One Thing I Know for Sure. I'm Not an Audiophile.

As I've claimed in this forum before--being a musician, an audio engineer, and *takes deep breath* an audiophile--musicians are often concerned not only with performance but the aesthetic of the recording, mixing, and mastering processes as well. I personally identify more with musicians than audiophiles in this sense. Perhaps once one experiences how dramatically all the aforementioned processes can affect what one hears out of the speaker, the differences that come from thousands of dollars of improvements in one's playback system pale in comparison.

 

I've always liked this topic. In some ways I consider myself an audiophile, in other ways I do not. I typically avoid labels--that goes for religion, politics, philosophy etc. as well. I certainly care about decent sound but I also believe there is truth to the stereotype that audiophiles are prone to obsessing over the most minute and subtle details.

 

Oh you got that right. Often to the detriment of the hobby.

 

I think it takes an audiophile to realize that the cheaper turntable setup sounds just as good as the more expensive one. Anybody else would assume the more expensive table sounds better, and not be able to judge them on sound alone.

 

It's just the way our brains work, I guess.

 

anathema !

 

I don't see how. Attention to detail is what drives the quest for and design of better-sounding equipment - whether or not any one individual as a listener pays obsessive attention.

 

You're free to believe what you think. I'm free to call out what I believe damages the hobby. Flaky logic, flaky science and all that they entail are well worth challenging. And rightly so.

 

But flakiness is not especially related to concern with detail. Your logic also appears flaky.

 

You're welcome to that line of reasoning and all I would say to that is there's plenty of examples in the hobby that claim your rationale that more than adequately fall into mine.

As I said, you're free to believe what you think.

 

I think the problem is the quest for perfection leads some people to become obsessed with solving problems they don't actually have. And this in turn leads others to claim all problems are imaginary.

 

I believe there are two problematic trends that your comments touch on: 1. For the sake of continued subsistence and growth, markets have a vested interest in finding ways to improve technology beyond reason and even when improvements may only be perceivable (affordable ) by a small wealthy fraction of the consumer base, and 2. Consumers of a new and improved product have a vested interest in perceiving improvements as a matter of justifying their investment. Surely though, this is not the case with all expensive or improved products nor is it true with all wealthy consumers.

I think one way to further classify audiophiles is the extent to which they believe that listening is a psychological experience that is ultimately inseparable from all kinds of information we are exposed to (specifications, cost etc.) prior to the listening experience.

 

No need. Comments like these lead to threads closing.

 

I agree. I think the key word in my comment was 'obsessing'. Being someone who has great attention to detail, I am well aware that I often benefit from this but it often becomes a detriment also.

 

Agreed. Here is a problem that need attention asap.
I see a lot of pics of amplifiers on the ground where gravity is strongest with the speakers wire and electrons within the cables having to fight "uphill" to get to the speaker.
The correct way should have the power amplifier and the speaker cables above the speakers thus going "downhill " into the speaker so gravity can assist the electrons making the "flow" smoother & easier.
You'll also use slightly less power doing this. I may have missed a few details..

(BTW why I'm in this padded white room texting from behind my back is a mystery to me. Don't tell the men in white coats I have a phone.)

 

I use only vintage ceramic "telephone pole" insulators for my cables! Not for the sound improvement, but because I love these old insulators and want to incorporate them into my sound room. Peace

 

The cost of someone's setup does NOT make them an audiophile. "Audiophile" is a state of critical hearing and thinking when it comes to audio. An individual with lesser listening equipment can be 10x the audiophile over someone whose turntable costs three times the other guy's total system.

 

Isn't the battle, like saying I'm a driving " enthusiast"and I love driving a beat up Dodge Neon just as much much as a Ferrari? The guy driving the Neon is having fun, but he dreams of the Ferrari.
The dreams of the Ferrari (or whatever) is the "thing"..isn't it? I don't know

 

A friend of mine calls that ¨listening with your wallet¨as opposed to with your ears

 

No I believe in reality we all have problems, it´s another question if we want to solve them or not.

 

There was a critical point in my post that you completely glossed over.

 

The earbuds that came with my iPhone are very well matched. Wish they'd stay in my ears a little better.

 

I'm going to presume,and hope, your Joking.

 

Thank you. The first time I read that I thought @rxonmymind was serious (!) but after rereading I see they're clearly joking.

 

I mean if your going into orbit might as well go big right? To the moon & beyond!
You have to poke fun at the absurdity of the things we read right? Got to have fun.