Can you be an audiophile if you don't own "great/expensive" equipment..?

Losers

 

Money may not make you happy. But it makes me happy. Financial security is one of the finest gifts you can give to yourself (thought hard work and financial responsibility).

One of the dumbest things I've ever heard or read is "more money more problems". Only if you are an idiot with the money. And $10,000 systems don't sound 5% better than $1,000 systems. And $25,000 systems don't sound 50% better than a 1k system. You know why? Because nobody could ever quantify a % improvement in sound quality. if you bother to spend 5 figures on a system, you don't care about silly comparisons like that, you care about what your ears hear.

 

What's funny about this hobby is I recently bought a small bluetooth unit for the kitchen (a Marshall Acton, playing mainly Spotify), and for whatever reason it's so wonderfully nice to listen (and get more musical enjoyment from) to that I'd honestly prefer living with it to some mega-bucks systems I've heard along the way - namely the clinical, bright, joyless type ones that some revel in but I just want to walk away from.

 

Ya, and a little music in the kitchen (or bathroom) always sounds better for some reason. Maybe all the reflective surfaces.

 

The previous occupants of my house put waterproof speakers (taken from a speedboat) in the side of the bath (facing outwards...), with speaker wire going through to inside a wardrobe in our adjacent bedroom. Haven't tried it yet but need to find a small cheap micro system type unit to hook up to it - should be fun.

 

You're set. You will never come out of the bathroom!

 

How expensive is 'expensive'?

 

http://moneyinc.com/10-incredible-sound-systems-costing-north-of-100000/

They look like concert set-ups.

 

Just like most other things in life.

 

This one is $6 million:

 

I guess that would be one way of judging if someone is an audiophile,lamp cord for speaker cables anyone.
When I was very young I had a lamp cord for one channel and toaster cord for the other,girl friend was not happy about the toaster not working,oh well it was for a good cause.

 

Bet the owner must think they are the only TRUE AUDIO/VIDEOPHILE. Poor lowly peasants with 100k systems.

 

Toaster cord contributes a tone which, while warm, may be too crunchy.

 

Good one

 

Whatever makes your buddies look at you like a nut

 

That's about as inviting as a meat locker. No thanks.

 

This is an excellent observation and assertion. It illuminates that gray area that is the continuum stretching from happiness to misery. Most of life, and most ruminations about truth, exist in gray areas.

 

Hey, The Listening Room - do you know if this is still there? I can't find it on Google. I would love to visit a place like that...I'm not too far away.

 

I think you’re doing some motivated reasoning, here. I’m certainly not rich, nor did I choose a career likely to make me rich. (Like you, I’m in education.) But I understand that, all else equal, it’s very clear that more money makes one happier.

This isn’t something I necessarily wanted to believe at first, but it’s pretty clearly the case based on common sense and abundant research. We’re all primed by pop culture to think of miserable rich people who are poorer than those below them when it comes to happiness (Scrooge, Mr. Potter, Cruella DeVil, etc.). But if you asked most people if they think they’d be happier with more money, they’d say yes.

Notably, I don’t think the resistance to “money leads to happiness” idea is partisan. I’ve heard liberals say they disagree because they don’t like the idea that the rich are happy, and I’ve heard conservatives say they disagree because they think admitting it will provide further moral justification for programs raising the incomes of the poor.

Whatever the upshot of the idea is, though, I think it’s true based on the bulk of the happiness research.

 

Glad to hear you escaped the accident healthy!

As far as your point about mental health and income/happiness, it’s important to remember that the research is talking about averages. Obviously, there are unhappy people in all walks of life, for a variety of reasons. The question is: Would the same person be more or less happy given a lower or higher level of income? And the answer is pretty resoundingly “higher.”

 

This article reminded me of something I hope we can all agree on:

If you buy speakers because the company had “hot babes” stand near them, you’re not an audiophile!

 

Agreed. A $1,000 system will satisfy a lot of the population, but there is a category for it, Mid-Fi. Like my old B&O.

Most "budget" Audiophiles I know think of systems in terms of cost per component on the used market. $1K per, $3K per etc... Conditioners and cables make a difference too. Then there is the auto stand. In my case, the hard maple made a very audible difference. Speakers are the first place I spend new dollars. It can add up.

To the original question, yes you can be an audiophile without great gear, but you probably should have at least a friend or two with great gear. Meaning, you have to hear great systems and different systems to understand what is possible and what is desirable for you.

 

Yes. Proudly mostly vintage "Mid-fi" AKA Smart money-fi.

 

Then you and I have been debating different questions. I started by disagreeing with the statement that more money means more happiness and saying there was a point of diminishing returns. You seem to have changed the parameters.

But I think I'm done w/ this tangent.

Go Hoos!

 

Sorry - I got the name wrong.
It's Accent On Music
Accent on Music, Inc