Should people who can't solder, build or test their speakers be considered audiophiles?
So, if you bought that Porsche but can only drive it and not fix it do you really understand and appreciate what it is? I say no. The guy who can get in there and make it better, faster or prettier with his own hands has a superior ability to understand the final result and can appreciate what he has from a knowledge base and not just a look at what I bought base. I mean sure you can appreciate that car when you drive it but if all you do is take it back to the dealership for maintenance and repairs you just like the shape with no real understanding of what makes it the mechanical marvel it is. I find that is true with the audio world too. There are those who spend a ton of money on things and then spend a lot of time seeking peer approval and assurance their purchase was the right one and that people are suitably impressed. Of course those who are most impressed are those who also do not design, build, test or experiment.
I propose that an audiophile must have more than a superficial knowledge about what he listens to and must technically understand what he is listening to. He knows why things work and what his end goal is and often makes his own components to achieve this. He knows how to use design software to make speakers that you can't buy and analyze the room they are in and set up the amplification with digital crossovers and DSP. He can take a plain jane system and tweak it and balance it to best suit the room it is in. He can make it sound far better than the guy who constantly buys new components based on his superficial knowledge who does not understand why what he keeps buying in vain never quite gets there.
A true audiophile can define his goal and with hands on ability achieve what a mere buyer of shiny parts never will. So out comes the Diana Krall music and the buyer says see how good my system is? The audiophile says I have taken a great voice and played it through a system where all was matched and tweaked or even purposely built and sits right down next to Diana as she sings. The buyer wants prestigious signature sound and the audiophile will work to achieve an end result that is faithful true to life audio as though you were in the room with Diana as she sings. The true audiophile wants true to life and not tonally pure according to someones artificial standard.
So are you a buyer or an audiophile and what do you think should make a person an audiophile?
A true audiophile is the person on a quest to find better sound . If the end result is accomplished with a soldering iron or a check book it does not matter . That is why we read these forums after all . So stop the bickering and after this plague passes go out and do some listening to other systems . There is nothing like finding a new reference to help you on your quest . Be safe and stay healthy . RC
Yes and I guess that's why you just can't stay away hmmm?
Hey, thanks for singling me out. 👍 I must be getting my point across in a cogent and meaningful way.
Try as I may to stay away, I came back to see just how much this thread has degraded and you didn't disappoint. I guess it's in your nature. You see, you keep coming back, glossing over the relevant points with the same old, same old, trying to save face.
"
We get it. You don't.
" Yes and I guess that's why you just can't stay away hmmm? "
Does this mean that your idea of what an audiophile is or isn't, based upon foolish and unsubstantiated logic, is truth?
" Yes, according to the Great Carnack I speak truth to words.
"
Should people who can't solder, build or test their speakers be considered audiophiles?" That is like saying a bibliophile is not a bibliophile if he does not write his own books.
I am dangerous with tools of any kind and pat myself on the back for hooking up the toilet bowl float to the chain. Does this mean I do not know my gear? Does this mean that I do not have a discerning ear? Does this mean that for the last 40 years, that I have continually upgraded my system based upon my knowledge, finances, and experience, that it is all negated simply because I do not trust myself to solder, saw or build? Does this mean that your idea of what an audiophile is or isn't, based upon foolish and unsubstantiated logic, is truth?
At first, your defense was that it was a joke to see who actually read it and. You said you took pleasure in triggering people and even had some sycophants chime in with their saying that they got the joke, which was on the rest of us.
Now, it's morphed into something else about observations on human behavior from all the replies. As already stated, we get it. Always did. No need to read between the lines. Takes only a minute to reread your premise, which all have pointed out, is simply wrong.
You paint with too broad a brush and generalize. It's not as black and white as you propose.
If this is the definition of a real audiophile I’m going to let myself out and never visit again. Too bad, you old punks are always crying out that there is no new blood in high fidelity audio. I was part of that younger crowd you’re always clamoring for to move the hobby forward through time, with full appreciation of the golden ages of music and equipment that can reproduce it accurately.
"
Audiophiles come in many shapes and forms, and although there are those
who are ‘signature whores’ who only want high end brand labels to adorn
their living rooms, there are plenty of other folk that love music and
appreciate the accurate reproduction that only well engineered equipment
can deliver. To denigrate this group just because they have a
qualified tech service their gear is not only inaccurate but ignorant.
" Yet another person who skips to the end and waxes eloquent without reading the rest. In some ways this has become quite interesting as a study of sorts on human behavior. Read the title and skip to the end and assume they know what it is all about from many. Then you have the righteous indignation crowd who can't see they are in a room of mirrors. Then a scant few take the time to read about it and are amused. I like the term signature whores and if you had taken the time to read the thread you would see that is precisely who I was poking at. Signature whores, I am gonna remember that one for further use.
"
Should stupid people be allowed to post on the internet ?
" Well what happens if stupid people determine what is stupid as is so often the case here there and elsewhere? If stupid people determine the policy then are intelligent people excluded? Can a stupid censor know what is stupid or not? If a stupid person thinks it is clever then are you not politically incorrect for pointing out he is stupid and not qualified to comment on stupid? There are just so many facets to this topic that you need to elaborate on so we know where you are coming from.
