My home stereo now is based on a late Nineties Yamaha receiver and Bose 5.1 bookshelf system I inherited so… 😬 I also use Klipsch Sixes and a 10" sub which I got before that, so that really helps the top and bottom. But the Sixes were a bit harsh (mid scoop) before I added the Bose IVs in. I love it, but I know I’d get hate for it. Most normies are blown away by it though.

I’m pretty satisfied, but I’d like to add room treatment to give a bit more control to the subbass which I think isn’t as tight as it could be. And I am looking into potentially recapping my speakers and/or receiver.

Steve himself has mentioned he tends to focus more on subjectively enjoyable experiences than utterly faithful music reproduction. I thought I was in that camp as I dove into vinyl and some headphone sets with extremely shaped frequency curves. Somehow I wound up preferring neutrality and high fidelity, and went hard into digital, preferring my new CD transport as a source as right now it’s my most transparent form of digital audio. My transducer setups are also moving as close to flat and transparent as I can. So I guess I’ve come full circle.

That being said, I’m listening to either digital sourced material, or analog recordings that were digitally remastered very, very well. If someone is listening to a lot of music that predates hifi recordings, I can see transparency as perhaps being a downside. And ultimately I appreciate anything that gets people closer to their music, as long as it is capable of reproducing the details even if it selectively exagerrates some and suppresses others.

I got super into vinyl when I inherited a decent Technics turntable from my Dad. At some point, I decided to listen to my old CD collection on the same nice receiver we used for thr turntable, and both my spouse and I were blown away—way better than any streaming we had heard (which is under less than ideal circumstances, but is Qobuz CD quality). I went hard into CDs, got a dedicated transport, and am slowly building up my CD collection. It is amazing.

I do want to up my streaming game, just need to look around for a while. I need something that puts out a great clocked signal through SPDIF because I have a Nineties receiver with no USB 2. I also need to figure out how to get the ethernet working in my media room. Right now it’s all WiFi which can’t help (not even a great signal). I have a cable box that has a ethernet out there but my TV doesn’t seem to be able to use it yet… anyways…

One day I’d like to up my streaming, but from several reviews I’ve seen even the best streaming doesn’t quite edge out CDs, even when comparing hi res streaming to CDs. I also love the perfect middle ground of CDs—physical media with artwork I am more likely to play through, but easy enough to swap between discs quickly if I want.

I also recall reading one audiophile’deep dive into LPs, and as he kept going up with his equipment, by the end he found he had neatly brought his vinyl playback to CD quality. And that’s when he just dove into compact discs.

I do dig a lot of music recorded and even mixed on analog tape. For me, I’m hearing closer to those tapes using a CD transport and DAC than I ever could with my Technics SL-D3 and Empire MM cartridge. So I wound up preferring CDs even for those. My main issue is frustration with the loudness wars, and unfortunately one of my favorite bands is also one of the worst offenders: Red Hot Chili Peppers. Womp womp. (Their live sound is also quite birckwall limited.)

I mainly agree except on two points.

1. Nearly any record with electric/amplified instruments will need some degree of compression, because the sound will be way too jarring between beats and sustain otherwise. This reproduces live music of this kind well, where compression is also used. 50 dB or more dynamic range is still totally possible with compression.
2. Digital sources can be great. The issue isn’t PCM itself, it’s that way too much music mastered for PCM/Redbook is overly compressed in the loudness war.