Audio advice and discussions with audiophiles and professionals. Free discussion forums, open to all and frequented by industry experts. Ask questions and get advice on stereos, speakers, hi-end amplifiers, pre-amps, home theater, tube hi-fi, turntables, vinyl, tweaks, music, films, video, DVDs and more.
Hi Everyone, I was listening to my stereo this morning and came to a conclusion. I have accomplished what I started out to do 14 years ago. That is when an unmentioned company sold me my first tube amp kit. It worked, but was flawed. For the price I suppose it was OK. I made lots of mods to it and got it to be reasonable. It did spark my interest though and I felt I could do better. Fourteen years later I believe I have achieved that. I see no reasonable way to make my system better. It can't recreate a live performance, nothing can, but is so convincing that it doesn't matter. I listened to a varied selection of music today and all were excellent sounding. Recordings of live performances were really good. I could find no audible flaws. The music went from Rolling Stones, Byrds, assorted folk groups, Diana Krall, Julie London, Queen, Al Hirt, to the Village Stompers. BTW the banjo in the beginning of Washington Square is something special. The selections ran the gamut from vinyl, CD, to SAD and DVD. The problem is now what to do. (yes I know....sit back and listen, but I'm a builder) For the first time in years there are no projects on my bench. Not only have I run out of tube projects, I have done the same to solid state ones that appealed to me. Anyone else in this pickle? Good listening Bruce
That's awesome, Bruce! To tell the truth, I really like it when I'm in that mode. I strive for it. I like it when I have brought a project to completion and feel that it is perfect. Many thing in my life are just that way. Right now, all models of my loudspeaker line are in that state. I wouldn't change a thing. And probably the only changes would be if a driver in one of the models becomes unavailable, in which case I'd have to resource a driver, which means testing a lot of 'em and going back into a design/test cycle to optimize the design for the new part. I'm crossing my fingers that this weirdo "supply-line problem" doesn't cause that. Right now things just run slowly, and hopefully none of the vendors will go tits-up as a result. But I do have a couple of cars that I'm working on. One is a 1968 Impala, which is nearly complete at the paint shop. I have a motor on the stand that I build for it. Next it goes to the upholstery shop and then I need to do suspension work. Eventually I'll install the motor I built and maybe upgrade the rear-end to handle the extra power. So that's in flux. And my daily driver - a Cutlass with a big block - is needing an engine rebuild. It still runs, but it has a little blow-by and it's time to rebuild. It has lasted way longer than any other iterations of that engine has lasted, so I'm pleased with it. It's a configuration that works reliably for a long time. But it's still time to pull it out and go through it. No rest for the ornery.