How many of us really suffer from AUDIOPHILIA NERVOSA


Just curious of how many of us suffer from this. When i read all of this it was kinda funny but then again very serious. I will be the first one who feels this way.                                                                                                                               Audiophilia nervosa describes the anxiety resulting from the never ending quest to obtain the ultimate performance from ones stereo system by means of state of art components., cables and the use of certain tweaks. Although the goal is supposedly to achieve maximum appreciation of the music, those afficted with this condition are merely obsessed with their electronics.                                                                                                                                            By no means original content , yet a truly spot on description of the malady many of us suffer from - Audio Nervosa.    And no, there is no known cure.                                                                                                                                           1) The bigger , the more powerful sound system the better and you will always find that no matter how big or how much power you have it never seems to be enough.                                                                                                           2) No matter how deep and powerful the bass sounds , it will always seem to be not quite deep enough and not quite powerful enough.                                                                                                                                                                   3) No matter how clear and detailed the treble sounds, you will always feel that it can be improved.                                4) Achieving audio perfection is absolutely impossible no matter how much money you spend.                                      5) No matter how much money you spend you will always feel that the system is not quite as good as it could be.        6) If you think that your system sounds perfect then there must be something seriously wrong with you or both.           7) All your friends think that your system sounds much better than you do.                                                                        8) The longer you listen to your own system the worse it seems to sound.                                                                       9) Any dissatisfaction with a new system, no matter how slight , will always become greater as time goes by.                10) Any new piece of equipment added to the system will always sound excellent initially, but nowhere as good when you get used to them.                                                                                                                                                           11) Regularly listening to poor equipment for extended periods is good because it seems to make good components sound much better.                                                                                                                                                               12) Regularly listening to good equipment for extended periods seems to make poor equipment sound absolutely dreadful and probably worse than it really is.                                                                                                                        13) Any persons opinion on the sound quality of a system is completely worthless because someone else will have a different opinion.                                                                                                                                                                      14) Any altercations you make to the system to improve it , no matter how extensive , will never improve it to the extent you wanted it to.                                                                                                                                                         15) No matter how good your system sounds , there will always be someone else with a system that sounds better.     16) You will always detect a difference between the sound qualities of two identical systems and never know why they sound different.                                                                                                                                                              17)Any attempt to match different makes of equipment together will never work out quite as you originally intended.        18) Improving any part of the system will always make some other part of the system seem worse than it was before.                                                                                                                                                                                   19) If you build a big listening room you will be very pleased with the result, but when you get used to it, you will convince yourself the room needs to be bigger.                                                                                                                   20) An infinitely huge attempt to achieve perfection would be at best only produce a system that was infinitesimally closer to perfection, but still not perfect.                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xtattooedtrackman
Take it easy man! Smoking some hemp will make any system sound better and is relaxing too!
I was "there" for quite a while but now my obsession is maximizing what I have based on my tastes and tunes. 
It's a two-sided coin, but it can happen to some. Many look at it as a hobby and want to tweak and improve the sound of their system. Some people do it on a small scale and others jump in full force. If one isn't careful it can get out of control as with anything we develop an interest for.
As with many things, AN is not an all-or-nothing thing.  There are varying degrees.  Also, suffering from symptoms of AN is not the same as suffering from AN.  A cough is a symptom of pneumonia, but it doesn't mean you have pneumonia because you have a cough.  I would chance it to say that everyone here has at least a few symptoms.  But it's when you absolutely cannot enjoy your system at all because all you're thinking about is upgrading or changing or that something isn't right that you have an issue, IMO.  And I have seen people like this. It is a very uncomfortable thing to watch someone unable to sit for five minutes to listen to a song without futzing with something in the system.  
Actually the opposite is often true, the bigger the system, the worse the sound. That’s what’s so #@%!! frustrating. 😀
you can bring a new diagnosis code with applied symptoms to our healthcare industry so you can get some finders fees paid to your pocket.


Nervousness. R45.0 is a billable/specific ICD-10-CM code that can be used to indicate a diagnosis for reimbursement purposes. The 2018 edition of ICD-10-CMR45.0 became effective on October 1, 2017.
Haven't seen an Audiophilia Nervosa Test, since the one in the April, 1993, issue of Stereophile.  Did well on that one also.   As long as what I hear in my listening room, compares nicely with what I hear(or have heard) in various recording studios, halls and clubs; it relaxes me.  A few capacitors, cables, fuses, tubes, etc, here and there, over the years: a labor of love.  It relaxes me, just like cooking with various peppers, painting(motorcycles), playing the guitar, skydiving, riding my bike in the country.  Matter of fact, the tubes are warming up now..........
Don’t mean to wax corny here, but- after just listening to Rickie Lee Jones singing, ’On Saturday Afternoons In 1963’, I had to add: My system just takes me there and getting away from here, is NICE!
@rodman99999  Appreciate your post above about Rickie Lee.  Haven't listened to her original album or her other offerings for a long time.  I have to correct that.

