I'm now convinced that audiophilia is a state of mind rather then a level of expertise. All things audio being relitive so to speak. Nothings clear cut, there is no BEST, There are no gurus. we run the gammit from the obtuse to the obsessed. Labels aside, Music in all its forms is THE universal language. How and why we get there is unique to each of us. The shareing is good.
Where does the designation of "Audiophile" fit...
In the overall way you see Yourself? This has probably been asked before, so forgive me please if it is redundent. I actually started thinking about this after reading another thread here about the "typical Audiophile". It got me curious. Are You an Audiophile first and foremost, or does this distinction fall in place behind other badges you might wear. Parent? Professional? Volunteer? Maybe you would not even describe yourself as an Audiophile? Whatever the case may be, I am often suprised by what I read in these threads. I see people here as being extremely generous and friendly-sometimes unbelievably compassionate & funny, always very intelligent, beyond merely being well informed. I see myself as being fortunate to have such a resource.
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Audiophiledom is pretty damn far down on my list of priorities. More than anything else, im a gear head, and i like having nice things. All you gotta do is check out my system.It has been in sorry shape for almost 9-10 months. I have other responcibilitys that i have to take care of before i start dropping cash into my rig. Need to re-carpet the basement and stairs, need to renovate my bathroom, need to do some landscaping in the backyard, etc etc. I recently spend nearly a grand on an upgrade on my system. Hopefullyy within a few months my house will be done and i can start dumping more money into the rig. |
Music is most certainly an essential part of my life. Music has gotten me through tough times and accentuated the good ones. When I received a 20 year old McIntosh solid state preamp and poweramp I thought, "how cool and retro looking". When I hooked it up and heard what it did to my music I threw the four year old Pionneer reciever in the closet and have not looked back. I consider myself having pretensions to audiophiledom but have no allusions that I am an a true audiophile. People, uninitiated, uninterested or of more modest means, may consider otherwise but I'm having fun and enjoying my music more than ever. |
Stick me in a pidgeon hole, will'ya?! Have me crawlin' about with all that pidgeon shit?! Stuff me in a neat little box so you can check that off your list and know exactly where I stand...or rather crouch deeply in that contorted and painful position? Is that what you want Tim?! It's the ol' "Us" and "Them" game! Paint the world in shades of black and white! Well color me blue, with a crimson wash, and just a hint of gold! Y'aint gonna pin me down to no category, so your checks and balances please the upper management! No sir! Damned if I'll comply! You gotta wake up pretty early in the mornin' to pull that kind of crap on me ya'know. Well, if you get up around 8am you'll probably get away with a whole bunch of crap like that, but you don't know where I live, and it may take you a while to get to my house, and by then I'll be up and ready for you. HA! You and your kind can just stick to your A/B/A comparisons in your buddies basement listening room. Keep me out of it man. I ain't got no notes on graph paper, all neatly dated and numbered with arrows and footnotes, waxing rhetorically on amplifiers and speaker cables! I'm not giving away any secrets either. You think you can squeeze me, like you done these others before me who gave it up and popped like so many ripe zits, exploding forth with useless and banal information splattered across my computer screen like some poorly aimed porno site climax! No chance my friend. It'll be a cold day in hell with pigs flying everywhere and bears wearing big hats and looking for an outhouse to relieve themselves while the Pope squats naked by a tree grunting endlessly with no payoff! You can take your "Volunteer Audiophile" badge and use it as a suppository, just like Callahan suggested in, was it "Magnum Force"! Friendly?! Generous?! Where the heck have you been reading those posts man? They sure weren't mine, and I'm the only one writing anything worth reading on this god forsaken site. There's a bunch of crazy people here that seem to think that stereo equiptment is more important than breathing! I swear it must be some kind of cult. Look, I think they're plotting some sort of conspiracy to rule the world with power cords! If you're smart like me you'll pack up your belongings and head for Iceland. There's way too many of them to fight off, and they have this secret language that only they can understand. I read some of the words and I've been keeping a notebook, but I haven't been able to work out the meanings yet. Words like, "transients", "soundstage", "frequency response" and "macrodynamics"! I think they're some kind of codewords for the plot to put a $1500 power cords on electric razors and toaster ovens! They're evil I tell you! Get out there's still time and your power cords are all a reasonable girth! Marco |
Marco, escape to Iceland? You mean that place with really normal girls ??? http://www.oscar.com/style/gallery/women/30515.html |
An audiophile is anyone who spends significant time listening to music. Where listening to music is the primary activity, not just on to accompany another activity. Someone who will spend a Sunday afternoon or any evening simply enjoying their favorite music. They don't necessarily have a great system or even a good system. I have a friend who has a stack of records (vinyl) probably as high as his house. He simply loves to explore his vast collection of records, many of which I have never heard of, on his crappy stereo. When I was younger, spending my Sunday afternoons listening to the radio on my piece of crap Pioneer system, I was an audiophile. Now, when I do the same on my much more expensive system, I am that same audiophile. I like to see it as a love of music and not a love of equipment that reproduces recorded music. How many of us would sell a bunch of our favourite cd's or records for better equipment. Not me. When I can afford to upgrade, I do. But I will never put the hardware before the software. Some audiophiles choose to seek a better sound and some don't. But to me, it's always about the music. I try to have my cake and eat it too. |
