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Thinking of selling it all, or massive downgrade at least......

Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
Does the family not use it because they CBA? Or are they scared in case they break something? If the latter, then cheaper/easier to use, more ‘idiot proof’ (esp. the TT) might be the ticket. This means simplification, not necessarily a significant sacrifice in quality. There may be a balance to strike between ultimate performance level, and preparedness for all users to operate it. Tonearms, esp arms with megabucks carts, are intimidating things for the neophyte.
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Exactly that - scared of breaking - it's fiddly, delicate and chuffing expensive.
 
Colin123 said:
You are getting a lot of interesting views here badger748

It occurs to me that during your hifi journey you have arrived at a particular sound/presentation that you like/enjoy.
I would be inclined to keep the amp and speakers as they work so well together and take a hard look at everything else, do you need all your sources
in the one system? I listen to the radio in the kitchen, car and the office when work allows and listen to vinyl and CD's in the sitting room.
Do you really need all those exotic cables?
I know nothing about your turntable other than it must be expensive, if you feel you need to replace it with something much cheaper, I'm sure you could still retain much of the SQ. A cheaper cartridge would be less stress.
How old are the kids, are they leaving the home nest soon? You may see the world differently then.

Colin
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Hi Colin, just one son, 18 this year. Neither he or my partner would go near the valve amps, record player. Part of the process is one of simplification, to make it easier for ALL to use and enjoy. Hence, going to a big intergated box like a NAD M33 and a Rega P 10.
 
dweezil said:
My big problem is getting attached to stuff owned for a long time, i still remember the day i got the old MA4s in the bathroom system and the friend who gave me the IMFs after he blew my Sony pair.
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Bathroom system? I now feel i've missed out here! Beethoven's 5th as you drop the cargo?
 
Nickargenta said:
The older I get (I'm 56), the less interested I am in owning stuff. More specifically, I've been questioning why I own certain things, and whether I get enough enjoyment out of them to justify holding onto them. Corny it might be, but there's a lot of truth in the saying that your possessions own you. So while I am by no means going down the path of extreme Japanese minimalism, I am going through a process of simplifying my life with the aim of keeping only the things which actually matter to me in some way. Personally, I'm really enjoying it, though I can understand why the mere thought of it would induce a panic attack in some others.

IMO, thinking of the process as downgrading/downsizing is coming at it from the wrong angle. It's about finding the right system for you at this point in your life. The big system obviously gave you a lot of pleasure in the past, but that doesn't automatically mean it's the right system for you now.
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Nailed it Nick.
"What he said........"
 
ArtK said:
I came to this conclusion not long ago. I had three systems. A critical listening system in a small dedicated listening room. Large home theater in the living room as well as my big dog HiFi in the living room. The HT set up on one wall (and surrounds) and the HiFi on another. Sooo much stuff. I was the only one who could use it...that hasn’t changed.

What changed was my mindset relative to monopolizing every inch of available space in the home. My discomfort when guests would visit. I woke up one day and said this must change! It was fun and I kind of miss all of that, but I mostly do not.

Fast forward and I no longer have any system in the living room. When my wife and I want to sing along or have fun with music one of us will grab a portable Bluetooth speaker and play music from Tidal or Qobuz. I still have a very small dedicated listening room where I can unwind or decompress. I have just a few bits and bobs that I can change around for fun. With retirement coming next year this feels freeing.

Now everyone has the living room back and that means more fun for everyone, not just me. Like the OP, my passion for music hasn’t waned at all. I’m still a voracious consumer of all kinds of music, new and old. My little system gives me tons of joy. Once I buy a streamer (probably a Bluesound) I am done, unless something breaks or I sell something.