I had the great fortune of seeing her live near the beginning of her career at the Tower Theater in Philly.  She walked out on that stage alone carrying a 1/5 of Whiskey and a glass.  That chick had/has attitude.  Don't think I broke my attention to her once during that gig.  Fabulously original talent!!

Listening to Diana Krall Live in Paris on LP right now.  Just arrived yesterday.  Hearing her live gives me a newfound appreciation for what she can bring to a great song.
You might have this highly contagious disease i surely don't.Hope they find a cure good luck!!
When did I ever depart from the theme of explaining how I find my system/music therapeutic and relaxing?   OR- did you only address your original post, to those that suffer the same malady as you?
rodman99999 This is not about therapy or a relaxing post. Please stick to the original post please. Thank you. Or you can start your own post about music therapy and relaxation. 
I see! This is just a suggestion: If you’re going to make statements like, "And no, there is no known cure", at the beginning of a thread, not desiring any retort, you might postscript that with something akin to, "NO OPPOSING VIEWS ALLOWED!" I’m not sorry that I enjoy my system as much as I do, but- it’s tragic, that you seem find that so offensive. I’ll be certain to completely ignore/avoid any future threads, that you initiate, NOT wanting to trigger your other malady(Control-Freak Nervosa). Happy listening and ADIOS! OH, WAIT: I guess happy listening is out of the question, based on your initial post, so- just ADIOS!
It could be classified as the following diagnostic code:

300.29--- Specific Phobia with the specifier that the phobic stimulus is "less than perfect sound quality".


I like it; a DSM code for chronic upgrade-itis.

I just finished listening to the Soundtrack from Annie, followed by some Adele, and then Everlast (The Life Acoustic) to balance things out.  I listened to Rickie Lee Jones the other night.

There are better amps, preamps, phono stages and turntables than what I have. But, what I have sounds good, no, it sounds great to me.  I appreciate all the helpful feedback I have received along the way, and have built a really nice system (for under wholesale cost) and really only need to worry about if they are ever going to run out of vintage Telefunken 6922 tubes, and if I am ever going to catch my stylus on something.  Otherwise, I listen when I feel like it, and when nobody is home I listen to it loud.

I think we all intuitively know when we have gone round the bend and it's time to stop.  Same applies to our posts.
rodman9999  .. Sorry if i offended you. But we all know how posts can go off the subject . Relax have a beer and happy listening. 

Hello Boss ... how's it going ?

Seems I have developed a bad case of Audiophilia Nervosa - mental code ICD-10-CMR45.0

I feel I will need to take the next 3 days - 72 hours off to see if I can get over it. I would not want to come in early and have this disease spread to anyone in our office. I feel if I come in now, I may try to rip those Bose ceiling speakers out, and introduce vinyl in the coffee lounge.

My plan is to lock myself in my audio room, with refreshments, and listen to the Carpenters, John Denver and Anne Murray, non-stop to see if I can flush this thing out of me. Maybe throw in an occasional Bee Gees song. ooooooohhh love the Bee Gees . Stayin Alive, Stayin Alive.
   
Is this ok with you ?

************

I have suffered occasional bouts of Audiophilia Nervosa. Looking back the episodes have come during challenging times. This hobby has for the most part been harmless to others, and helped me to raise my kids (almost there...maybe) and deal with my wife during challenging times. That is a sign IMO of a good hobby.

I have however had a different form of the disease as well. A mutation of sorts. I am usually pretty good with things once set up. If the system is generating the types of endorphins I get with my daily run, I let it be. My issues have been in spreading the virus to multiple rooms I visit. If I go into a room enough, a system kit gets put in. The advantages of this is that one is presented with backups of gear, if some gear component goes down. Nothing more illuminating then sticking that component from Room C, into Room A and hearing what changes it brings.



I have the same stereo system and cables for at least 10 years. Now it sound great, I did not change my components to up grade, since 10 years, but what I have done, is to take a particular attention to electricity, that feed my system : Better binding post (speakers), better DuPlex, little but effective room treatment, and the last and not least, about electricity : Bybee iQSE and QSE. That last one make the music easy to listen at moderate volume, the search of the Saint Graal is now finished, everything is cool and calm down with great musicality.. Enjoy the music...


ct0517....I think if i had a bigger house with more rooms i would also have another system set up. Especially that my main listening room is upstairs in my home and i spend alot of time downstairs. Except when im upstairs only listening to my system. Maybe i should look for a bigger home ? 
I think im pretty much satisfied with my system at this point. With the exception of some tweeks here and there. Mostly want to try those Herbies tube dampers for my ARC Ref 6. I did try the Synergistic Blue fuse and did not hear one bit of a difference.