Hardcore audio member......

[treitz3]

There are those of us on this board who have been hardcore into this hobby for quite some time now. Out of all of your audio journey starting with the very first rig that started the whole thing, how many systems would you say that you have heard?

25?
50?
100?
200?
more?

Now, out of all of the systems that you have had your ears on....how many of them would you say were outstanding amongst the rest? Be honest, or your audiophile card will be revoked. Well, either that or I'll have Patrick mail you a blow up doll. He gets to choose the gender. ;) :D

[Knucklehead]

25 at the most. The best sounding other than mine?:D Probably a system set up in a local shop I think it was a Denon AVR, SunFire amps and Klipsch speakers. I really wish I could hear some high end Polk gear but the only retailer near me is Best Buy.

[sTiLlLeArNiNg]

Do club's count? :p lol

[superjunior]

I'd say no more than 25 for me as well. the sad part is I have one of the best systems I've ever heard - as modest as it is but I don't know many people who are into this hobby other than here at cp.

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

200 is not even close.

[danz1906]

About 15 systems......3 great systems........7 ok systems.....5 so-so systems

[dorokusai]

200+

[tonyb]

I would probably guess over 50. I don't get out to the trade shows were you can nail down 25 systems in one shot. But I do like to hear them in a home,so you have a better idea of the sound you will get. Of those 50 I would have to say only a handfull stand out.
The subjective nature of this hobby lends itself to too many variables in what you consider good sound. I've heard some mega buck systems that sounded like crap,and some budget systems that I could live with for a long time.

[janmike]

200+ over many, many, many years.

[Face]

Did Carl hijack your account?

[Willow]

About a dozen or so. But that's only since I've really been in to it. I heard many when I was not as interested. (younger years)

[treitz3]

Did Carl hijack your account?

Oh dear. Did he start a thread like this? I'll have to smack myself.

I'm in the over 200+ club and of all of the systems I have auditioned, only three [maybe four] systems stood out amongst the crowd as being an outstanding system.

[Keiko]

Did Carl hijack your account?

:D

<25 here. And sadly, all my friends either have HTiB systems or basic mp3 players.

[Tony M]

Speaker systems?
One receiver plus different speakers count as multiple systems?

Totally different amp/pre/speakers?

I have so many variables I need a little more explaining of your OP, please.:D

[mantis]

I average about 1 to 4 a week over the last 10 years. Then there is my systems that change all the time, friends systems , family systems , I'm always listening to some system somewhere sometime. being in the business I have been to so many trade shows , trainings , peoples houses , other retailers , etc. I just about heard them all.

I probably heard if I could put a number on it , well over 2000+ systems. Thats probably low.

[treitz3]

Of those systems, how many of them would you say stood out amongst the crowd?

[hearingimpared]

Great thread Tom. Happy Black Friday.

[treitz3]

Thanks H.I.. Ok, you slackers. Get to posting!!!

Let's hear it from the heavy hitters of the forum. It's not like we are gonna banish you from the forum for telling the truth. It's just an audio related question on an audio board.

How many rigs have you heard and of those, how many of them stood out amongst the crowd? Is it that hard a question? Sheesh....

[nooshinjohn]

I have heard more than 150... I could tell you guys who's they were, but you would never believe me and I would be guilty of violating confidentiality agreements. One HT system consisted of 15 monoblock Mcintosh 500wpc amps and custom designed speakers, and a custom built processor. It was in a home theater rig belonging to a famous director that I was priveledged to be on the team that installed the system.

[treitz3]

So I take it that of the 150, 1 stood out?

[nooshinjohn]

yes... this one did. The equipment room and the computer system that ran it through the house (30k plus SqFt) occupied a space as big as my home, and was manned by a technician pretty much 24/7. The space also had editing capabilities so changes could be made on site rather than taking the drive to the studio.

[zingo]

I'm not sure how many systems I've heard, but the best was WATT Puppies with a pair of Audio Research Reference 210s powering them with matched Audio Research Reference gear up stream. It sounded good...

[dudeinaroom]

Around 50 or so. 3 that stand out 1 of which was mine(the meager thing that it is). The other 2 were Onkyo systems. (this is not including stuff I have demoed in a stereo shop or at a show)

[Sherardp]

Less than 25, but those that I heard were high dollar setups. I consider my own mid based level.

[concealer404]

I've heard around 25... maybe 3 of them sounded outstanding. That's not including mine, because i don't think mine sounds outstanding. Outstanding for the money sunk into it, sure, but that's not the point. :)

[everpress]

I've heard mine... So... Erm... 1.

Well, besides theatre-in-a-box systems...

So... 1.

[concealer404]

When you're feeling better, you really need to come out here, so we can at least make that number 2. :p

[woofiepaws]

Myabe 15 over the years. One stands out.

[bigaudiofanatic]

Let's see

Neighbors Klipsch Belle's with sony amp than again with onkyo

Neighbors with polk Lsi'25's

Fathers with Yamaha dedicated amp and a set of KEF's

My first system with Sony stereo receiver and a set of JBL towers

My system with yamaha receiver jbl speakers and center than again with polk rears

My system with polk monitor 40's on front and no rears

My system with pioneer receiver and set of infinity 2000.6 and polk rears than current with pioneer elite receiver.

This is not counting the systems I have hear in other homes and at audio stores. So I would say around 20 or so.

[steveinaz]

Since age 11, 1973'ish I've probably listened to between 50-100 systems. Most of this occurred while in the military, where lots of audiophiles show-off their systems in the barracks. Probably the most impressive session involved listening to Infinity Reference Standards (50,000-1983 dollars) at the audio/photo club near Karlsruhe, Germany. They had them in a huge room, hooked to Phase Linear amplifiers; I just stood there with my mouth hanging open as I stared at/listened to the 2, 7 foot tall monoliths per channel. It was AWESOME. A Nakamichi Dragon TT provided the source music. Nobody ever spoke in that listening room, it was like audiophile "church."

FWIW, when I was running my Soundcraftsmen A5002 amp, Yamaha C-65 pre, Teac X2000RBL R-to-R, and my AR 9Lsi speakers (or my Infinity RSIIIb's for that matter), there wasn't a system in the barracks I would trade for.

I never lost my love for big speakers since that day. There's no replacement for displacement.