Should people with no turntable or reel to reel be considered audiophiles?

Yes. It's the mindset that counts so any kindred soul with a smartphone and headphones is welcomed by me.
MP3 or FLAC.

Those days when it was mandatory for any audiophile to have a turntable may have gone, but even after 140 years of the gramophone, spinning vinyl has not lost its charm. 

Some diehards may argue that the true age of the audiophile was back in those days when amps and speakers had to be built from kits due to sheer cost.

They may have a point, or maybe not. Anyway, we salute you. You lead the way.

From that perspective it is a bit hard not to feel that these kids of today don't know they're born.

But wasn't it always? 

wolf_garcia,

"Regarding the qualification to be an audiophile, it seems to me all you need is the love of actively listening to great music through speakers or good headphones in stereo (or mono if that’s called for). That and at least one expensive cable."


I’d say so. A work colleague of mine, still in his 20s doesn’t care for separates at all. Yet he went out of his way to buy a top of the range HTC smartphone exclusively because of its sound quality which he believed was down to its superior DAC.

He also uses some highly reviewed in ear headphones.

He has also been considering a separate portable headphone amp, but I’ve never asked him about the cable.

Definitely an audiophile.

rauliruegas,

Excellent must read article.
I will repost it on another thread.

Thanks.

https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/how-ear-works#para4

recluse,

Be careful friend, these vinyl / CD wars have disturbed many an audiophile's peace of mind for decades. 

Probably even older than the ongoing pernicious sapping cable debates, but certainly younger than the almost timeless solid state v tube arguments which seem to have reached a somewhat uneasy detente between the opposing camps.

Admittedly this analogue/digital debate, for that's what it is, cannot be compared to, or put in the same league as the infamous “Father, Son and Holy Ghost” conundrum which befuddled many a christian for centuries, but it still comes with a certain risk.

I've witnessed this war from it's beginning, slightly preceding the actual arrival of the upstart Compact Disc. Hostilities escalated immediately. 

Subsequent decades have seen both camps arguing tirelessly the perceived defects of the other with no quarter given, and not much taken.

A certain Michael Fremer could be said to be the figurehead for the vinyl camp whilst the digital camp seems to lack a direct counterpart, although it's not short of advocates of course. 

These objectivist/ subjectivist debates operate somewhere outside both the parameters of logic or of measurement. They can be safely classed as arguments personal experience and faith.

If you will permit me a small confession, I will admit to have been both sides of the argument at one time or another. I found peace of mind and reconciliation eventually by accepting that whilst analogue is often superior in practice, it's digital that's superior in principle. 

That seems to keep both sides happy and persuaded enough not to attempt to flame me at the stake as a heretic.
But not always.

In any case my trouble is nothing. You should have seen the grief Peter Aczel used to get a few decades back. No one is immune in these divisive times.
Even an esteemed figure such as Harbeth's Alan Shaw is regularly mocked and threatened with the online inquisition. Things can get very nasty indeed.

Stay safe my friend. 

rauliruegas,

I felt it should be listed with those articles (or online videos) we feel might genuinely advance our collective knowledge.

It was a little depressing to read about the irreversible hearing damage that happens with misuse and with time.  

Plus all of the recalibration our hearing systems have to perform as a result, or the effects of volume on perceived frequency response.

I remember the old stories of New York police putting bullets in their ears to drown out the hysterical (100dB+) screams from the fans at the Beatles concerts!

We should always take maximum care of our hearing. 

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/articles-you-feel-should-be-shared