound direct to your ears wherever you are, whenever you want it, all in a non-intrusive fashion. (Let’s face it, headphones are a pain in the rear still). I’m picturing some sort of microchip for the ear or brain which transmits high-res files to the inner ear, all while on the move. Something like this, but for entertainment purposes only.

Planned obsolescence

I already have a Marantz receiver. It decodes, amplifies and networks more audio signals than I will ever need. And yet…

http://www.whathifi.com/news/marantz-unveils-2016-home-cinema-line

…And yet i want another one this year with the slight upgrades all around.

The marketing machine in Audiophile-land, and in tech in general, means there is always something better about to be released. It’s easy to burn through money because of the stream of upgrades. Planned obsolescence.

Key then is to understand your needs versus your wants. I don’t need another receiver. I just want one. And so the marketing machine loses its potency.

The right system for the right room

I have different environments in my house which let me unleash my obsessive, audiophile twitch to different degrees. Much depends on who is sharing the room with me. My wife and young daughter are busy, and have little enthusiasm for beautiful speakers, separate amps and pre-amps, and careful consideration of source. Instead they want instant sound to a somewhat gratifying level (mostly from the TV). So it is a soundbar and sub, and/or bluetooth speakers all the way in rooms that we share.

My office is a different story, and requires a computer based digital sound system largely driven by a DAC and a headphone amp. In this room I am the chimp with cans on my head. Nobody else is listening and I can geek out on settings to my heart’s content. I can listen to obscure stuff too. All on the cans.

My final space which allows for a different setup, is the listening room, where i can set up the more fragile and complex equipment such as LP players, stereo speakers and preamps. This is a hard sell in a busy household because space is at a premium. But for now I am winning the battle.

Life being as busy as it is, most of my serious listening happens at my computer nowadays. No complaints, distractions, or interruptions. At the computer i am just a chimp, with some cans on and a big old smile on my face.

Limits and Listening enjoyment

Sometimes it is most pleasurable to work with limits. When I was a young boy, I played SimCity games on the computer for a while. I learned of a cheat that meant you never ran out of money. Even if your city was invaded by aliens, hit by tsunamis and earthquakes, looted by the criminals and polluted beyond repair – the money kept rolling in.

This cheat quickly ran out of appeal. Far more exciting is to work with what you have and try to fight off the baddies with little to no chance of survival. Sure your city crumbled to the ground most often – but once in a while the enemy retreated, the civilians loved you as a mayor – happy days.

I find listening to music to be similar. I have a NAD 3020i amplifier which is almost as old as the LP’s that I play. My speakers are small Q Acoustic 2020i’s. I know there are infinitely more expensive and powerful setups out there, but still i have never enjoyed listening to music so much. The limits of my setup means that I have to experiment with alignment of speakers, with LP needles, volume settings, and pushing the amp and speakers to breaking point. Working with these limits opens the door to miracles. Perhaps it is my brain tricking my ears into the effectiveness of some tweak, or maybe its something as simple as the amount of sleep i have had, or the food i have eaten, but sometimes it all just sounds perfect.

I suppose my biggest point is that most of us don’t have the very latest and greatest equipment. But limitless resources and equipment does not necessarily give you happy listening. Working within ones means and limits, and recognising when it all comes together is my secret to listening enjoyment.