Some Sunday thoughts on whether this audiophile journey has a destination, or if nirvana is forever just around the next upgrade bend….and at a cost.

I remember the first time I heard a relatively high-end system. It was in the back room of a HiFi dealer’s shop in the 80s, and they had spent years cultivating the perfect setting – I think it was a pair of Meridian M2s in there on this particular Road to Damascus day. The lights were dim, the air smelled faintly of electronics warming up, and as the stylus dropped, I heard music in a way I never had before. It was a whole new experience for me and a huge leap from my folks’ music centre that I’d been used to hearing. From then on my bank balance (it wasn’t very balanced), would never be the same again, though my student grant also took a hammering and I recall spending my first term’s grant on an LP12 from LINN.

Welcome to the world of high-end audio, where perfection is an ever-receding horizon and no amount of money, tweaking, or obscure capacitors from Kurdistan will ever quite get you to that ultimate sound. This, dear reader, is what we call The Audiophile’s Curse.

We all start somewhere. Maybe it was a modest turntable you found in your dad’s attic, or a pair of bookshelf speakers that came highly recommended by a bloke in a forum who referred to everything as “decent for the price.” But it never stops there. Oh no. Because as soon as you hear something better, you realise there’s more to be had. I started with a Technics SLDL1 and a Hitachi separates system but that soon got upgraded – well, the electronics and speakers did.

First, it was a pair of Wharfedale Diamonds. Then it’s a better amp (Crimson Electric) to drive those speakers and, of course, I’d need a pre amp (Musical Fidelity The Preamp). Then you start thinking, Maybe my source isn’t good enough? And suddenly, you’ve gone out and blathered your student grant on a record player, will not be able to eat anything but beans for a term, will have to get a job in the union bar, and you still won’t be able to afford and arm or cartridge for your new (to you) turntable. 

And don’t even get me started on cables, power conditioning, and room treatment, though they came much later for me. Once you go down that rabbit hole, you’ll find yourself seriously considering a dedicated power line for your listening room, just in case the fridge cycling on is ruining your dynamic range – it’s a thing folks, and lots of people I know have dedicated spurs and lines for their HiFis.

There’s always one more tweak that will push your system into sonic nirvana. “Maybe it’s the speaker positioning,” you mutter as you spend a Saturday afternoon shifting them millimetre by millimetre. Then there’s room treatment, tube rolling, cartridge swaps—it never ends. And if you ever do find the perfect sound, you’ll only keep it for a week before you start wondering if a pair of horn-loaded speakers would give you a “more lifelike presentation.” It’s the truth and a truth I currently find myself very much in the middle of at this very moment. We’re moving towards a retirement system and one that will be less all-consuming with regards to the space it takes up – we were winning on all counts until the opportunity to add a second Electrocompaniet AW 800M amplifier to the system arose. Well, it’s only another huge box weighing 50 or so Kilograms. 

If you’ve ever tried to explain to a non-audiophile why your new DAC was an absolute bargain at £3,000 (pick any number to be fair), you’ll know the look. It’s the same look people give when someone at a party starts talking about cryptocurrency. A mixture of confusion, regret, and mild horror.

Spouses are apparently particularly adept at delivering this look, usually while subtly checking the bank statement, but given that we are both a pair of nuts when it comes to HiFi, this is not really something I’ve had much experience of and I’ve never had to develop highly complex systems for sneaking in new equipment. “Oh, this amp? No, I’ve had it for ages, just moved it to a new spot.” Or the classic, “It was an incredible deal, basically free.” (Which, in audiophile terms, means, “I saved 5% on something wildly expensive.”)

But here’s the thing: as much as we joke about the endless upgrades and financial ruin, there is something magical about chasing great sound. When it all comes together—the right system, the right room, the right mood—it’s transcendent. You hear deeper into the music, feel closer to the performance (I’ve got an article on this very subject coming soon), and for a brief moment, it all makes sense.

That’s why we keep chasing it. Not because we think we’ll ever be done, but because the journey itself is the reward. So, to all my fellow afflicted audiophiles out there: embrace the madness. And maybe set a budget. 

But mostly, embrace the madness…

Stuart Smith