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$$$ vs music enjoyment

The January 2013 Stereophile e-mail newsletter featured an interesting reprint of a 1994 article titled "R.I.P. High-End Audio?" The reprint generated interesting discussion, and I found one post in particular raising an interesting point.

"The article suggests there is some public good to spreading the high-end. I'd like it first shown that someone is happier listening to music on $20 speakers than 'mid-end' $2k speakers. I mean empirical evidence - hook up blindfolded listens to brain scanners and measure their neurotransmitter levels. If there were a correlation between musical enjoyment and price beyond a certain point I'd have expected my musician and conductor friends to own better stereos than they do."

A few points raised there. Does a more expensive system (a nicely set up, moderate system vs. a significantly more expensive system) indeed elevate the level of musical enjoyment? It would be very interesting to compare owners of all-out assault systems with average audiophiles who can't wait to fire up their systems on a Friday night to get themselves immersed in music. I believe I myself would in fact enjoy the music more if able to afford a more expensive system, even though my modest system has given me extreme enjoyment. But who knows...

And then, yes, why does the audiophile community feature relatively so few musicians? I must say this argument is actually not very convincing to me. The underlying assumption is that any given trade professional would necessarily strive to replicate or pursue the same standards or level of performance in his private life, which I think is a fallacy. Does a fancy restaurant chef have to always eat gourmet food at his home to enjoy it? Does a fashion designer have to always wear designer clothes lest they show high fashion is a sham?

Comments welcome.
actusreus

Showing 5 responses by zd542

zd542
5,339 posts
 
"And what would those things be? We all have "better" things to spend money on - family, health, necessities. The answer is probably that they listen to music for a living so it's possible that they might not want to spend hours upon hours listening to more music when they get home, just like chefs probably don't want to cook and eat fancy dinners when they get home from work, or carpenters do not necessarily have to surround themselves with exquisite woodwork. But I would very much like to hear from musicians (but how if they are not audiophiles?), or those who have musician friends and can shed some light on the issue. "

2 Things. Musicians, like most people, don't know that high end audio exists. Even if they did, musicians overall, don't make a lot of money. I don't see what difference it makes if an audiophile is a musician or not. Also, the article on the death of high end audio is almost 20 years old. Maybe Stereophile was wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"In fact, many suggest that, if there is such a thing as decline or death of the high-end, it is partly due to the fact that audio industry has never marketed its products as status symbols like the high-end watch or jewelry makers have always done. "

When you make the "many suggest...." comment, where are you getting that info from? Can you show me where I can find an example of someone saying this?
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"That there aren't musicians who are also audiophiles is a myth; that they "don't know that the high-end exists" is an even bigger myth. This notion keeps coming up time and again, and is completely false. Consider how many people in the general population are audiophiles; a very small percentage. There are far more audiophiles within the community of musicians, as a percentage of that population, than there are audiophiles in the general population; and while probably not to be considered "high-end", the vast majority of musicians have playback gear that is infinitely better than what the average non-musician owns."

I'm not saying you are wrong but I have no idea where you get that info from. I know plenty of musicians and I don't know 1 that has any idea what high end audio is. They seem to have more of a pro sound mentality when it comes to audio. I can only go by my own experience, though, because, as far as I know, there are no stats that can give us any indication as to what type of audio systems musicians have. My best guess would be that musicians get into high end audio the same way regular people do, myself included; by accident. You either wander into a store that sells high end gear or see it in someones home.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Frogman,

"Additionally, I would define "music lover" as someone who either purchases music on a somewhat regular basis or who spends a substantial amount of time listening to the radio or attending concerts; as opposed to (as incredible as it may seem) the majority of our population for who listening to (hearing) music is something that happens only by accident at restaurants, elevators, etc., and who, at best, own a boom box or similar for their music playback."

I didn't mean to suggest that people listen to music by accident. I was only saying that most people get into high end audio by accident. Very few people really know what type of equipment is out there beyond popular stores like Best Buy, etc. Weather someone enjoys music is another matter entirely. I don't think thats equipment dependant.
The experience may change with the type of gear you have but the reason for listening, I believe, remains the same.

I'm not sure what to make of your 2nd paragraph. It looks like you may have a point. Is it possible that the type of musician (Classical in your example), has an effect on weather someone becomes an audiophile or not? It seems like most audiophiles do seem to enjoy listening to classical music to some degree; probably much more than the average person. Maybe thats not by chance.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Peterayer,

"I'm also not upgrading components the way I used to. I'm
even considering moving my virtual system to the "Done for Now" section. I
certainly enjoy listening more now, though I don't know if that is just because
my system has gotten better and it costs more. I don't know for sure, and I
don't really care. For me, it's more and more about the music."

I read your post and had a look at your system. I see 2 big things that I believe you are getting right. First is your system matching. Not only are your components excellent pieces by themselves, they are very well matched to each other. No corners were cut. Its easy to see that you gave equal consideration to all of your components. Second is your attitude to music and your system. As good as your system is, you seem to understand that no system is perfect and don't have any unrealistic expectations to what it should or can do. That's what really allows you to enjoy it. Well done.
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