Visit to Marc C.'s (SpiritOfMusic's) House in England

[spiritofmusic]

Well, you might know, but it's been discussed on Audiogon, Peter Ledermann is recuperating from a second bout of Covid. My thoughts are with him, and I suspect it'll be a while before my order gets sorted. So yes, 100% 1s and 0s.

 

[Lagonda]

That, and the opening of the Pubs in the UK would explain your recent WBF hiatus !

 

[infinitely baffled]

Additionally I've reinstalled my Entreq grounding after a long period with it out of my system. This time around, after hearing so many reports that digital introduces most noise into a system, I've grounded my Eera CDP to it's own Olympus Minimus box, and the "analog" rest of system to my Silver Mimimus. Silver Cleanus now loses it's own ground box, but still plugs into a spare outlet on my distribution strip.
As things stand, I'm pleasantly surprised by the uptick putting it back in.

.

Must confess I am very pleased to hear this

 

[spiritofmusic]

Gavin, I remain perplexed about the whole nexus of expectation bias/measurable physics/unexpected outcomes/system synergy/unintended consequences/personal prejudices.
How could I love Entreq to start.
Then find in a different locale it apparently not be an advantage anymore.
Then reintroduce it differently. And it begin to make sense again.
There are some days I wish I'd just bought Micro Seiki/3012R/VDH/Lamms/Vitavox, and be done with tweaks Lol.

 

[Ron Resnick]

There are some days I wish I'd just bought Micro Seiki/3012R/VDH/Lamms/Vitavox, and be done with tweaks Lol.

In any system aren't tweaks purely optional?

Going tweak-free might be healthier for our sanity. (It certainly is healthier for our bank accounts.)

 

[spiritofmusic]

That, and the opening of the Pubs in the UK would explain your recent WBF hiatus !

Pubs mean a hiatus from EVERYTHING. Except drinking Lol.

 

[spiritofmusic]

In any system aren't tweaks purely optional?

The whole point for many of specialist hobbies/high worth pursuits/men with toys, is to get involved as much on options as on the core project. Options can make the core even more meaningful.
For me, options have proved their worth in my own pursuit of a wholly musical and immersive result.

 

[infinitely baffled]

Gavin, I remain perplexed about the whole nexus of expectation bias/measurable physics/unexpected outcomes/system synergy/unintended consequences/personal prejudices.
How could I love Entreq to start.
Then find in a different locale it apparently not be an advantage anymore.
Then reintroduce it differently. And it begin to make sense again.
There are some days I wish I'd just bought Micro Seiki/3012R/VDH/Lamms/Vitavox, and be done with tweaks Lol.

Or go with your dream system, complemented by extensive tweakery.

In the car tuning circles i frequent there is a long standing mantra: if you're going to tune a car, start with one that was already fast.
Otherwise you are spending time and money to achieve a result that would be available for less, simply by buying a more performance oriented example to begin with

 

[infinitely baffled]

The whole point for many of specialist hobbies/high worth pursuits/men with toys, is to get involved as much on options as on the core project. Options can make the core even more meaningful.
For me, options have proved their worth in my own pursuit of a wholly musical and immersive result.

Only problem is, and sticking with my car analogy, a fully optioned bmw might take you well into porsche territory.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Sure Gavin. Right now I fancy an, ooh, CS Port/Dava/Extreme/Eera/Emia/bespoke horns system...can you help me? I promise to apply your theory once that's set up. If this little bundle of joy is not enhanced by further optimisation, I'll be very content.

 

[christoph]

Pubs mean a hiatus from EVERYTHING. Except drinking Lol.

But you ARE aware, that you can also drink at home, right?
And mostly even better stuff at home anyways

 

[spiritofmusic]

Sure...I've been to Audiophile Bill's house. Specialist Belgian beer on tap. I'm sure that enhanced my expectation bias for his horns.
I'm actually not the biggest fan of drinking at home, although it's pretty therapeutic to drink outside next to our creek, and I'm compelled to support our fantastic local pubs...the hospitality industry has been shelled out by lockdowns.

 

[infinitely baffled]

Maaate...drinking Hoegaarden at home while listening to my system and smoking ganja is one of the finer things in (my) life.

I would think your place is big enough that you don't end up bouncing off the walls?

 

[spiritofmusic]

Well, big enough to get the dedicated space, but not so big I can outrun Ra when I've done bad.
As for bouncing off the walls, that's what I precisely did in March April May last year when I had zero income for 10 weeks.

 

[Ron Resnick]

For me, options have proved their worth in my own pursuit of a wholly musical and immersive result.

That is great! Any tweak that enhances your emotional connection to the music is a good tweak!

 

[infinitely baffled]

That is great! Any tweak that enhances your emotional connection to the music is a good tweak!

I think you've found your justification for buying that castle Ron

 

[spiritofmusic]

Oh YES! I'm deffo visiting him there.

 

[spiritofmusic]

That is great! Any tweak that enhances your emotional connection to the music is a good tweak!

Well, it's certainly not to make the system measure better Lol.

 

[Ron Resnick]

I think you've found your justification for buying that castle Ron

I spent an entire weekend salivating over that castle -- thinking about converting one of the big rooms into a listening room, and the railway tunnel into a target range, and imagining walking around my own private forest.

Then I researched the details of renovating a Class 1 historic property, and I discovered that y'all in England have three (3) official different types of "damp." Then I imagined being shivering and cold and clammy in my listening room -- and the most important tweak for the stereo being a space heater.

 

[spiritofmusic]

In any system aren't tweaks purely optional?

Going tweak-free might be healthier for our sanity. (It certainly is healthier for our bank accounts.)

The combination of Covid austerity, the chapel being the ultimate insatiable woman, and my sound having so morphed into one I could only daydream of in London, means by definition all big ticket purchases are behind me.
A move to horns is more than just buying horns, at the exalted levels of sound I'm aware of via the horns I love unreservedly, there also result much greater demands for super silent tubes and top notch analog front end (digital too, for those who insist). And practically I would struggle to replace my gear w those horns PLUS new amps and tt front end.
For me this is a purely sober analysis...there's no surprise Peter has effectively replaced his whole system to get the full benefit and transformative experience of going in such a radical new direction.
That option is not open to me, and I won't compromise going half in/out.