Quote:
Originally Posted by Alberto
It can definitely happen. It happened to me in the last few months. We'll see if it lasts  .
I REALLY surprised myself one day when I realized that my system sounded just the way I wanted and I had, for the most part, a bunch of components that I really craved (SF Guarneris, MDA1000, MC501.)
I'd like to say that I was smart, but I believe I just got VERY lucky. Lucky to hear a McIntosh a few years ago and realized that it had the sound it wanted. Lucky to run into you guys and to trust your advice regarding the MDA1000 and MC501. Lucky that a guy 2 miles from my house put a pair of SF Guarneris for sale on Audiogon. Lucky that KMC45 had a pair of 501s at a price I could not resist. And so on.
If there was a smart part, it was that I had a pretty clear idea of the sound I was after and did not compromise in either direction. If I bought a component that did not give it to me, I got rid of it after giving it a fair shake (a month or so). This was, at times hard to do (i.e. buy for $3,000 and sell for $2,000 a month later), but it was in the end the right thing to do. BY the same token, if I liked the sound of a component, I kept it - even if there were opportunities and temptations to "upgrade" (the C220 is a perfect example.)
Once I got the sound I liked (after several years), I decided "If it ain't broke don't fix it." But, to be fair, it's not requiring much, if any, self restraint. I just fire up the system and I am ecstatic. I enjoy reading about audio and helping others, but I've lost my cravings. Not because I've have some sort of "audio depression" or "audio apathy", but because I have satisfied those cravings.
I am not sure if the above makes any sense, but I thought I'd share it anyway.
Alberto
P.S. I went through a similar phase with watches, BTW. I kept a Patek, a Hublot Chrono, Rolex GMTII and a couple more. I stopped reading watch magazines and never felt the urge to "get back" in the hobby. Same things with guitars (went from 20+ to just a few "precious" ones) - and guitar amps (down to 2). I stopped reading guitar magazines, but I still play - occasionally. |
Alberto,
I admire your "luck" as things seem to fall in place. BUT the real geez is I think you have the self discipline and psychic to just "STOP"! I am trying my very best on comics, magazines and hifi. Somehow, the CD's acquisition had stopped (maybe I am very old now) but the Bluray DVDs is not! Thankfully, its not about replacement, where the dire happen during the LD to DVD transition. That move alone would have yielded me a good component and probably a bedroom system if properly executed in a used market.
I have to start somewhere and I am using my Acapella High Violon as the foundation. If the MA6600+TM2/3 is sufficient to bring me the enjoyment, then off goes the MC501's. However, if not, then the entire McGears I have today will belong to the bedroom system where the Vintage system will go!
If so, I have the choice to either restart all over again - base on the "simplicity rule" or what I want to partner the speakers with. And maybe even starting all over again by dishing off the Acapella's and looking at perhaps smaller speakers like the Wilson Sasha, PMC EB1i or IB2i or maybe a complete MBL or McIntosh latest system - speakers have to be reasonable size in the looks of XR200 or probably the newer XR500!
But this time, it just have to be THE END! Life is about enjoyment and not chasing .... too tired! I have reached that stage! Its not about the money (spending or losing during trade off's) but about why I cant just sit down, put in a CD and simply enjoy! Look nowhere else but just the system in front! Lofty dream huh? I hope to make that happen in year 2010!~
Crazy as it may sound, but I am determine to make that happen!
