This thread about audiophiles is only for the curious

[soulster]

I don't like to give up, and I know how the active majority of this forum feels about audiophiles, and have their minds made up. But, there are always a few who are interested.

If you are interested about the discussions real audiophiles have about their interests, and those who have a misconception about it, read this thread I found.

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-secret-life-of-audiophiles.674057/

Discuss if you like.

[Jerry Oz]

The top five myths about audiophiles
Audiophiles really give a damn about how their music sounds -- that's why they're audiophiles.

by Steve Guttenberg
January 23, 2016 7:47 AM PST
@AudiophiliacMan
To the world at large, audiophiles might seem a little strange. Why do they spend so much money on speakers, or why do they like tube amplifiers? People assume a lot about us, but I think anyone who even occasionally gives recorded music their undivided attention is an audiophile, or might become one at some future date. So it's not just the gear you own that makes you an audiophile, it's more about your engagement with the sound of music.

To clear the air a bit, I'm going to try and bust a few myths.

1: All audiophiles are rich
Far from it -- that's why there's so much great affordable audiophile grade equipment on the market from the likes of Audeze, Audioengine, ELAC, FiiO, Grado, Hifiman, NAD, Pioneer, Schiit, U-Turn and many, many others. A lot of audiophiles buy used high-end gear for a fraction of the price of what it cost when new. My audiophile journey started when I was 16, and I bought gear with money earned from my afterschool job at a supermarket. I certainly wasn't rich.

2: All audiophiles "believe" in expensive cables
No way. I'd say most make do with low-priced cables from audiophile brands, perhaps just to avoid ridicule from their audiophile pals. That said, I know more than a few wealthy 'philes who use Radio Shack or hardware store cables. There's plenty of skepticism directed to manufacturers of audiophile cables. I do think carefully selected high-end cables can make a difference in systems with revealing speakers, like my Magnepan .7s.

3: Most audiophiles hate digital audio
Not true. Most of my audiophile pals don't have turntables; they only listen to digital music. A slightly smaller group, which includes me, own sizable collections of LPs and CDs, SACDs, DVD-As and downloaded music. The analog-only contingent is tiny, but they make a lot of noise, and they remain true believers against all odds. I admire their passion, but they are missing out on a lot of music that never comes out on LP.

4: All audiophile speakers are big
You're definitely an audiophile if your speakers are bigger than your refrigerator, but there are so many great bookshelf/stand-mount monitor speakers to choose from. The smallish KEF LS50 monitor and TAD Evolution One speakers are very much audiophile contenders. The brilliant Technics SB-C700 monitor would any audiophile.

5: Audiophiles care more about their equipment than music
Some do, most don't. The gear provides access, it's the portal through which we hear our music. The better the speakers, headphones, amplifier, turntable or digital converter, the better the music sounds. When I play a recording that I've enjoyed dozens of times over the years through a new speaker that reveals heretofore unheard details -- like the way the singer phrases a line, or the drummer accented the beat a certain way -- that's huge! The band may have struggled to get those things just so, but I might have never noticed those details before. Better gear might make the difference -- and in the end, the gear serves the music.

https://www.cnet.com/news/the-top-five-myths-about-audiophiles/

[TomatoTom123]

I am slightly confused... does the majority of the forum dislike audiophiles? Why? What's wrong with being an audiophile? :)

[Jerry Oz]

Beats me, Tom. I don't speak their lingo but I have an appreciation for them.

[arr&bee]

Very interesting,i think that most of us here are audiophiles,we love music and since most of us have records then i'm sure we care about the equipment that's it's played on..i have[polk speakers..technics turntable...teac cassette deck...pioneer disc player...pioneer receiver].

[soulster]

I think Steve Guttenberg's article is on the money.

Arr & bee, the points he lists are the exact ones that non-audiophiles always level at audiophiles, and they are wrong 99% of the time.

[marv2]

I am interested in learning more about it, so I will be reading more than posting in this thread other than for questions that I hope you all will not find dumb. Thanks.

[marv2]

I have to or rather want to rebuild my system from scratch. My current equipment is over 20 years old and some of it has been pieced together from different manufacturers. My core component, the tuner is by Pioneer.

[TomatoTom123]

Beats me, Tom. I don't speak their lingo but I have an appreciation for them.

Yea, me too, Jerry. I'm not an audiophile but can understand why some people are. I have literally zero understanding of music in terms of sound, and I don't have any fancy audio equipment... but I can't stand songs which have poor sound quality...! :)

[splanky]

My only problem with some audiophiles is that sometimes they get so
caught up in the tech things, bit rates, data compression theories and
such that they seem to forget all about the artistry of the music from
composition to performance. Even if a track is sheer novelty or intentionally crude parody [[a lot of Funkadelic comes to mind ) they
don't get the joke...

[Jerry Oz]

My only problem with some audiophiles is that sometimes they get so
caught up in the tech things, bit rates, data compression theories and
such that they seem to forget all about the artistry of the music from
composition to performance. Even if a track is sheer novelty or intentionally crude parody [[a lot of Funkadelic comes to mind ) they
don't get the joke...
I think that a lot of them are seen to be arrogant. It's cool if you know something that someone else doesn't know [[or care to know). But it's not cool to present a vibe as if you are the only man with eyes in the Land of the Blind.

I think they get frustrated when people are discussing things in their realm like why a recent release didn't sound "right". They can usually tell you but a month later, the same discussion might be had over a similar subject.

Sometimes, you can teach but it won't help if the "student" isn't paying attention. In those cases, I hope the teacher continues because I learn a lot from those discussions.

[soulster]

My only problem with some audiophiles is that sometimes they get so
caught up in the tech things, bit rates, data compression theories and
such that they seem to forget all about the artistry of the music from
composition to performance. Even if a track is sheer novelty or intentionally crude parody [[a lot of Funkadelic comes to mind ) they
don't get the joke...
No, a lot of us do. It's not about getting "wrapped up" in the sound quality, though. Maybe it's in our DNA to notice sound quality more. I don't know.