I just listened to my new… and I was BLOWN AWAY!!!
OK… a little thought experiment… think of all the times you installed new equipment over the years and was BLOWN AWAY… Now… what if we go back in time to your audio nerdity beginnings … and what if you just installed the equipment you have today? Think about it…
Now you turn it on - but wait a minute, before you turn it up… now add up all the BLOWN AWAYs youve had since then… you are about to get the sum total of all your years of BLOWN AWAYs… all at once. OMG!
OK, go ahead and turn it up… KABOOOM! Your brain and little sticky bits are now all over the wood panel walls of your den.
In my time in the hobby I have only had a few cases of surprise.
The first one was back in the mid 90’s when it was either my speakers or my amp broke in while I was listening from the kitchen. All of a sudden the music bloomed and jumped up a couple of notches in overall sound quality. You couldn’t miss the difference.
The second, also back then was the first time I played vinyl and noticed it sounded far better than any CD I had.
The last and only time I’d characterize as blown away is a bit of a combo. That is the first time I plugged my DSD into my modest system. I thought to myself “Damn, that sounds really good”. However when I installed the Red Cloud update I really did say “Holy Shit!” aloud.
Now I’ll see what Snowmass has in store when I get the chance. I want to do a few tweaks to my system while I still have Red Cloud installed and familiarize myself with any differences first.
I’ve had several ‘blown away’ occurrences in the past few years.
I’m continually amazed how good my speakers, made by essentially 3 people collaborating, can sound - Ascend Acoustics Sierra 2 - RAAL ribbons and SEAS woofer in a bamboo cabinet.
Iconoclast TPC speaker leads - by far the ‘best’ cables I’ve ever heard or owned, though I’ve not really heard that many at this level.
BHK preamp - far more enjoyment from the music vs. DS direct to amp.
Pink Faun 2.16 with upgraded clocks - next level
Snowmass for sure! My DS came with Redcloud, no comparison in my system.
I’m reading this for the second time, and I’m still not sure I get it. Can you elaborate on the idea of the “thought experiment”? Are you saying that you would be really amazed by your current system vs. the one you started out with - or that you wouldn’t? Or that all the B.A.’s do not add up to that? Confused.
So, I just purchased a new laundry detergent! 10% whiter! Last year, I purchased a new laundry detergent… 20% whiter… The year before that…
Now when I look at my T-shirt I need sun glasses, the first I looked at it out of the wash, it burned a hole in my retina… gotta nice tan from it though.
All good fun but there is a serious point here. I’m sure we all suffer from varying degrees of ‘expectancy bias’ even if we are not aware of it.
Over the years I’ve noticed this: what sounded like a good SQ improvement when I changed something became not really significant after a few weeks of listening. Part of this is obviously inherent in poor audio memory but I think expectancy bias was also to blame, however I suspect that if I could compare SQ before and after a multitude of changes I would definitely be able be hear a long-term gain.
For me I can think of very few single changes that have given a perceived long-term SQ difference. My first CD player (Marantz CD94) after my turntable/arm/cartridge setup - I guess that’s cheating. Snowmass may fall into this category but it’s too early to say and in my case I’ve totally confused the issue by upgrading speakers the week before.
And we grow accustomed to any improvement which becomes the new base line.
It is what makes adding horsepower addictive. New rockers and headers, a nice rush two weeks ago, but now the new normal. So it is time for an aggressive cam. After a month, this is the new normal. Rinse and repeat.
Look at the wall in front of you… between you and the wall, there is a point 1/2 the way. Go to that point… you are closer to the wall. In front of you, between you and the wall, there is a point 1/2 the way…
If it is true that there is always a point 1/2 the distance between you and the wall, you will never get to the wall but at what point are the increments so small that … and you are still BLOWN AWAY?
