Does it have to sound good for you to like it?

+1 @viridian If something’s recorded live it should sound live, and if it’s recorded in a studio and meant to sound that way then it should sound like a studio recording.  BTW, I always thought the phrase “The Absolute Sound” was just ridiculous — sound is relative based on a myriad of things not the least of which is personal taste/preferences, so there is no “absolute sound” IMHO.  I’ve built my system and it has evolved so it just sounds “right” to me, which may have little to do with if it sounds that way to someone else.  I think the goal of achieving “live” sound is probably a misnomer and may more aptly be described as a desire for everything just to sound “right” however each individual perceives that.  Just my take.

it is possible to be an avid music lover with a very modest system and still get deeper into the music than someone with a very expensive system.

Sure that’s possible, but I’d argue that same avid music lover could get even deeper into the music and appreciate it even more with a better system.  I can appreciate driving a Mazda Miata, but I can appreciate driving a lot more in a Porsche 911.

We take turns meeting at each member’s home, allowing each member to host and present/share their music, food, wine/drinks and good company. Most of the members have various consumer-level listening stations: AV receivers, Bluetooth soundbars and even the TV!

@audiodidact That’s awesome, and I’m very jealous — thanks for sharing that. Out of morbid curiosity, have any of the guys with “lesser” systems shown any interest in building a better stereo system after hearing what yours is capable of? Think I know the answer but just wanted to ask. 🫣

Oh, so "audiophile" is about gear then. Well, this is exactly what Alan said.  He has tons of real gear in properly treated rooms at his workplaces :-) For some reason I don't think they elevate cables off the floor.

@mikhailark No, the point is Parsons isn’t necessarily in touch at all with what drives audiophiles, and from the video showing both his home setup and words that would certainly seem to be the case.  And you have no idea what equipment he has at his workplaces or how the rooms are treated, so that’s just pure conjecture based on nothing but your imagination.  The only thing we know is that setup/room in his house which is crap that no audiophile in his/her right mind would have or endure. 

Parsons has videos on youtube on his home gear and speaker setup. He owns pretty expensive stuff.

@mikhailark I assume this is the YouTube video you’re referring to since it seems to be the only one out there.  You gotta be kidding me!  If this is his home stereo it’s pretty clear he’s no audiophile and would explain why he doesn’t seem to even understand audiophiles or what drives them.  Both his system/room/setup and just the way he speaks about audio equipment is pure audio engineer/musician with nary a hint of audiophile in there.  But, with this perspective I can certainly better understand why he’d make such an inane statement about audiophiles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnCKVuBrY-s

Except Parsons knows about gear and sound way more than any audiophile. Or even whole bunch if them.

@mikhailark You have no idea what he knows about high-end home audio gear, systems, or audiophiles. You just assume because he records/plays music he knows about being an audiophile, but in practice they’re very different disciplines and ironically often worlds apart. I know a couple recording engineers and many musicians, and they mostly don’t know squat about home audio and even less about audiophiles. Parsons probably knows far, far more musicians than he does true audiophiles, and his comment is more inline with what a musician who’s clueless about home audio or audiophiles would say. IME audiophiles care much more about music than the ordinary person, so much so that we spend great sums on systems to experience it at a significantly higher level. You don’t become an audiophile unless you love and greatly appreciate music — period — which is why Parsons’ comment is overgeneralized, off base, and frankly a bit insulting.

*the quote attributed to Alan Parsons is what I am referring to: “Audiophiles don’t use their equipment to listen to your music. Audiophiles use your music to listen to their equipment.”

I don’t give a crap about Parson’s resume, he doesn’t get to lump all audiophiles into one overgeneralized group like that.  That’s just a stupid and ill-informed statement IMHO.

Yes, and that holds for any genre. I’m a big Steely Dan fan, but I won’t listen to their earlier CDs or stream on my system — too compromised in too many areas (will try the vinyl though whenever I get my TT up n running again). If I wanna listen to that stuff I’ll listen on my earbuds or a Bluetooth speaker where all the warts and limitations are mostly glossed over. Kinda sad, but that’s me.