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What Does It Take to be an Audiophile?

What are the defining characteristics of an audiophile? The term gets used a lot, but there seem to be a lot of different meanings as it gets used and it often leaves me wondering exactly who is being referred to by the term. So, which of the following characteristics are most important and which are least (including irrelevant) with respect to being a card-carrying audiophile:

Amount of time per week (or month) spent listening to music.

Amount of time per week (or month) spent exclusively listening to music on a dedicated "high-end" system.

Cost of the person's system. Would this be as a ratio of yearly income, an absolute amount or some other measure?

An attained skill level at listening differentiation in the music recreation process.

Size of the person's software library.

Appreciation of certain forms of music. Is it possible to be an audiophile who listens to 90% classic rock and the rest heavy metal?

Attendance of live music performance.

Ability to play an instrument personally

Amount of time spent on equipment research and experimentation in the pursuit of better music recreation.

Amount of space dedicated to the pursuit of music recreation in the person's home.

I'm sure there are others - I'd love to hear them, as well as your opinions on which of the above are the most important, which are unimportant. There are many threads where I think a more common understanding of this term would aid the conversation. -Kirk

kthomas

Showing 1 response by kthomas

kthomas OP
911 posts
 
Craig - You hit on one of the things that prompted my questions in the first place - is being into "hi-end audio" synonomous with being an audiophile? I think they're related but not equivalent.

For me personally, being an audiophile means having a strong appreciation of the (re)creation of high-quality music. This would include both live events as well as music from an audio system. It doesn't mean that you won't listen to or enjoy any system less than the best, but it does imply that you're aware of the differences of the sound of music and value a higher-quality, higher-fidelity sound. I think this appreciation lends itself to regularly seeking out a high-quality music event, whether it's a live performance or recreation through an audio system, to the extent that listening to the music is the activity, not a supporting activity

Music is an art form, and as such, what is "good" and what is "bad" is highly subjective. Whether the recreation of, say, a violin playing is "good" or "bad" is somewhat more objective. The lengths an individual is willing to go to hear "good" music (re)created in a "good" manner is a significant measure of their audiophile-ness. -Kirk

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