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A question for other Inmates who have several systems.
Our most "serious" system is in our living room. McIntosh tube amplifier, MartinLogan electrostats, Hus sub, Schitt DAC/preamp (tube), etc. It's a good system.
However, my most frequent listening takes place at my desktop, where I work. That system includes Mini-Magnepan speakers (with DWN bass panel and Dayton active sub), Crown amp, Rogue preamp (tube), several good DACs. This is also quite a good system.
We have, in addition, a good bedroom system (Selah SA-1 speakers, Aiyima amp with Sparkos opamps, SMSL DAC).
Each system is different. The living system brings musicians into the room. The bedroom system provides a good casual listening experience (and sometimes more than casual). The desktop system is very much a "near-field" experience with plenty of detail and clear delineation of instruments.
I am sometimes a bit jarred when switching, for example, from the near-field experience of the desktop system to the stage-and-audience perspective of the living room system. I find on occasion that it takes a bit of listening to either system to become re-accustomed to any of these systems having spend an extended time listening to anyone of the others.
I am curious - do other Inmates experience this (what should we call it?) discontinuity?
Cheers,
Follow Ups:
I put all my blood, sweat, and tears into it.
Everything else is secondary or noise
I have two systems, one in the living room and one in my home office. Since the covid pandemic, I have been working from home so I listen to the office system more frequently. I have tried to voice the systems similarly so that the main differences between them are clarity/resolution and scale. This has not been easy. But it does reduce the sense of discontinuity when I start to listen to the living room system.
It's not possible so if you enjoy variety and diversity multiple systems are necessity.
Best better systems offer high engagement over the widest diversity of recordings IMO. With the same system and different speakers I choose a lower level of maximum engagement on a wider diversity of choices to a higher level of engagement on less diversity.( Spendor v. Living Voice Avatar). The Avatars could never reach the heights achieved by the Spendors but they never sounded as mid fi as the Spendors with recording they don't like.
I enjoy my audio engine USB based system on my PC but the level of engagement is in a different world than with the main system. And though the choices of what to listen to on this system are limited compared to the main system it far exceeds what I can enjoy on my car stereo which offers a very low level of engagement even on recordings that work on it.
The room's too narrow to capitalize on Acatars 2 and the fact that I know those Vifa woofers were $15 each poisons every listening session. Just kidding. It's a picky speaker created for EU rooms. Spendor SP1/2E was a revelation in midrange realism. I rotate gear so I just set them in my GF living room with pretty much top YBA SS gear from the end if 90's The same setup I was using at home. Meh , almost a clock radio quality. I replaced "Spender " with Rogers LS6 economy line take on BBC BS and voila the music is back.
I kind of get now why I got those spenders fir close to nothin because they guy who inherited then thought there is something wrong with crossover :).
I had the Spendor SP100. I bought a demo pair and enjoyed them greatly most of the time. If I didn't have a thing for studio crafted pop they would have been perfect - easy to get them to sound good but they always improved with their kinds of recordings as the gear improved. Great midrange kind of a hokey bass. Sold them quickly for about 75% of what I paid for them 15 years later. When I sold my 2A3 tube amps (18 watts) I demoed them using the SP100s instead of the Avatars because the amps couldn't control the bass on the 94 db Avatars. When the guy came over he brought couple of records and when I saw Ella Fitzgerald I knew that he was taking the amp with him.
The Avatars aren't perfect either and I'm sure they could really sing with a well selected amplifier but I would sell them before trying to get the most out of them. They work fine enough in the system I'm using them in. And yes if I move on from them it will be with a 2 way speaker.
It's the same with me. Sometimes I enjoy listening to one of the secondary systems. I have a pair of Selah SA-2s in one of them and other secondary systems as well.
I am sometimes a bit jarred when switching...
Not so much for me as I know each one's character pretty well and don't have any nearfield ones. The lesser systems are not as resolving but are all neutral sounding and largely reflect sins of omission. I quickly adapt to the character of each. Even the Google Nest mini in the bedroom playing SiriusXM can keep my mind engaged.
Since they are located all about the manse, I enjoy not having to go one particular space in order to enjoy music. :)
My primary system does not need any acclimation.
Especially when it comes to the Minutia like Cables, Power Supplies, etc....
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There's six systems here. Each as it's own purpose and sound. The only one that takes some internal ear adjustments is in the garage, using a pair of Altec 604e. After 10 minutes, I'm cranking it. Could be the amp just needs more warming up. I could be wrong. It would be the first time.
Your interest may vary but the results will be same. (Byrd 2020)
I can't compete with the dead. (Buck W. 2010)
Cowards can't be heroes. (Byrd 2017)
Why don't catfish have kittens? (Moe Howard 1937)
I enjoy variety.
Pizza -- I like St. Louis thin crust, New York style, Chicago deep dish, and so on. Same with other food -- a good burger in a pub can be just as enjoyable as a French or Italian high-end restaurant, or a Mexican joint, or Indian tandoori spot, Chinese, and so on.
Cars -- I like sports cars, 4WD, luxury, and so on.
Music -- I like classical, rock, folk, blues, jazz... you get the idea.
Why should it be any different with stereos? I like my living room system, my sunroom system, and my headphone setups. They all sound a bit different but I enjoy them all. What's best at any given moment depends on my mood.
music - I do not like nasty rap or really heavy metal and am struggling to appreciate opera.
Gsquared
kidding !!!
I agree with your taste in music so you must be an audiophile also
I have 3 + systems.Main with ProAc monitors - immersive, great dynamics, rhythmic energy vocals.
Main with Maggie LRS - there are no speakers in the room.
Bedroom - great for low volume listening (the Tektons can crank, but that not the purpose)
Headphone - detail, balance and isolation that get me engaged with the music more completely.I actually like trying the same track on all three in a short period of time to get their different perspectives.
Gsquared
Edits: 01/16/24
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