Not unlike the designs of particular firearms, older modes of transportation (cars, motorcycles, bicycles, boats, planes, etc), Unix / Linux, unprocessed food, or 'stacking systems' ala permaculture on your land, I've found that the least complex designs tend to offer the most visceral experience(s). Music playback systems are no exceptions. In fact, I've found that almost without exception, the most simple playback chain will bring you closer to the music than you've ever been. Sadly, the systems that embody this type of 'playback chain' are elusive. One oftentimes has to dabble in the underbelly of the audiophile hobby in order to achieve this simplicity.
Without getting too far out there, the philosophic principle of 'Occam's razor' states that all things being equal, the most simple solution is the best solution. In a flourish of post-modern irony, I've probably over-simplified 'Occam's razor', so please indulge me for the moment. Now of course we have extreme deviations on either side of the razor; imagine trying to get into space using the most 'simple solution', or trying to manage type 1 diabetes in the most simple manner. Both of these things involve a tremendous amount of science in order to get to the stated goal, so we'll just have to take it on faith (or, better yet, in stride) that perhaps someday we'll be achieving these goals with simplicity. BTW - easy and simple are not the same. 2 + 2 = 4 is easy for all of us to state and understand, but to somebody that has never learned the concept of addition, it is not simple to articulate or form a picture in their mind on their own without at least *some* direction or instruction.
My simple music playback system has a turntable (with a tonearm and a stylus), a phono stage (with the necessary RIAA equalization curve), amplification with very low 'voltage gain', and single driver speakers with no crossovers. It is connected together by cables with low capacitance and it requires electricity. Simple? Easy? You be the judge. But in fact, when you compare this system to anything you'd pull off the shelf at Best Buy (receiver, speakers, etc), you'd see that there were way more wires and chips in the Best Buy stuff. The designs of those components fly in the face of Occam's Razor.
BTW - an aside - I dont mean to throw Best Buy under the bus here. They are just an easy target, and only guilty of being the carrier of mid-fi and low-fi consumer electronics. Their gear masquerades as the 'latest and greatest', and by extension, 'the best'; but I am here to testify that components sold at Best Buy are not the best, and that the components themselves are their own worst enemy due to their complexity. Best Buy is not at fault. The only culpability they have is in choosing to carry shitty sounding gear. But there is nothing wrong with that. It being a mostly free country with a mostly free market, after all.
Anyway, back to my simple system. I'm not the guy that invented this audiophile philosophy. There probably is no one guy (or gal) that is responsible for inventing this audiophile philosophy. Though I'd like to tip my hat in the direction of Arthur Salvatore, Harvey Rosenberg, Nelson Pass, Art Dudley as well as more than a few others. Indeed, I've had a wide array of influences when it comes to choosing my path of least audiophile resistance, not the least of which has been listening to a lot of music through a lot of different gear (at my own expense) in my own home. Listening late at night tends to be my style. The sun is down, everybody is asleep, and the electricity is cleaner. Late night listening tends to require lower listening levels, which is the primal test for how well a system plays music.
The second most important test is determining how palpable the music is in your room. Do voices sound like voices? Do bass notes feel like bass notes (even softly and gently played ones)? Can you sense the air around the instruments? Can you pick up on the reverberations of the woodwinds or be startled by the brass? Are the 4 beats in a measure easy for you to find? Answering in the affirmative for all of these things when your system is playing at low volume means that it can produce palpable sound. The sensation is that you cant quite touch the sound...but there is that strange sensation that you might just barely be able to...and it is just out of reach...but, whoa, there is *something* there. To wax poetic for a moment: "Strange fingers of light | Float in air" - Robert Hunter
But there are some who can claim all of the above when their system is at a high volume. Yes! Congratulations to those folks. But lets push it a little harder. Can you get it with really low volume? Be honest with yourself. Hell, get a 2nd opinion. It is likely that even if you have it at high volumes, you probably do not have it at low volumes. Dont feel bad. It took me years and cost countless thousands of dollars screwing around in order to achieve this playback state. Here is the guaranteed way to get it, starting with where the signal originates:
MC Cartridge with very low mV output
Belt drive or idler-drive turntable
Phono stage w/low gain
Optional: volume control - CAUTION - this is only optional if you know what you're doing
Amplifier w/ low voltage gain
Speakers w/ no crossover
A word about the whole 'optional' part above. Having something (anything!) between your phono stage and amplifier does stand in the way of your signal purity. But for 99.99% of the kooky audiophile population (that is 999 out of 1000 weird audiophiles), that notion is still considered insane, even by their bizarre standards. Imagine having no remote control, no 'source' selector switch, no mute switch, and no volume control. You 'drop the needle' and music plays. But just that statement has you literally swan-diving off of a cliff. Imagine if somebody were to 'drop the needle' not on the record. KABOOM. Imagine if you had an amplifier with high voltage gain. KABOOM. Imagine if the mV of your cartridge is high. KABOOM. Imagine if the gain stage in your phono stage is high. KABOOM. Imagine if your speakers are *too* sensitive. KABOOM.
I cant think of an easier way of blowing up your speakers, scaring the hell out of your cats, or pissing off whoever you live with than by improperly experimenting with the above. But imagine what awaits. The whole unattainable concept of 'straight wire with gain' is finally within your grasp. Oh the simplicity and the purity. Brother Occam would be so proud! Do you have the guts to do this? Or perhaps more specifically, can you even be bothered?
This type of audiophile is perhaps made, but I'm more inclined to believe that we are chosen. You must not turn away from the quest if you seek the grail. Fear not, for I have instructions.
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