Help Needed! Audiophile Setup - Apple Music - Remote Control - Music Servers????

[seggy]

This speaks to so many audiophiles - especially those nursing a hodgepodge of budget gear - being unaware how much the signal is being mangled in the path and still claiming lossless is king.

I've largely abandoned my one and only big ass speaker setup, and just yell at the Homepods for the vast majority of home speaker listening - and even then, the setup was designed to deliver expansive audio being more AV receiver centric, not the last word in quality (the word quality is subjective - it is a high 5 figure setup from a decade ago, so the basics have been dealt with).

Carpet-bombing your house with Homepods is a totally valid strategy for most and absolutely the best near-zero-friction option as an Applephile over objective audiophile - even for people who care about quality to some degree. And of course when you mix Bluetooth into the equation, especially in Apple-land, you're definitely waving goodbye to any pretensions of being audiophile.

 

[Reality4711]

This speaks to so many audiophiles - especially those nursing a hodgepodge of budget gear - being unaware how much the signal is being mangled in the path and still claiming lossless is king.

I've largely abandoned my one and only big ass speaker setup, and just yell at the Homepods for the vast majority of home speaker listening - and even then, the setup was designed to deliver expansive audio being more AV receiver centric, not the last word in quality (the word quality is subjective - it is a high 5 figure setup from a decade ago, so the basics have been dealt with).

Carpet-bombing your house with Homepods is a totally valid strategy for most and absolutely the best near-zero-friction option as an Applephile over objective audiophile - even for people who care about quality to some degree. And of course when you mix Bluetooth into the equation, especially in Apple-land, you're definitely waving goodbye to any pretensions of being audiophile.

Sounds like an article in some hifi mag from the 60's.
I still had a valve radio at the time.
10 years later I gave up on magazines.
The thing is - modern stuff (including home poddy stuff) and yelling for music is just too much like the world itself, loud, painful and ultimately self destructive.
I have now given up on the search for "my" system - not worth it any more. I'll replace my busted Denon with a Marantz and play CDs & DAB. The exercise (standing and sitting) will do me good.
Oh I am well aware of of the hodgepodge; binaural, quadraphonics (true and split stereo), ferric&ferrous tape types, Dolby frequency compression etc etc.. I am still an audiophile but have changed my goal to happy listening from the search for perfection.
Last big system (over 40 years ago) Technics DDD +SME and Shure V15mk2 ? > Quad Valve mono pre & power amps with a pair of British spurs (name gone but were MK4's) on custom cork isolation stands.(Did try the electrostatics - a flat sound stage lacking medium/low complexity) there the old chat still in there somewhere .

 

[seggy]

loud, painful and ultimately self destructive.

No-one's saying you literally have to shout at it lol

It is literally the path of least resistance, compared to your assumptions.

 

[Reality4711]

No-one's saying you literally have to shout at it lol

It is literally the path of least resistance, compared to your assumptions.

No assumptions made.
Just experience.
I think I was trying to get across was the constant stimulation and consumption of sameness (ease of access); like the world itself leads to just a loud bland sameness.
If individuals did not seek other ways of doing stuff(listening to music) lift/train station/hotel foyer noise will win out.
Not my problem I suppose but the "hodgepodge" really ought to be encouraged and supported just for the sake of sanity in the world. 🐋 👍

 

[seggy]

No assumptions made.
Just experience.
I think I was trying to get across was the constant stimulation and consumption of sameness (ease of access); like the world itself leads to just a loud bland sameness.
If individuals did not seek other ways of doing stuff(listening to music) lift/train station/hotel foyer noise will win out.
Not my problem I suppose but the "hodgepodge" really ought to be encouraged and supported just for the sake of sanity in the world. 🐋 👍

That in itself is a pretty healthy outlook.

The problem is however that many people who hold themselves to this credo actually do so out of ignorance, and end up unknowingly making their lives worse / complex in a wrong direction as a result of them thinking they know better.

 

[Reality4711]

That in itself is a pretty healthy outlook.

The problem is however that many people who hold themselves to this credo actually do so out of ignorance, and end up unknowingly making their lives worse / complex in a wrong direction as a result of them thinking they know better.

Yes I see that - a case of ignorance not being bliss.
In my case I went so far as to record live (acoustic) music on to my own ½" studio tape and the trying to fit my system output to my remembered sound stage. Lots of money/effort from me until women shut all that down (useless hobby, they all moaned) and then later just could not be bothered and photography took over (professionally).
My outlook at the sound phobia peak was source & simplicity. In the end I suppose the music finally took over and the methodology faded into the mists.