If there was a perfect and invisible audio system would you still enjoy this hobby?

[Talisman]

I expand the concept here.
If there was a theoretical perfect audio system, capable of reproducing sound in a totally accurate manner, with an unlimited 20/20k spl capacity and perfect, but absolutely invisible, environmental correction, nothing to see, to touch, to calibrate, to position.
You sit down and just whatever you want sounds perfect. Would you still like this hobby?

This question comes from reading many threads and many reviews with sentences like "With these speakers, a transparent DAC and a capable DSP, you will never have anything to update again for the rest of your life"
and inevitably the idea of something that cannot be improved, something that is simply perfect and definitive makes me a little sad, because for me this hobby has more to do with the journey than with the destination. Clearly I love quality reproduction, but I also like to try speakers, try out amplifiers, change positions, play a bit with my systems and see what happens by mixing different equipment, and I think that if it weren't for this there would only be the RIGHT passion for music. But this hobby would no longer exist, and it would make my life less fun and enjoyable

 

[KenMasters]

What is the hobby? I enjoy the tech and theory behind AV - but only in so far as it caters to my experience of music and cinema. An undeniably perfect system would mean I can stop concerning myself with that side of the equation and focus more completely on the passions it is intended to serve.

 

[Petevid]

What a good question. Surely it would then be all about the music .... and possibly the recording and mastering of it.

 

[sajgre]

If speakers were invisible it would be a bit less enjoyable for me because I love seeing them even when they are not playing. But perfect sound with no upgrade... I would LOOOVE it.

 

[Triliza]

Something like this has crossed my mind also, and I think I wouldn't mind such a possibility. Now there is the issue of causality, it's rooted deep into us and I don't know how our brain would react to sounds coming out of nowhere, so even then we may feel the need to put some fake speakers just for the sake of it. Hmmm, wait a minute now...

 

[mcdn]

For a stereo system there’s no such thing as “perfect”, only a set of various compromises. wider or narrower dispersion, omni or cardioid or dipole, and so on. RT60 vs total power, etc.

That said, a system capable of even frequency response at multiple listening positions from 20Hz up is a good starting goal! Just be aware that FR isn’t the only metric.

 

[Talisman]

For a stereo system there’s no such thing as “perfect”, only a set of various compromises. wider or narrower dispersion, omni or cardioid or dipole, and so on. RT60 vs total power, etc.

That said, a system capable of even frequency response at multiple listening positions from 20Hz up is a good starting goal! Just be aware that FR isn’t the only metric.

The meaning of the thread is different, we are talking about a utopian audio system, perfect and invisible, without technical justifications. Simply to reflect on what we are passionate about in this hobby, whether just the most accurate reproduction possible or even a certain pleasure in playing with these instruments.

 

[Purité Audio]

It could be pretty painful walking into a completely invisible system.
Keith

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

I like to listen to music in the dark. I enjoy music more by closing my eyes and not seeing the speakers thus, that would be good... Very good and welcome.

The "perfection" part is not attainable , nor will it ever. OTOH, the invisible is quite possible in the here and now, perhaps has been for a while. e.g take some serious and built-for-the-purpose monitors , e.g Neuman or Genelec, JBL, etc, put them in a soffit... , Cover these with Acoustically transparent fabric (Yes! these exist) painted the same as the room, Infinite Baffle subwoofers. DSP and other stuff in a hidden rack somewhere ... Invisible system ... Perhaps endgame if you choose carefully (KH 420 etc .. 8351, etc ...) Some seriously built infinite baffle subwoofers, DSP

Thanks to this thread I will now bury my AVR and DSP behind closed doors in a nice cabinet I already have. A it is my system is entirely controlled by a Logitec Harmony and hub system, helped by a Apple HomeKit home Automation system. I press one button and ..., everything that should be on, turns on (AVR, speakers, DSP, Projector, Air Conditioner, etc) goes on or off (Lights...) or Off when I am done .. so ...

