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Other than music, why are you an audiophile?

I would hope that the first reason why anyone is an audiophile is that they love music. I’m going to assume we all have that in common. So the question is: Other than music, why are you an audiophile?

I’ve had an interest in audio and hifi for twenty years, but it took me a long time, and a fair amount of introspection, to come up with a good answer. My answer is personal. It may not be true of anyone else. Here it is:

Other than music, I’m interested in audio because I’m fascinated by EMERGENCE. The concept of ‘emergence’ has been around for at least a century. It has been used by philosophers and scientists to mean a whole that is “greater than the sum of its parts.” More technically, emergence is a relation between system-level characteristics and component-level characteristics. A system’s characteristics EMERGE from the characteristics of its components when…

(1) The system’s characteristics are DIFFERENT IN KIND from the characteristics of its components.

(2) The system’s characteristics are CAUSED BY the characteristics of its components.

(3) The system’s characteristics are DIFFICULT TO PREDICT from the characteristics of its components.

What does this have to do with audio? Everything. In an audio system…

(1a) The musical characteristics of an audio system are DIFFERENT IN KIND from the electrical/mechanical/acoustical characteristics of its components.

(2a) The musical characteristics of an audio system are CAUSED BY the electrical/mechanical/acoustical characteristics of its components.

(3a) The musical characteristics of an audio system are DIFFICULT TO PREDICT from the electrical/mechanical/acoustical characteristics of its components.

Hence, the musical characteristics of an audio system EMERGE from the electrical/mechanical/acoustical characteristics of its components. In other words, an audio system, taken as a whole, seems “greater than the sum of its parts.”

To me, the phenomenon of emergence differentiates audio, as a hobby, from many (but not all) other hobbies, where emergence does not happen. To me, the phenomenon of emergence is what makes hifi seem like magic, in that something beautiful and emotional emerges out of something mechanical and electrical. And that is why, other than a love a music, I am an audiophile.

Anyone else?
bryoncunningham

Showing 4 responses by shadorne

shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Interesting post. By your definition I am definitely no audiophile. I am only interested in reproducing music to the highest practical standard. I have no desire to create anything other than what is on the track. Anything that "emerges" and which should not be there is not something to be treasured - it is distortion and should be eliminated, if possible. My respect goes to the music and the recording, in that order.

To use an analogy, the stereo and room acoustic treatments while painstaking are simply like the hospital equipment in a delivery ward - they are there to look after Mum and to make the best possible delivery of the Baby.

Music is the baby!

The gear simply takes care of the delivery...
shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Byron,

Sorry but everything that ain't on the recording is inaccurate. Anything extra that emerges may sound as sweet as heaven but I am not interested in this kind of sugar-coating. I am not that audiophile type I guess but I can certainly understand and respect/appreciate what you are trying to achieve. There many audiophiles that love the Cowboy Junkies Trinity Sessions but it leaves me cold, unfortunately for me I guess.
shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
they are emergent, simply because they are (1) different in kind from the components' characteristics; (2) caused by the components' characteristics; and (3) difficult to predict from the components' characteristics.

And this would be because the equipment or equipment matching or the room setup is inadequate.

If everything worked perfectly then it would all sound the same. The problem is that most equipment is not designed to reproduce accurately what is on the recording. It is a dogs breakfast out there. You say you don't like "sugar-coating" but that is what you get from 99% of gear. The sweetness sells. The truth does not.
shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Philosophy of Science entitled "The Reemergence of Emergence."

Ah a fellow Physicist - me too. I enjoy that theoretical stuff - pure physics. I am a little rusty but I still try to keep my oar in - string theory etc.
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