Comments on Profile Post by Lingering Sentiment

Going to T.H.E. Show can provide similar feelings regarding speakers. I was actually curious about Orb/Gallo, JBL high-end, Revel, Sony high-end, Magico, and all sorts of crazy speakers. There was some uniqueness (common) and some good performers (rare). But I realized my shitty stuff was not as shitty as I thought relative to these pieces of awesomeness.

My first meet gave me the same impression. "Oh, wow, I did a really good job of finding gear that matches my taste." Sometimes you hear gear that does clearly seem superior in one aspect (or many) but it seems most gear is different more than better.

The main thing I learned was that people who work on synergy get better results than people who just buy and hook up good gear.

Valhalla 2 + hd600? Seems pretty nice, is this considered mid-fi? Maybe, depending on the DAC in the chain?

No DAC (yet) in the chain, so pretty sure it would be mid-fi (though hi-fi seems hard to define these days). Hearing a good speaker setup will be my next goal I think.

I've had a similar experience. I went to Axpona to listen to many of the high end headphones (Ether, HD800, Stax, etc.). I brought along my existing headphones and listened on the same amps. I could hear the differences, but still preferred my headphones for the amps and music I own. Nothing at all wrong with practicing satisfice.