Whew!? That's one of those codewords, isn't it? Whew? Probably means that anyone who knows where I live should come to my house and strangle me with a thick, expensive power cord, and put me out of everyone's misery once and for all! You're one of them aren't you Tim? It may be too late for Tim, but for god's sake, if anyone else reading this has not succumbed to the wiley ways of this wicked bunch of ne'er-do-wells and still thinks "Whew" actually just means....well..Whew...Stop reading now and start packing your bags. Notify the press in case I don't make it to the airport tomorrow morning. My death will not go un-noticed and without meaning. You of the uninitiated may believe Porter's just making a jolly with his sly reference to the Iceland chick, but it's all a clever ruse to take suspicion away from him. Don't let him fool you. He's the ring-leader, the grand Poo-bah! Master of deception. Members of the sect plug in this week's code word at the end of the otherwise innocently amusing URL and sheezam, there's a map to my house, my flight number, a photograph of me, and all the information needed for the hit. I won't run this time Albert. Bring em'on! I'm stayin up late with Diesel at my feet. There'll be no grassy knolls to hide behind this time. If they do manage to get me then let my life be an eternal reminder to those innocents who come after me. You have been warned. Go away from here and enjoy your music without the benefit of dedicated AC lines, turntables that cost the price of a year at Harvard, or without the bragging rights afforded by cables that come with a diesel engine integrated into the housings! Save your money for dentist bills, tuition, vacation, and prostitutes. Get that bobbing head baseball-star figurine for the dashboard of your car that you've been wanting. Live large. Take chances. Marco |
Too late for that advice Golivejr! Stayed up all night with Diesel and just went through my 14th shot of espresso. I live in Seattle man. It's against the law not to drink coffee in Seattle! They'll stick your ass in jail strap you down and hook you up with a Starbucks drip straight into your vein. After a few days of that they just drop you off in the middle of Occidental Square and brother, let me tell you, you ain't got a chance! Heard a strange noise outside at around 6:30 in the A.M. and thought it was probably one of Porter's crew come to make good on the contract. So I sicked Diesel on their ass and come to find out it's my neighbor heading off to work. I don't know if it was me screaming or Diesel comin' at him like that but the poor dude crapped his pants and was late for work. There was some pounding on the door just after that, but I didn't answer it. I'll keep broadcasting up until they get me. Hear me now folks, The Beatles tried to tell you, but the music industry moguls got to them first. The original lyrics are locked in a vault an apartment in The Dakota building. It actually went, "Bose is all you need"!! Marco |
Audio is a large part of my life because music overlaps with so much of it. Music is one window to the divine and helps me in my relationship with God; it is part of my relationship with my children; my wife and I dance, cook and make love with music in the background. It's too hard for me to separate it all, let alone rank order it. I'm with Marco on that -- though I haven't had quite as much coffee ;-) |
There are no audiophiles on this forum, only audiophools. We are a crazy bunch no doubt. I can tell you there are hardly any forums out there which has this kind of fraternity. I am pround to be a tiny part of it. Priority? I spend all my free time devoted to three hobbies of mine Audio, Photography and Computers. My prime time is taken up by work, family and kids not necessarily in that order. Happy listening! |
Okay. I get the sense that my question does attempt to pigeonhole people. It was not intended, or at least I did not mean to set everything in its place. Life is more complicated than this, and I apologize if I offended. For myself, the designation of Audiophile is only useful in the sense that it helps me to identify other people who have an interest in audio. It is good for that, and then it is too simple to truly identify anything meaningful. Its a hook, really, like icelandic chick. My question really meant to ascertain just how seriously people here relate to the label. Is it a lifestyle or a part of a lifestyle. Icelandic chick definately sounds like a lifestyle to me, but I still wonder what Audiophile means. |
Diesel slept while I stood watch. Timf-You did not offend me even remotely. When you see my posts you have a 50/50 chance of them being dead serious and chock-full of golden nuggets of useful information and wisdom befitting of Ghandi himself, or, as in my contributions here (including this very post) they can be Chock-Full-of-Shit! (That's the espresso Diesel preferers Gunbei....actually produced the beans himself - what a great dog!). Marco |
Definition from web: "one with extreme interest in high quality sound" I think this fits. I am an audiophile by this definition. However, there are people who are audiophiles that do not seem very interested in music. I am definitely a music lover. I can enjoy listening to mp3's on my PC even tho the quality ain't so great. Just loves to taps mah toes. But before even this, I am a wine connoisseur and teacher. Hey! It's a lonely life! |
Nice definition Gunbei. Timf, for me, this is a lifestyle. It is a part of many things I do and consumes quite a bit of my time and a very noticeable amount of my money. Any serious hobbyist finds it hard to divorce themselves from their passion. I am an audiophool. There, I've said it. Bwah, hah, hah, hah! |
