From the very first post I made to HFGF:
Boy was I naïve and suffering from early onslaught denial… “only dabbling in this for the moment and not looking to dive head-first to full audiophile mode.”
To my credit though, my crystal ball was pretty darn accurate… “Although, this could well be a gateway to that end”
Also, from that from that first post:
I feel confident in stating that yes, I certainly accomplished those objectives, AND THEN SOME!!! Especially in regard to setup enhancements.
Since that first post in July of 2020, I spent the remainder of the year doing a lot of buying and sometimes rebuying while replacing/updating source gear, speakers, and headphones. There was a lot of learning to do, and there was a lot of trial and error that facilitated the learning (and still does). One example, I never would have thought that headphones would be a part of the mix. “I’m a speaker guy” would have been my answer if someone asked. But I had never heard my music through a dedicated modern DAC/amp chain, or converted to FLAC, but when I did the old Corsair gaming headset was the first thing to go. Obviously now that I have this ability to hear music better, I needed better headphones… They are such a rush! I won’t go further with that because well, we all are aware of that rabbit hole. I think at heart I’m still more a speaker guy. My introduction to headphones was not a replacement for speakers, but is more just another way to listen to music and get a different feel for the same tracks that are also unique at the same time. I don’t know how to put it, other than to say I want both options available.
My point to all this is that I spent a lot of time catching up and now that I have a set of sources and listening gear, it is now time to start enjoying it – by listening more to music, getting that rush that just makes your foot bounce for no reason, or the feeling of emotions past that come rushing back as a result hearing a track from back in the day, remembering where you were etc. etc. AKA my second stated objective from July 2020 , “get back into music”.
Thus, my goal for 2021 – is to get deeper into enjoying music with what I have. Will there be additions or changes? The answer is undoubtedly, yes. But my main emphasis on changes in 2021 will be more environmental and revolve around designing another more comfortable listening area away from a desktop. I spend most all of everyday behind a desk and keyboard etc. for work, and more time recently also for entertainment, at least for audio. I would like to add more separation from work and pleasure so, that will be a thing for me. Setting up a comfortable dedicated listening zone. Why???
To do as @WaveTheory is always saying, “Enjoy the Music!”