[sterling1]

Has the quest for state-of-the-art  audio reproduction brought about a satisfying experience, or is your pursuit one which is insatiable?  Has the promise  of components which will "blow you away" ever materialized? Is it possible, after powering-up your components to get beyond critical analysis of the sound to just immerse yourself in the music? Has the pleasure of it all been commensurate with the expense?

 

[Happy Camper]

I'm pretty good with it. Born in the fifties, I've heard bad. Today's gear can be matched to balance a system for the optimum performance each component has to offer.
 
Besides, if the consumer doesn't want better recordings, we'll be living in a lossy, compressed world.

 

[sterling1]

Well then, you literally are a "happy camper".

 

[TheAttorney]

Yes, yes, yes and mostly yes.
 
The "mostly yes" relates to the last question.  In that I only became unreservedly satisfied with my system once it got once I got past a certain high end level, which, in practice, meant high expense. And believe me, I wasted much time and effort trying to find those low cost giant killers. The downside is that the law of diminishing returns does come into play. Not in the potential for increase in enjoyment, but in the cost it takes to get to that next level.
 
I really enjoy my system now, and have carefully chosen it to be kind to a wide range of recording qualities, so that I easily get immersed in the music even if the recording is less than perfect. But I still look out for potential upgrades. Not because I suddenly become dissatisfied with the last purchase once the novelty has worn off, but because it's a hobby and I like new toys.

 

[DjAmTraX]

Yes, I am satisfy with what I have, but I like buying new gear not to replace old but to add to the collection.  I like changing things around every so often.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I'm 99% of the way there. I own all the headphones I really wanted and love them.

I have two amps I really wanted and several others in parts. The workshop keeps meeting with delays, unfortunately, but the amps I really want just require labor now. I have the parts.

I have all the sources I want. Still need to finish building my D1 DAC and restore the HQ-129X (my AM and shortwave receiver), but have the rig and the parts.

And I just need cabinets for the Orion3 speakers, everything else is in boxes. Still, I have the ProAc Response 2.5 clones and Quad ESL-63s, both of which I'm very happy with.

So while I still need to put in the sweat equity, I'm in the end game. With any luck, I'll wrap it up by the end of the year.

No, I won't be going away. I still love the hobby and will take things in a different direction.

 

[Clarkmc2]

The combination that has done it for me is a rig that I think is objectively really good and subjectively great. The result gives me what I really want to hear – something very convincing. I don’t care how a system measures or what other listeners think of it. I do care if it convinces me I am listening to music as I would hope to experience it first hand.
 
That is not necessarily the same as reproducing the original performance. If the recording process and the reproduction of it give me a better seat than I could ever have had at the performance, that would be even better. Recording “live” or close miked and isolated, I don’t care. Whatever works.
 
No question that the good newer stuff is better than the good old stuff. Until I got away from vintage gear and tried contemporary exemplary, it was always a matter of being used to what I had. All of which was fine until I heard something better, of course. Now I am satisfied. I never listen to the equipment anymore, not even for a moment. The music transports me to my happy place unless the music sucks, so these days I am picky about what I listen to.
 
But gear isn’t that important. If the music is good enough it excites me from a car radio. It is all about the music and the listener.
 
Did it cost much? By some standards, yes. But the journey was not endless, and wisdom and luck kept it reasonable. I think swapping around endless gear is nice for hobbyists but useless and counterproductive for enjoying music. Just never mind what others think and trust your ears. If you think something sounds wonderful until someone else pronounces it crap, then you are not music oriented enough yet to get this to work for you. It is still too much about the gear. That mindset WILL make the journey endless, frustrating and unsatisfying.
 

 

[Frihed89]

I am not sure my path is that obsessive. I started with some Blue Circle gear and that got me hooked. Then I wanted to try tube-PP. That took me to SET and Audio Note. Now I am back into both Class A PP-triode and low power SET, but the later journey has really just started. I will be getting a pair of Fi Audio 2A3 mono amps in July. I am always experimenting with new sound, to see if it fits my preferences. My biggest issue, now, with headphones is these bloody LCD-2s. I can't tell if I really like them or if my amps, or cables, are an issue. I need to work through this slowly, so I don't make a stupid and costly mistake. I really enjoy my 2 headphone amps and K-701 headphones, so it's not like I don't have something to fall back on. Onward and upward.