I don't understand the need to label people in this hobby- it is a pursuit that is not directly related to money or how "rich" someone is. There are so many different facets to reproduced music that these comments are almost entirely irrelevant and reveal a fundamental lack of knowledge, both about the history of the hobby as well as the myriad ways in which people contribute to the art. It's not about bling, or king of the hill or any of that. Sad that we are reduced to this level of discussion. It takes away from real learning and sharing knowledge. And is in my estimation totally misguided.
un-becoming an audiophile
Yes, the title is what is sounds like.
I remember long ago, as a boy, I used to be able to enjoy music without picking apart a track. is the bass tight? is the midrange clear and life-like? is the treble resolution spot on? What about imaging/sound stage?
Most people have this very same superpower - not being an audiophile. They can play a song from the worst earbuds, laptop speakers, or even computer speakers - and enjoy the music; even sing along. They aren’t thinking about "how it sounds" or scrutinizing the audio quality. Actually, they couldn’t care less. They can spend their time on other life pursuits and don’t feel a need to invest big money (or much money at all) in the hi-fi hobby.
Any psychologists or scientists in the building? (please no Amir @amir_asr ) since you are neither! ...despite the word "science" being in your domain name - audio science review.
Please, I beg you. Help me get away from this hobby.
Imagine - being able to enjoy all of your favourite music - while still achieving that dopamine rush, along with serotonin, and even oxytocin - the bonding hormone, which can be released while listening to songs with deep emotional messages, or love songs.
We’re very much like food critics or chefs in a sense. We want the best of something (in this case, audio) I’m sure michelin star chefs face the same thing in their own right...can’t enoy or even eat the food unless it’s up to a certain standard.
When we audiophiles want to listen to music, we often play it on a resolving system, so as to partake in a a "high-end" listening experience. We often pick apart music and fault the audio components in our system, cables etc. All of this takes away from the experience of enjoying music as a form of art/entertainment. It has been said that some famous artists don’t even own a high-end audio system.
I gained a great deal of wisdom of from the documentary - Greek Audiophile. In it, we have audiophiles from all walks of life. Their families think they’re crazy for spending all this money on audio. They say it sounds "nice" or "real" but still can’t justify it.
I think it’s all in the brain. If we can reset our brains (or me at least) I can still enjoy music without needing a great system for it.
- Jack
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There were some comments here on live music as the holy grail. I am fortunate to have a love of acoustic music and singer songwriters. The performances in small rooms is conducive to hearing the instruments. Compare that to my last experience of a James Taylor outdoor concert. Expensive seats, expensive parking and all to hear the music amplified over loudspeakers that could not overcome the woman next to me incessantly talking to her friend. Or Billy Joel at the Amalie arena, a great venue for hockey, but hardly conducive to sound. Lastly going to enjoy Patricia barber at the green mill. Awful sound system crashing of dishes being bussed, blenders making iced drinks and drunken patrons asking my wife and daughter out. |
Once you are addicted to a refined, audiophile grade system you built, it is very difficult to go back to a lesser system and listen to music at the same level of satisfaction. There is no point of retiring from a audiophile state of mind. One thing you could do is to STOP questing / procuring stereo audio equipments. Be content with what you have and just listen to the music. Start building the music library, do version comparison, and collect different but worthwhile collectibles. Start not only music listening but also "music appreciation" to enrich the experience every time you put something on the turntable, CD player or simply stream. You could probably find that type of music listening/appreciation experience has its own purpose, not just killing time or falling into boredom state of mind. |
wise words indeed... not what i do personally, as i do have fun playing with gear, but nonetheless, this is sage advice for most engaged in this passion |
Funny you mention this. Just replied on another thread about this same topic. Trying to get back to this. Kinda done searching for different quality recordings and trying to slow down on rotation of gear and component listening. Sort of re-discovering when we land on something that just works, sounds good enough, getting "back to the music" is a great spot to be in.
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My audio system total $ = ca. $1,500 But, I can enjoy music better than my neighbor who owns B&W and etc. Why, I do have one more very high end part, my brain's selective filtration function. What is the function? It selects good part of sound produced from a mediocre audio system, and filters bad parts (noise, 3rd harmony high frequency, etc) out.
As long as I maintain the function in my brain, I do not need high end audios. Please, try to develop the function instead of wasting your money. |
@mahgister has better English skills….probably a disciple or chief lieutenant. Mahgister’s wad $500 total, which he mentioned thousands of times. Both in Canada though. |
OP: "I’m sure michelin star chefs face the same thing in their own right...can’t enoy or even eat the food unless it’s up to a certain standard." |
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@jackhifiguy What are smoking. Are you referencing my post one past one of this thread "A good read with my morning coffee. I've always found the use of the word Audiophile to be interesting. To me it means someone who has great knowledge on the technical side of hi-fi equipment. And there are plenty of "Audiophiles" on this site. I don't think you need to have much technical expertise in order to be a great lover of music and to be able to fully appreciate a great system. I don't understand half of what is said in many posts, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the sound to the same degree as the member who can build their own equipment. I can derive great enjoyment just by looking at my system, simply as room art when not playing, and I don't care who thinks that's wrong. I think you really just need to move past the label of Audiophile and get back to enjoying your system and the music it provides. If others want to get lost in the magic of a power cable, that's all right too. Everyone gets to enjoy this hobby in their own way. 😁 " Yes, that is clearly lacking in maturity and shows almost no grasp of the English Language. Troll someone else as I don't suffer fools lightly. Cheers. |
