What makes / defines an audiophile ?

Carl's definition: One who needs to get musical satisfaction through listening to accurately reproduced recordings of music. Most of the world gets musical satisfaction in other ways, and is generally satisfied with listening to a recording in a way that is less faithful to the original recorded event (duhh)..........I didn't know I was an audiophile until I was 26 years old. In some ways, I'm glad that my parents weren't into "audio without compromise", because I came to appreciate the process in a more well rounded way in adulthood, rather than knowing it as a child, and just taking it for granted for the remainder of my life (like my future children likely will...and also like quite a few audiophiles have known the hobby).

I agree, but take issue with two things: 1) There's no use in assuming that "most" non-audiophiles can hear as good or better than those of us who are (I do realize you were using that to make a point, though). Not that I'm assuming that they can or cannot, just that there's no need in assuming either way. 2) That a 'phile who has a decent system that "OF COURSE DOESN'T SOUND LIKE THE REAL THING AT ALL"....of course, that is not really what you mean. They DO sound LIKE the real thing to varying degrees based on what aspects of reporduction are concentrated on....I believe what you meant to say was that WE OBSESS ON THE FACT THAT THE SOUND OF THE SYSTEM is NOT the ACTUAL live performance. It all depends on what your subjective definition of the word "LIKE" is.....or for that matter, what your definition of the word "is", is...(chuckle chuckle).

Yes, I understand your main point, and I apologize for not reiterating it: that once we finally sit down and actually PAY ATTENTION to the sound of the stereo, we realize that "work needs to be done". BUT WHAT MAKES US "WANT" TO ACTUALLY SIT, LISTEN, AND PAY ATTENTION IN THE FIRST PLACE?.....See below..........I cannot tell you how many times I'll have someone over, they'll sit, and listen for 3 seconds, and then start talking. Or the other thing, is they'll ask to hear something specific, and then the MOMENT it starts, they just want to start searching thru the collection for something else to hear...ALL THE WHILE PAYING ZERO ATTENTION TO THE MUSIC THAT IS PLAYING. Basically, it's attention deficit disorder, based on their conditioned repsonse to a learned behavior, whenever music is playing...it seems to me................................However, if you then say that "what defines the audiophile, is ONLY the obsession"...then that doesn't give us enough credit for the CAUSE of the obsession in the first place: to get better sound because of THE LOVE OF MUSIC...we want to get closer to the music, MORESO THAN DO NON-PHILES. For instance, if we are talking the vast majority of young women: how many of them like dance music, and are obsessed with dancing to it, in "clubs", at around 110 dB, and for hours at a time, until they collapse from exhaustion???? And who do they dance like this with? OTHER YOUNG WOMEN....."it is about the music", except maybe unless you're on a small country so far out in the sPacific nOcean, that you feel the need to take up ship building as your "obsession" instead...LOL!! I'm joking, sort of. I welcome this dialogue, Redkiwi.

Well, I presume they do, I've not done that. From what I've seen on tv, it seems like they'd want to show up with some soap and wash cloth at that 3 am liason, before they "finish the date", nudge nudge! There's even this island in the Mediterranean Sea where kids these days (mostly female, it looked to me on tv), go to "party all night". They do "euphoria", or somesuch (illegal drugs are encouraged on this island), and then dance for 12 hours straight (with other girls of course), sweat like HORSES, pass out, get up the next night and do it over again...until they run out of money, that is...Of course, some DIE from it, but I guess it's worth it to them to get "MUSICAL SATISFACTION" thru frenzied and never ending "dancing" to the most annoyingly loud "boom-boom-boom music" you'll ever burst your eardrums with! BTW, Redkiwi, I agree with your thoughts on women above, and admire you for having the "lads" to voice it. I did something similar to that "back in the day" this past August, and everyone including the Audiogon staff were collectively "opening an UMBRELLA up my KEESTER", for simply voicing my opinion!!! "We'll close these forums down competely, that's what we'll do...." IT'S ALRIGHT TO HAVE AN OPINION, EXCEPT OF COURSE WHEN IT ISN'T...when it's not "politically correct" (I personally never understood the popularity of those words in that phrase, to evoke that expression, back in the 1990's...seems like Hitler came up with an expression like that, and was well liked by his followers for it). I think the DNC just resurrected it, sometime around Novemeber 1992. But then, I believe they will have no power at all for at least the next 4 years AFTER TOMORROW!!!!

I am feeling respectful of you, Redkiwi...well said.