HiFi at home in 2023 - what to buy?

Hi,

I think that is true, however, this would disprove the theory as to why everyone wants to go to concerts. 

In my experience, and the "big" sound was a factor, just like the explosion of images in the late 60's in movies and music that helped bring about "progressive music" ... and the way that the "big sound" came alive was if it was "heard" by your whole body ... not just your ears. And I wonder how much modern listeners are not "getting" when they don't have this or have experienced it. you didn't go to see The Grateful Dead to just "hear" with your ears ... you went to let yourself, and body trip along and enjoy the feeling of it all ... and I wonder how much of that we have lost ... I don't think that "digital" can replace that feeling at all. Not to mention that The Grateful Dead had the greatest and best audio setup of any band EVER. Too many go for the loudness with it, and forget the rest. The GD had both, and could make your skin squeal several times in one night!

It's just a thought ... and in my experience it feels like the "music" only connects with ears, and not anything about the rest of the person ... we used to go to see Nektar, Hawkwind, Neil Young, Steely Dan, Jackson Browne, Tangerine Dream, Man ... just so we could experience the whole body thing ... the music mattered and you flowed with it and danced with it ... and it wasn't just a ear thing at all ... sorry to sound somewhat "old-fashioned" but this is something about the appreciation for music as something much higher and better than just a song for one's ears ... OKOKOK ... let me take my pill again ... but you know what? It feels like the first time you got stoned, or had a psychedelic ... you got to FEEL IT ... not just listen to it. And in the last 35 years I have not needed any of those substances whatsoever.

Hi, 

Hmmmm ... maybe I was hoping for something more impressive and specially designed for a living room ... 

The nice thing about my system, is that I can blow out the neighbors ... reminds me of my old roommate that also had a fairly good size collection, although he was into the early metal stuff (not the later in the past 10 years) ... and one day, when I brought my speaker home from being RE-CONED, the first thing I played was the opening of PT's Deadwing album, full blast ... it took him 25 seconds and he came down and what is that? ... and he liked it ... a few years later I took him to see KC with the 3 drummers in Seattle ... coming home he goes ... "that gives a new meaning to music!"

The "great" system has its advantages, and if I was a millionaire I would buy you a system, just so you could have the EXPERIENCE. There is nothing like it ... just like these days, no one will ever experience a "Cinerama Dome" (look it up) and have an incredible idea, why things like "progressive" ended up being so special. Not the only one, of course, but a good example.

PS: Side note. Across the street from the Cinerama Dome was the famous AQUARIUS THEATER that opened with HAIR in the early days ... it has since moved to a new location. I saw both 2001, and Hair on the same night, but I admit, that after the Dome experience, HAIR was not that great, but still fun!

The EXPERIENCE is where the listening needs to be ... and it ain't loudness like so many cheap bands!

Hi,

From my experience, it has to be "relative" in terms of your expenditures. Great speakers with a poor turntable, and cheap cartridge, will not sound good at all ... in fact, it would like sound very bad, since the speakers will pick up the bad stuff more and more.

I recommend making sure that the turntable and speakers are on par. On my system, I had a Pioneer 120 turntable for 30 years (replaced belts twice!), and it had one of the very first Stanton EEE cartridges that in 1976 were very expansive, but the difference in the sound was ... impossible to chart. Likewise an expansive turntable and cheap speakers will not come off well.

But if you are going all digital, I would not have a good recommendation, although my ESS  speakers handle the MP3's really well going through the mixer, amplifier (over 500 watts worth), which helps illustrate the music quite well.

It is my "general" thought that the biggest loss in the music today is that folks do not have a reasonable end set for their music, and while the headphones might help (had a Sony for 25 years ... top of the line in 1980 I think it was!), in the end, it is the "source" that matters when it comes to the real appreciation of the listening experience. 

No MP3 that I have ever heard or even recorded myself, has sounded as good on my stereo as the CD or LP ... even though my doing Space Pirate Radio shows on high MP3, makes them quite enjoyable, even on shows going back to 1974, but then, the FM station Guy was on had an excellent signal that was not exactly using toothpicks and rubber bands for towers. From a Santa Barbara perspective, in that time, you had to have a good/great signal, or you would get blown out by KMET and KLOS in Los Angeles.

This experience, is missing to a lot of folks that got into the music in the last 20 to 30 years ... the fidelity is not as clean or as good to my ears, although some bands try hard to make sure their recordings are very clean and such!