The WoW moments

[Floyd67]

I've always thought of it like runner's high, or deep meditation... it creates a certain brain chemistry that is highly addictive.

Exactly, and it's that addiction which probably drives one to improve that experience through tweaking, experimenting, and ultimately investing considerable time and money ...

I auditioned a set of Gauder Akustik speakers out of their Berlina series a couple of weeks ago, where I sat in a dedicated listening room armed with stick full of my favorite digital music. Three hours later, I walked out of the room and the dealer ( no pun on words intended) asked me what I thought and my immediate response was, "no" those speakers are not for me. He was of course curious as to why, and I struggled to explain to him what was missing, but I knew it was the wow moment. That bit of something that goes beyong just listening to a good system.

I'm a bit confused. If they were missing something how was it a wow moment? Or is it an ironic wow? And it took you 3hrs listening to realise that? I do think that our ears get used to the sonic signature of our own system within the confines of our own unique listening space (which is main point of reference) and that's why it can often be easy to hear discernible differences between different systems and any component changes that are made.