Ulysses and Sirens (on coping with upgraditis)

[kintsaki]

John Williams Waterhouse (1891) painting of
Ulysses and the Sirens,

may inspire you to find better ways to achieve your
goal to reach home (Ithaka) and get back with your
beloved mate (Pepenelope).


Your thoughts and ideas on the subject are welcomed.

PS

If you thought I meant Penelope Cruz please refer to
Wikipedia for the Homer story of Ulysses (Odysseus)


Circe had warned Odysseus of the dangers of the singing creatures
who lured men to their death on the rocks around their island.
She advised him to avoid them but said that, if he really felt that he
must, he should have his men plug their ears with beeswax and tie
him to the mast to keep him from escaping.

Odysseus had his men do so. As they passed the island, the three
Sirens began to sing beautifully, promising him wisdom and
knowledge of past and future. Enchanted by their song, he struggled
and tried to break free, but two of his men bound him even more
tightly until they passed beyond the island.

 

[REB]

Great picture. If I get this right, the Sirens are symbols for upgraditis? They represent, say, the Stax Omega, L3000 or R10? If so, what am I getting home to when I don't give in? Something even better?

 

[Punslayer]

I don't believe that the sirens represent specific headphones or other gear. They are the voices whispering from audio forums that if you go further down the upgrade path that you will be richly rewarded. If only you go far enough and spend enough money you will understand all the flowery, religious language used by audio reviewers; the heavens will open up and the gods will play for you personally.

The danger is that you can spend a lot of money and never be happy. Especially if you rely on those whispering voices for guidance and try to reach someone else's goal.

But that's just my take, your mileage may vary

You may need to find some audiophile approved beeswax to filter out the dreaded siren-song while leaving your music unmolested. Does anyone know of any good beeswax forums?

 

[kintsaki]

There may be a number of issues involved here.

The first concept is the idea "to have the cake and
eat it too".

(he wanted to hear that magical music but he was not
prepared to face the consequences)

Sirens are either product makers promising
pie in the sky, or great equippment at extremely
high prices when there are other equippment only
marginally inferior at reasonable or simply just high
prices.



The second concept is how can one enjoy the most
of his journey to his final goal.

(Ithaka being the final destination may be the ultimate rig and
your quest to it your hobby and your involvement in the forum)

The third is not to jeopordise valuebles and values
such as your money, estate and above all your
relationship with your mate and your beloved ones.

Back in Ithaca, Penelope was having difficulties, her husband having
been gone for twenty years. She did not know whether he was alive
or dead, and was beset with numerous men who thought that a fairly
young widow and queen of a small but tidy kingdom was a great
prize: they pestered her to declare Odysseus dead and choose a new
husband. They loitered about the palace, eating her food, drinking
her wine and consorting with her maidservants. Penelope was
despondent about her husband's absence, especially the mystery of
his fate. He could come home at any time—or never. Temporising,
she fended the suitors off for years, using stalling tactics that
eventually began to wear thin. Meanwhile, Odysseus's mother,
Anticlea, died of grief, and his father, Laertes, was not far off the
same end.


Ulyssus made it back to Ithaka just in time to save
his marriage and Kingdom

DIY projects, Member's Equippment reviews, Threads
and Private Messages, Forum meetings, Trial and Group
buys, buying and immediatelly turning around and
selling expensive equipment that did not live to your
expectations

are all ways to keep you on course to Ithaka,
let you enjoy your journey and
save your Kingdom and above all your Queen.

So let your men (fellow headfiers) tie you down on
the main mast and ...

... sit back and enjoy the ride ...

 

[Sherwood]

Excellent thread, Kintsaki. On a forum dedicated to prising people's money and time away from them, occasionally at the expense of musical enjoyment, it is important to have a voice of reason to tide us through the storm.

Unfortunately, for me, time spent on this forum is often inversely proportional to sanity. My recent acquisition of my 1500th post should make it abundantly clear that the riggings securing me to the mast were poorly fastened, and my face is being eaten by harpies.

Ah well.

 

[REB]

Thanks for the great post, kintsaki, I've tied myself to the mast and am facing the sirens head on!

 

[tygger]

What I see in the picture is Ulysses listening to 6.1 syren system while his teammates are patiently waiting for their beeswax ear impressions to harden. This is about speakers vs custom IEMs, right?
Thanks for the thread!

 

[kintsaki]

thanks for your responses and your great sense of humor.

Continiue posting and spending time on the forum. It is part of your siting back and enjoying your ride, and from
your responses I see that you use the forum to have the cake and eat it too. I other words you are doing fine.

Now as far as Penelope is concerned, what you do with her in your spare time is not any of my business, is it?
In case you were wondering my Penelope's real name is Athena (a goddess not just a queen, lol). Zeus' daughter
and goddess of wisdom. I love women their beutifull appearance is just the icing on the cake. It is their advanced, wondefull, and mysterious traits, that are mind blowing.

Female Headfiers come on and enlighten our minds (as in "...come on girls light up our fires..." which you do anyway).

PS I forgot to mention your highly observing posts too. I am refering to the 6.1 system. Knowing that there were only 3 sirens, I failed to see that the painting has six and that one (the subwoofer) flies low near the ship.

 

[shamu144]

Thank you Kintsaki for this instructive and reflexive thread.

As for me, I believe we face sirens every day, and head-fi is definitely a dangerous place to sail.

However, those who remember the fundamental purpose of their journey shall pass safely through. The right question to ask yourself is: what are you seeking for ?

Regards,

 

[REB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shamu144 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thank you Kintsaki for this instructive and reflexive thread. As for me, I believe we face sirens every day, and head-fi is definitely a dangerous place to sail. However, those who remember the fundamental purpose of their journey shall pass safely through. The right question to ask yourself is: what are you seeking for ? Regards,

Well spoken, shamu.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Punslayer /img/forum/go_quote.gif The danger is that you can spend a lot of money and never be happy. Especially if you rely on those whispering voices for guidance and try to reach someone else's goal.

For me, it's not so much being unhappy with the gear I have. Only a couple things were disappointing, the rest I love.

The problem is that I want to experience more. I've got an amp I'm thrilled with. Yet another is in the mail that I know I'll love. Right now, I'm taking a break from building yet another that I'm pretty sure will sound great. And I've got parts to build another four or five after this one.

It seems to be more about collecting, learning about and building the gear than seeking out the perfect system.

 

[_roland]

i'm the guy hiding under the gunwale at the bow, clamping his ears shut and staring at the floor..

 

[Happy Camper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by _roland /img/forum/go_quote.gif i'm the guy hiding under the gunwale at the bow, clamping his ears shut and staring at the floor..

Head fi has determined that this guy has a bad case of tinnitus and is using the tapping method to clear it out.