Feels good to own my system rather than have it own me, and the rest of the family. Makes my music time and family time more special and feels like things are in their proper perspective.
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Another poster who i can relate to so much. Again, completely nailed it!
 
booja30 said:
To you, sure. But to some, settling for 'good enough' and putting £90k back in the bank or to the house mortgage sounds very wise. Especially if you don't want to keel over at your desk at work, trying to pay off the latest big purchase.
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I think you have misunderstood my post. You are defining what better means. I was suggesting to the OP that he does this for himself now that his values are changing. Many would have no difficulty replacing his stated system with a substantially better one (for them!) at a modest proportion of the likely second hand price. Particularly given his speakers I would expect he can do likewise if he can wrap his head around quite what is starting to fade away. I can see no need to settle for 'good enough' unless 'good enough' is part of better.
 
Phil Bishop said:
Going back to this OP, I agree that lockdown has done some funny things to us.

However, I also think older also means wiser.....in most cases.

I have never had anything like the system badger748 has but in recent years I have owned over 20 record players, thousands of LPs and CDs, close to 10 pushbikes, etc.

Looking back I now realise acquiring all this "stuff" was in many ways compensation for other things I was dissatisfied with, not feeling fulfilled in my job, for example. I'll give you one example. I suddenly got into Van Morrison just about the time CD became mainstream. So, I went out and bought all his albums on CD in my lunch breaks at work. Crazy! Why didn't I just do it steadily, focusing on the ones I wanted?

The "stuff" became a burden, a millstone.

I'm steadily downsizing and feel better for it.

How much better does a £100K sound than a £1K system - I don't know but I guarantee it's not 100 times better.
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You definitely have a few very accurate sentiments there.
 
I am often tempted to reduce the number of my devices and/or records.
As I'm getting older, I often wonder what is going to happen to them when I'm gone and what is really worth keeping.
 
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badger748 said:
A
I'm going to mull it all over some more, another option is to mothball the entire system for 6 months, get the new set up and see "IF" i can live with it.
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That sounds really sensible. But to go back to a question I asked a while back; you said you were losing enjoyment in the system/music, and I wondered if you could pin that down. And yet you still say in this post that it sounds fantastic. But I don't think these two things are incompatible. Maybe you're so in awe of the 'sound' that it dwarfs the music?

With that in mind, have you thought about trying smaller speakers first? I tend to find going small helps to clarify things. Then you can work back upwards, perhaps finding an in-between. There's a pressure towards biggering, and I think the forums encourage this, but it's not right for everyone. I'm sure those O/96 are wonderful. I'm a big Devore fan. But maybe the sound they provide you with is just too gorgeous.
 
badger748 said:
Bathroom system? I now feel i've missed out here! Beethoven's 5th as you drop the cargo?
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I'll keep that in mind next time!

It does most of upstairs and can turn round to do background music in the garden but usually i can chill out in the bath to a bit of Talvin or similar.

FM tuner or tablet input since i gave the TT away.
 
Woodface said:
Sorry but that is total nonsense. If you haven’t heard a product you can’t really agree with the viewpoint. I’ve had a starter system, a pretty high end naim system & my current ATC set up. I wouldn’t go back to the starter system & I listen more music than ever now. My current system is not mediocre or bland.
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I wasn’t criticising your current system, or the choices you’ve made. However, what I’m agreeing with has nothing to do with the ATC speakers, either! There are so many systems I hear where everything is there in bass, treble etc terms but there’s no excitement at all. As it’s my personal experience, I’m not sure how you can say it’s nonsense. I would argue that the amount of Hifi industry people running vintage equipment in their own systems somewhat proves this, rather than the latest from Linn/Naim/whoever.
 
h.g. said:
Interesting thread.

What makes(/made?) your system sound good to you? Will it sound good to others? For example, do you think it would sound good to a professional recording music in a studio?

The point of the question is now that what was making your system good is starting to fade there is an opportunity to replace it with something better. Quite what better means will depend on how your outlook is changing but to settle for worse rather than better doesn't look particularly wise.
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Interesting point as to most people it sounds "good", but they would say the same "good" to a system 10% of the value.
 
Elephantears said:
That sounds really sensible. But to go back to a question I asked a while back; you said you were losing enjoyment in the system/music, and I wondered if you could pin that down. And yet you still say in this post that it sounds fantastic. But I don't think these two things are incompatible. Maybe you're so in awe of the 'sound' that it dwarfs the music?

