are any of your friends audiophiles?


I dont have one single friend I can get into audio.

Of course through this hobby I have met friends who are hard core
'philes like me, but not one of my other friends will even consider letting me put togther a simple and low cost high end-ish system.

One friend now claims when he gets some money he'll let me get him
one of those $650 (used of course) chinese integrated tube amps but it hasn't happened yet. A few of my friends are even somewhat loaded, but none will take the trip.

Of course they enjoy hearing my system, and two even comes to the audio shows with me but that is as far as it gets.

What about your friends?
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Showing 2 responses by douglas_schroeder

An individual who lives right near me has 36,000 discs and albums. No, that is not a typo, he has 36,000 of them. When he told me I thought for sure he meant 3,600, but he corrected me on that. He described the cabinets and shelving necessary to hold his collections. He stated that he has a problem with buying media (I'd say!) in that when he acquires a new artist he cannot buy just one album or disc - he has to get everything they've recorded.

As excessive as that is, he has a POS stereo and I cannot convince him to come over and share some time so that our two worlds can intersect. He seems to have absolutely no interest in it. A real shame.

Another audiophile friend is definitely "old school" with his vintage McIntosh equipment. (Not ripping on it, just pointing out this guy has never upgraded in 20+ years). He wants "live concert" feel, so he's got Klipsch mains with 15" bass (if I recall correctly), AND twin subs in a bedroom about 12x14! The experience of listening to his system at higher levels is somewhat like having a pile driver operating outside the room. No matter what system we listen to at my place, they never have enough bass for him!

Another audiophile friend was a DJ for a while, so he has a habit of making compilations of his music on disc. He does a superb job and has introduced me to several wonderful artists. He and I could probably get together every week for the foreseeable future and never run out of conversation and good times listening.

One poor couple I know have a lovely system and they've put much into a dedicated room, but they always seem to have issues with their equipment. Problems with an amp now, then their wiring, etc. In the summer their room overheats from the huge ARC tube amps, so the equipment sits unused a good portion of the year. It's fun enertaining them since they are into "Space Metal" and other genres of music that I'm not. It's like a cultural exchange to share our different favorites. I remember one time they put on some of their SERIOUSLY hard driving speed metal (or whatever they called it) music and were commenting, "Oh, this has good definition," while all I heard was DISTORTION! Of course, they suffer immeasurably with my Smooth Jazz discs. Our mutual love of equipment conquers musical differences.

It is a true blessing to find an "audio brother" (and rarely an "audio sister").
Saygrr, DO NOT be apologetic for your hobby! Stop frowning and feeling bad for yourself! I've met you and know from what I've seen that you're a considerate and softly spoken man. You tend to speak as though you're apologetic, and people will take advantage of that and verbally skewer you.
Consider if this individual has his own tendencies toward behavior that is clearly idiotic. Does he spend money on lotto tickets? Does he blow ton's on car accessories that depreciate? etc. (Hey, people, that's my perspective and maybe not yours; I'm not out to start anything, just leading Saygrr think a bit about the situation. From what I know of Saygrr, he's conservative and can relate to this comment.) I doubt that he's fiscally perfect. And if he has a "hobby" or sport I'll bet he drops PLENTY on it, unless he's a total cheapskate. In that case, he's likely not worth knowing better than on a working relationship level. Consider the source of verbal put-downs; often they should be weighted zero importance.

You need to drop by my place for a good time listening session! Get your tunes ready and give me a call!