Audiophiles & music-have you got it wrong?


This thread is partly inspired by comments on "would you refer this to all the interested parties" but also by general comments made on a regular basis.

Of course each person to their own, I do not advocate my views are the definitive ones and I do consider myself a music fan who takes an interest in high end equipment rather than being an out and out audiophile.
However despite some reservations about certain audiophile beliefs I don't come on these forums and say burn in it doesn't exist,interconnects are a rip off and exhibit little more than fine tuning etc.etc.
Why?
Because I don't feel I've explored these issues fully nor do I really wish to therefore my comments would be largely uninformed even if they are accurate from my point of view.
And yet some audiophiles seem to make constant negative remarks about the price and quality of music currently available-are they right?

First up the price of music-this is not to say greed doesn't exist within the record companies but are CD's really that expensive when we compare them to how much we spend on our equipment?
My collection is now worth close to double what my equipment is.
Am I nuts or do I have things in perspective?
I consider I am probably at the extreme end of things with regards buying music but aren't some of you at the other end of the extreme?

Is it the quality of the recordings that's an issue?
Ok-I can't say sometimes that recorings don't disappoint or indeed the fact that older CD's can be badly mastered.
However is it possible that some have attuned their ear to a level of perfection that only exists in a limited number of recordings?
Nothing wrong with that but should our hobby be about matching that ideal or should it be more like how I see/hear things-getting the best audio reproduction possible but accepting that recording will always be flawed or indeed subjective?
Is Robert Johnson any less powerful despite the primative nature of the recordings?

Finally there's no new good music.
I read that endlessly here on Audiogon.
And I ask one question-how do you know that?
Do you read about new music?
Have you the interest to search it out the way you tweak or try to perfect your system?
Do you know what's been remastered recently?

There is plenty of new music that is good but even ignoring the new stuff,there is an endless supply of music already existing that you've probably never heard.
Do you try to expand your tastes?
Does it even interest you to try?

If your relationship with this hobby is about the equipment then fine,that is as valid as any music lovers quest however please refrain from these glib criticisms if you haven't taken the time to make sure you know what you are talking about.

ben_campbell

Showing 2 responses by sogood51

The amount of music one can find on the WWW is so vast that it sometimes seems to be out numbered only by the stars in the sky and the bugs on the earth. My problem isn't finding recordings, it's affording the multitude that I find.

Equipment, I enjoy the heck out of it and have somehow been blessed with the ability to put a great sounding system together at all the price levels I have owned. All this great luck with components has opened up a huge can of worms in the software department limited only by the flavor of my day and never by the equipment.

I will admit to a short stay in the AUDIOPHILE camp a few years back..spent about two years there playing with and staring at all my stuff with this neurotic look in my eye, not a fun time for music listening in the old sogood household. I don't know for sure..but we may all go through this as part of the learning curve with components at one time or another in our lives. One only has to read through the daily forum to see what a confused bunch we can be.

Dave
Kind of off topic, But...I picked up Muddy Waters (folk singer) cd the other day. This remaster has caused me to order another Muddy Waters remaster. I've begun to explore more of this old stuff. While Muddy Waters was no stranger to me, I am finding many of the other artist's from his day are. Sound quality on this disc is very high and was a great surprise.

Dave