Software....really??? Are you kidding me? Software sucks the life out of most audio devices. Your ears are what you use to test my friend. Although software has been responsible for many new designs in speaker technology, especially with compression drivers and horns, the ultimate test is whether it sounds good or not. As an avid audiophile since the late 70s and a recording studio owner I can attest that software is responsible for a lot of nasty issues we have to deal with today such as latency. That is why to this date purists still choose analog tape machines over computer based platforms like Protools. So I guess that since I cannot program software to do some audio data crunching that I’m not an audiophile? I guess it also means that although I am a musician myself, have built custom studio monitors, have loved audio in both home and professional systems for decades that this counts for nothing. I was probably an audiophile when the author of this twisted definition was in diapers wetting himself, so please don’t flatter yourself with your programming prowess. Audiophiles come in many shapes and forms, and although there are those who are ‘signature whores’ who only want high end brand labels to adorn their living rooms, there are plenty of other folk that love music and appreciate the accurate reproduction that only well engineered equipment can deliver. To denigrate this group just because they have a qualified tech service their gear is not only inaccurate but ignorant.
An audiophile is someone who appreciates and savors, and (probably) lusts after the best audio they can afford. They read audio magazines and listen to well recorded music. They talk about sound stage, the quality of the mids, clarity of the trebles, taut basses. Someone who can solder is called an electrician, electronics expert or electrical engineer. They talk about caps, transistors, circuits, solder, schematics, A-D converters, slew rate, 2, 4, 6 and 8 ohm connections.
Just in case anyone jumped in at the end and missed the first few pages of posts... April Fools.. in June
"
@mahlman - glad to know you were just rattling the cage to see if you could ruffle some feathers.
" I do love audio and spend a lot of time at it in all aspects.
Sometimes though the comic theater of the absurd that seems to go with
it is a bit more than I can resist. There are some really crazy things
around here lurking amongst the nuggets of good.
"audiophiles" or "audio files"? I have been into audio since high school (I am 67) and have amassed a file cabinet of audio stuff, yes my audio files. Proving one can have both ... chill
Hello, I believe it is our fault for responding To some of these posts. I do appreciate how some knock it down or disprove the post but it might be too little too late. The one thing that worries me is I feel we might lose some new enthusiasts due to some of the posts. I will never be swayed and will stand up to everyone to protect everyone. This can be knocked out in a heartbeat. Harley Davidson is having a tricky time because they forgot to market to the next generation. Let’s hope that does not happen to our passion. I know it’s a free country, but can we chill out on hindering people from becoming audio files .
The post is the saddest mix of envy and snobbery I have yet seen on this forum.
Indeed. And since I don't believe the original poster has had his/her face rubbed in it enough, I'll ask if I am a true audiophile if I don't have an anechoic chamber; an FFT analyzer and the means to sand cast my own speaker baskets. Am I a true audiophile if I can't build vaccum tubes from scratch? How about if I haven't yet built my own cartridge using wire that I extruded from minerals I refined myself in my hand-built 2,000 degree furnace?
If I understand this somewhat elitist approach correctly, I will no longer be able to appreciate music for what it is unless I learn to play an instrument and can add personal touches to my favorite tunes. I am so disappointed.
As I've stated previously in this thread:
"... it's a classic trait seeing those outspoken about defining more strictly the terms of being an audiophile to conveniently fall within that classification themselves. Vanity, vanity.."
While I appreciate the initiative of the OP (posed as a question, not to forget), some people just need to feel better about themselves.
In addition, while I might not be able to identify, fix, or modify all the parts of my Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye Hemi engine and Supercharger -- I damn well know I'll leave your pansy Porsche in a cloud of burnout smoke.
I actually had to read the original post three times to make sure I wasn't missing a hidden joke. If you truly think a person can't be an Audiophile unless they have the knowledge to open up any audio component and make any repair or modifications, knowing what every electronic component inside does....you win the "Pompous Cocksucker of the Century" award. Hands down. Your statement brings to mind one of my favorite Michael Caine lines ever uttered on the big screen (I've altered it for you) -- “There's only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's audio choices and the Dutch.”
"
I assume this question, like all of the others that include the phrase,
"can you be considered an audiophile if," is just meant to poke the
tiger to get a response. It certainly got a response!
" Well it was a bit serious in that poking fun at pretentious people is amusing and the bonus is all these that pile on who don't have a clue about the sarcasm intended. Many skip right to the end and wax eloquently from their lofty perches on their justifiable outrage thus adding immensely to the amusement of the OP. The ability to discern sarcasm appears to be shrinking quickly.
I assume this question, like all of the others that include the phrase, "can you be considered an audiophile if," is just meant to poke the tiger to get a response. It certainly got a response!
Dictionary states that "-phile" definition is fondness for something, from the Greek, loving. Do you need to know how something works to have a fondness for something or love it? No. Do you get more out of it when you do? Possibly. I work on a lot of gear to repair and improve it and have a different appreciation than people I know who can't work on it, but I'd venture the majority can't work on gear yet love audio and music.
I know a lot of race car drivers who can't work on the cars. Are they still racers, and do they love racing and racecars? Yes. Those who understand all of the mechanics and physics of the cars just appreciate them and racing differently.
Sarcasm doesn't work. It's just preaching to the choir. A good example is "All in the family". Brilliant writing, but instead of showing the people who needed a lesson in tolerance just how much of an idiot Archie Bunker was, he became a hero and role model to them.
Off topic for sure, but then the topic of this thread is not worth commenting on.
If I understand this somewhat elitist approach correctly, I will no longer be able to appreciate music for what it is unless I learn to play an instrument and can add personal touches to my favorite tunes. I am so disappointed.
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