Yep, a venue to explore

Peace

 

[JeremyFife]

It's a lovely idea - to just think about the music and not obsess about what could be done to 'fix' the sound (or if there is anything to fix at all and it's just my brain messing with me)

 

[sergeauckland]

I voted yes, because my hobby is actually two hobbies. The first is listening to music, so having a perfect and invisible system would be great, nothing but the music.

The second part of the hobby for me is building my own equipment and/or repairing vintage electronics. That wouldn't be affected by having the perfect system as in my case I already have what for me is 'perfect' albeit hardly invisible, but it has remained unchanged for well over 10 years now and hope it'll continue unchanged for another 10 years at least.

On the other hand, I'm almost permanently fiddling with something on my bench, earlier this week it was a big Marshall guitar amp, I'm now back on converting a 1950s mono Leak pre-amp to SS stereo with balanced I/O. I have a late 1950s Pye record player and a 1950s GEC radio to service once that's done. Oh, and I have decided to replace my unreliable DIY valve tester with something modern. Plenty to keep me busy for months.

S.

 

[mcdn]

The meaning of the thread is different, we are talking about a utopian audio system, perfect and invisible, without technical justifications. Simply to reflect on what we are passionate about in this hobby, whether just the most accurate reproduction possible or even a certain pleasure in playing with these instruments.

If we are removing all limitations then I would love a system that could take me virtually to all the live concerts I have both been to and couldn’t get to. And bring my friends too.

 

[Deleted member 21219]

I voted "yes". I'm not an equipment junkie. Equipment has always been something that's necessary but distracting. I just want to listen to the music.

Jim

 

[Frank2]

An interesting thought experiment. I often pondered over it as well and voted 'a little less'.
I think people in general are hard wired to constantly search for improvement. I notice that even when I'm fully satisfied with my system (which means the perceived SQ is mainly determined by my mood and the quality of the recording), I still wonder what the impact of a change would be. The journey never seems to end. And the fact that less than 5% of the posts here are actually about music says a lot .

 

[Waxx]

For me the hobby is listening to music, and the gear is just a tool. Many of the gear i use is old and used by me for years, if not decades. I don't get the upgrade-itis that many have, or the nickpicking about numbers that in reality don't mean nothing. I still use my old Cambridge DacMagic in one setup, altough it's sinad is not top ranking compared to more modern devices. But it's good enough to not matter anymore. If i buy new gear it's more to get an other system in a room that did not have one yet (i live in a bigger house than before).

I do build a lot of speakers myself, but there the building and designing process is as important as the result, and i gave away or sold many of my old builds when i was not using them anymore. And that i'll keep doing. But for the rest, the longer a piece of gear last, the better.

 

[Deleted member 21219]

. And the fact that less than 5% of the posts here are actually about music says a lot .

If you would like more performance-oriented information, this might (or might not) pique your interest:

Classical Music for the Übermensch • r/ElitistClassical

This subreddit is dedicated to unearthing great, but lesser-known, composed music.

old.reddit.com

I used to lurk there, but now I enjoy the "What are we listening to right now ...." thread more. Over 19,000 posts ..... more variety.

Jim

 

[morpheusX]

Yes!

Although i love learning as much as i can to be able to fine tune my AV system to extract the best of it, i would love to click a button and have it achieving that theoretically perfection.

There are so many great things to learn and to do, and time is not infinite, so achieving theoretical AV perfection would be amazing

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

As long as access to the controls was easy, or the system responded to things like turning on and off, selection of what you want to play, and volume control telepathically I'd like it just fine. My wife would be ecstatic.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I voted "Yes" because every step I take in that direction seems to be a positive one. There is progressively less visual information to distract me from the music (sound).

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

as far as I'm concerned, we're really already there. I don't think most of the things people do to supposedly improve their sound systems actually do that in any meaningful way in terms of enjoying music (assuming of course we're talking about a system that's been assembled based on good measured performance and then set up reasonably well in the listening space.)