Weekend Topic (8/26) - What Does Endgame Sound/Feel Like For You?

General Discvssions & Theory/Vnderstanding
21

Somewhat realistically, I think that I could have a happy endgame with an amp upgrade, a higher-tier front end, and the cables that complement them. Pick up the d1-digital mkii or sublime reclocker and move up to the Signature Rendu SE tier II. Amp wise, a Riveria AIC-10, Aries Cerat Genus 845, or Angstrom Stella SHA20. No movement on the DAC front necessary for this. I’m quite happy with the d1-unity, and if I was told that I couldn’t have another DAC then my feelings wouldn’t really be hurt, lol.

A bit more ideally? I would like to eventually step the unity up to the triunity. Adding in the companion reclocker is still a no-brainer, but I’d move up to the new Oladra over the Sonore offerings. My choice for the amp upgrade for the Utopia wouldn’t change here. Those are pretty top tier amps, after all. I would build a second chain for the Susvara. I’d have to put some thought into what that would look like though. Maybe a Lampi into a nice pre+power amp combination? MSB Premiere > WA33EE? Not really sure. Having a second high-end chain is a far-future goal at the moment.

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22

I’m in the price bracket range atm where updating things takes quite a lot of $$$$$ or I have to wait for lucky deals to pop up, so naturally, this means a lot of time passes without purchases, and no meaningful posts in the recently purchased thread. I also need to build a new pc, and a nas server, and this will probably have priority over audio until I get it done.

Let’s say endgame = content and without the nagging feeling of necessarily needing more.

Headphones: Very content here. For desktop it’s either Mysphere3.2 or Susvara, and for portable it’s been Utopia and Fostex th900mk2 ltd. I still want to hear a Final or one of the Audio Technica ltds that have been coming out.

Amp: I think I’m there. Between the MASS-Kobo 424 for portable use and the Riviera AIC-10 for desktop I think this is pretty goddamn satisfying. I think I’d still like to hear a kobo desktop unit at some point, and I still need to mess around with tubes in the AIC-10, I still have the old mullard it came with in there.

Source and Cables: I’m just gonna bundle these together. I’m still using an Aqua La Voce S3 and I know that I can absolutely do better for my setup by upgrading from this. Likely looking at TotalDac here. For my L&P P6P, waiting for L&P to make a direct upgrade from it. Now, I have an FTA Callisto for usb, and some lower end Nordost interconnects. Outside of DHC for some of my headphones, I really need to do a lot of upgrading here, from power cables, to digital and analog interconnects, a better cable for my Utopia, etc.

Anyway, that’s where I’m at, and a bit of where my attention and plans are. As far as sound, I’m aiming for a natural and realistic sound, and definitely am more of a mids guy. However, I do value different experiences and ways to listen to things so I’ve ended up with quite a few different headphones. Maybe a second amp in the future? All I know is my experience can still be improved and still has quite a way to go.

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23

I keep saying I’m there, and ….
This year was supposed to be a low expenditure year, hasn’t really worked out that way.
TotalDAC Unity, pacific 2 upgrade, and the Viva.
I will consolidate a bit before the end of the year, WA33 is going, the Elrogs for the Viva removed any doubt on that front, I should just sell the 1266 phi tc.

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24

Endgame is a construct, a charade, a facade, or when I’m dead which is best described by words of the great Warren Zevon:

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25

For me, endgame is reached when I’m no longer living in this world :headstone::coffin:…

Currently, on the HP side I’m pretty satisfied with the yamaha yh5k, and I’m past the honeymoon phase at this point. I don’t know if it’s the synergy with the crayon, the synergy with the brise, or probably all of the above but I have nearly 0 complaints/nitpicks with this HP. It’s simply the most “complete” HP I’ve heard (I haven’t heard everything though). Its very clean, very insightful, and no-nonsense presentation just fits my tastes to a T, I suppose.

For source gear, I’d love to try more stuff but realistically this is as much as I can go budget-wise, so I’m stuck for now. Besides, as I mentioned above the synergy is fantastic with the yh5k so I’m at a good place atm.

I’d love to get into 2-ch, but I have no room/space or the budget for proper treatment.

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26

I’m done but it’s never finished was a phase we used to joke around in the car modding days. Very applicable here as well.

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27

Personally, I intend the term “endgame” in relation to audio to be a very broad concept. It’s not only about the gear, but also about the music and the experience that comes from trying various pieces of gear.

For me, I am currently nowhere near something as an “endgame”. I may get close to it one day (if I’ll have the resources) by having a truly summit-fi setup, fine tailored to my likings and preferences, and really get 99% of the way there on the gear side.

But there will always be some tweaking to do (especially since I want to get deep into the DIY side of things), music to discover, systems to hear for yourself, to see what others have done and maybe also learn from them, to further improve your own setup. The social aspect of the hobby is something that I really, really enjoy, sometimes more than the gear.

When I went to the Munich Hi-End some months ago, the best experiences I had were just talking with manufacturers about their products or audio in general. In general, it’s just fun to hear other people’s systems or to talk with them about music, gear, and whatnot.

Currently, I am happy and satisfied with what I have, and my only limiting factor is, well, money. Still, I always like to research (in my free time) which ways I could further improve this or that, if there’s some other thing that I can do that wouldn’t be out of my budget to get a better performance. Just the act in itself is enough to make me happy actually, time literally flies when I do it, faster than pretty much anything else I can think of, so it must be good lol.

At the end of the day, it’s not about an “objective” per se, but it’s really about the journey. Personally, it’s all about discovering all the gear and music that there is out there and what others think about it (even better if I get to hear it for myself), meeting other people and sharing the passion for the hobby, discovering new thoughts and different perspectives, all to understand what I actually like and want from my own setup, and use all of this knowledge to build something that I can truly be proud of.

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28

I don’t know if this relevant to the topic but I find John’s views in this video quite interesting about audiophiles and gear vs music. I personally think I do have a bit of fetishistic attitude towards gear in terms of admiring the engineering and design (I tend to like more vintage look with modern principles). Curious to see what others views might be on this topic.

P.S. - if you don’t care about his gear, you can stop after ~5mins.

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29

Every time I go away for a few days and dont listen to any audio I go “do I really need that much money tied up in gear I use while I work?”

Then I get back in the office, put on some music and go “yah. Yah I do”

So to the question, to me, end game sounds like satisfaction. There are some small things I would change about my chain (a bit more impact and incision on that wallop would be nice) but over all I’m happy every time I use my chain and honestly only really look at upgrades when I’m sitting in a meeting with nothing to do.

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30

I think we all do that.
I’ll have weeks where it’s hard to listen, and it’s always a re-discovery coming back.

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31

Yah. Honestly, it feels kinda nice to tale a tolerance break of sorts once in a while

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32

:point_up_2: Absolutely. Some evenings nothing sounds right and my ears/brain just say “Nope, not tonight!”

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33

I think of it as value not money. As long as there is value to you, then it’s worth whatever money you’ve put in it. I could listen to anything while I work because I don’t listen critically, it’s just crank it and use it as a speed/focus booster. But when I listen to music early evening, a glass of port or sherry or a cocktail or whatever I decide to drink and just sit there and soak it up. The answer it yes, wholeheartedly it’s worth it.

@TempoTim yeap, the mood has to be right.

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34

I love in a chaotic environment and many times music helps me block that all out. But there are still times where no one is around, the house is calm, and ill happily take in the silence.

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35

There are other hobbies that need tending to. Endgame can mean finishing the last book in a massive, complicated and dense fantasy series.

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