With that in mind, have you thought about trying smaller speakers first? I tend to find going small helps to clarify things. Then you can work back upwards, perhaps finding an in-between. There's a pressure towards biggering, and I think the forums encourage this, but it's not right for everyone. I'm sure those O/96 are wonderful. I'm a big Devore fan. But maybe the sound they provide you with is just too gorgeous.
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It's tricky to pin down - i have music on in other rooms via BT, or soundbars, or via BT headphones, also music at work, in the car. I haven't lost the urge or desire for music - perhaps i just never have the urge to sit down and critically listen on the big f&ck off mega system? It all a bit of faff ... so it often stays off. If i simplify, not only will it mean more music more of the time, but as i keep saying, it is inclusive to ALL, so i'd probably walk in at night with music on, rather than waiting for me to do it...
 
Those Devores do look rather lovely, but it’s probably the Orang Utan name that makes me warmly disposed to them. I thought I’d never sell my Naim SL2s but getting little ProAcs is the best thing I’ve done in a long time. You only realise how the big speakers dominate the room once they’ve gone. I also thought I’d miss my Naim 300 but I don’t. An integrated is so much easier, less mess, fewer wires and no faff. I have a separate Naim streamer but they work as one through system automation. Presumably something like the NAD works in a similar way. It does make things very easy for sure. If you have different makes then it’s a case of multiple apps and remotes and that can of course be off putting. We also use multiroom a lot - my wife uses it a lot more than me, which means we can sysnchronise either the radio or the upnp.

Back in the day we had a Linn with an Aro and it was a bit scary to use. The Rega 8 is lovely and simple to use and my wife is quite happy to stick records on.

The big and swanky stuff may sound delightful but if it’s never used, or if using it becomes a duty rather than a pleasure, then is probably time for it to go.
 
I love the Devores, but would i survive if they went? Of course!
Something smaller would def follow. Less dominating.
Perhaps Marten Oscar Duo's? I had some Marten Form Floors many moons ago and loved them.
Having a connection to Sweden also helps. Marten def an option, along with QLN.
 
13 pages in 3 days. This thread has struck a chord, hasnt it? Badger, I have been going through similar thoughts myself in the last year. I am not as high up the foodchain as you, not even close but in the last year I have had to move house twice. The vinyl alone has caused me stress and even my hi-fi which is very much budget is making me feel itchy. I do sometimes wish I wasn't quite so attached to my things. Especially as life is so up in the air right now.

I hope you have had some good ideas of what to do.
 
mrlamonta said:
13 pages in 3 days. This thread has struck a chord, hasnt it? Badger, I have been going through similar thoughts myself in the last year. I am not as high up the foodchain as you, not even close but in the last year I have had to move house twice. The vinyl alone has caused me stress and even my hi-fi which is very much budget is making me feel itchy. I do sometimes wish I wasn't quite so attached to my things. Especially as life is so up in the air right now.

I hope you have had some good ideas of what to do.
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Yeah i have been surprised by the amount of traction this has, and generally, the way people have chipped in.
Yeah I have a better sense of perspective now. I know it goes against the grain, downgrading as opposed to upgrading, but i guess it is what works best for someone at any given time in their life.

I never thought I'd have a (diesel) Volvo estate and yet my V90 is evidence of the changing mindset and priority.
 
pocketkitchen said:
I wasn’t criticising your current system, or the choices you’ve made. However, what I’m agreeing with has nothing to do with the ATC speakers, either! There are so many systems I hear where everything is there in bass, treble etc terms but there’s no excitement at all. As it’s my personal experience, I’m not sure how you can say it’s nonsense. I would argue that the amount of Hifi industry people running vintage equipment in their own systems somewhat proves this, rather than the latest from Linn/Naim/whoever.
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The point made was specifically about ATC speakers & digital being mediocre. Neither of which is remotely true. Look at the ATC customer list, you could be right about some gear as I haven’t heard everything;)

I actually think a lot of this is fuelled by nostalgia.
 
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