So often I find myself resenting the fact that there are only so many hours to listen to HiFi and I think of those that don't hold this resentment.
I used to think anyone who wasn't obsessive simply lacked exposure, but even though I have introduced many, I have discovered no takers.
At audiophile club meeting it seems to me that the attendees are mostly gear-heads and posers; they say "Ooo & Ahhhh" to anything presented and you can see 1 or 2, maybe 3 in the seats nonchalantly looking over in the direction of the ooo-ers and Ahhh-ers; those few get it. And before anyone is defensive because they know, lashes out that I'm this or that....I don't care. These are obviously my opinions and I'm looking for the opinions of others On The Question At Hand and not whether or not I am a deluded self important snob.
So, if it is not a lack of exposure, is it a lack of ability?
Surely we are all different, short, tall, smart, obtuse, near sighted, far sighted. Are the ears and or the brains of an audiophile just wired differently than others? Can non audiophiles just not hear what we hear?
Was it childhood exposure that caused this difference in wiring? My father had Altec Voice of the Theater horns and the accompanying gear. Was that it, being exposed to HIFi during brain development? My daughter gets it and boy was she pissed when I sold my VPI TT. I never got along with my father, but was he responsible for my affliction by introducing me to superior sound as an infant?
And, who are the sick ones, the philes or the non-philes?
I assume you mean as an wholesaler, otherwise, ... what a strange thing to say.
Look, I suppose a lot of money is all relative. If you have a lot of LP’s, a great TT then spend what you need to git er done in an analog system.
But if you are going digital Moore’s law is real. You don’t need chrome mountains and sound cannons at $$$$ prices when you can get an active all in one speaker system (with built in room correction) for a fraction of what you would spend just 5 years ago.
I have several systems and one of them is for watching DVDS and listening to music.... but it is not a surround system because I really don't like them and if I hadn't looked at the chart here on this post, I would think surround systems would be a thing of the past and on their way out. I use 4 speakers.... two in front and two in the back which really makes watching DVDs and listening to music wonderful. I use a good amp which is 4 channels of course and you can't beat the sound. The center speaker in a surround system has never been adequate for me but if it works for you then I'm happy for you.
Movies, you say? These days I’m incapable of sitting still for one track …. And don’t even get me started on Cable, complete garbage. Adios like a rotten fart down wind!
Movies, you say? These days I’m incapable of sitting still for one track …. And don’t even get me started on Cable, complete garbage. Adios like a rotten fart down wind!
Because music is one thing , acoustic is another thing... They can blend or they can be set apart... Some people need the two , some need only one, and some people dont need any of the two...
Sometimes I'm convinced I'm an audiophile while other times I'm convinced I'm a music lover.
However, what I always come back to is this: I could live without a nice system but living without music is unimaginable.
+1 @uncledempIt is beyond me why (I’ll say most) musicians don’t care about the fidelity of recorded music they listen to. I’ve had musicians over to hear my rig and I get two reactions- 1) Dropped jaws at the realism and soundstage, or 2) “Oh yeah. Sounds real clear.” As a working musician myself, I can’t understand why every musician wouldn’t want a decent play back system. But I find most don’t. In fact, one noted jazz pianist colleague sort of dogs me about putting money into my AV rig.
To the OP’s question, I was surrounded by music as a kid, reproduced on such lo-fi equipment it was “no-fi.” I didn’t hear “hi-fi” until I was in college. And that was it. I was hooked. But a lot (most?) are not moved by the experience. For me, listening to music is visceral. I can’t have it playing in the background. I stop and listen. (A problem working in stores with Muzak in my 20s.) I get “stuck” listening to music on my latest rig. One track leads to another and another until I’m dead tired at 2AM.
IMO, people get it or they don’t. Neither is right or wrong, although those who don’t probably have more money in the bank than those who do. 😉
Music has a content of his own: melody,rythm,harmony, tonality, atonality, polytonality, Chromatism, harmonics....
Acoustic has a content of his own: Timbre acoustic translation, localization in space, immersiveness, dynamic, transients, direct/reflected/ diffuse waves, reverberation time, head and ears coupling to the speakers ,holographical distribution of sound sources etc
Two experiences completely different that meet one another in a music hall architecture...Not necessarily in an audio system for many musicians who are workers of their trade or too immersed in the live music playing experience to seat and be passively involved in buying costly gear... Their instrument matter way more...
I am handicapped because i dont play any instrument, and sound speak to my eye and tell a story...but i am not musically trained... i listen Scriabin to feel a "buzz" as powerful as drug....I "see" a Bruckner symphony exactly as we see a movie... I can describe all chords as part of a complex story...
It is why i add to music vocabulary and albums the vocabulary of acoustic to "clarify" my music experience as a sound seeing experience too...
There are many audio philes types (objectivist-subjectivist who are gear focussed and others like me acoustic- phile) and many non audio philes types ( as many musicians , many music lovers or silence- philes ) ...There is even mix between these types...
The sickness is to label people and class them in a binary opposition..
Just my 2 cent...
No need for a poll... 😊
«The first sickness was lended to the one who was different from the group» Anonymus contemporary disciple of Hippocrates
i have no idea what is being discussed/debated here... i read the original posting a couple times -- maybe it is poorly written or maybe my comprehension of this one is poor
If the % of audiophiles are small the % of acoustic philes are even smaller. I count myself as a member of acoustic-phile. It is much less expensive and much more pleasing to my ears.
I'm an almost-exclusively-classical-music listener. Even if I knew any other audiophiles or audiophile clubs, their various musical tastes would undoubtedly send me reeling out of the room in disgust. I've learned long ago that whatever you might recommend to others, they aren't likely to hear or perceive anything the way you do. And though I live with somebody I dearly love, I wouldn't dream of subjecting her to my very exclusive taste in music...which is why I've put together the best possible headphone-only system I can barely afford. When she fires-up some crappy old pop tunes on YouTube, I just grin and bear it, and wait till she gets it out of her system. That's what love will do. She has an idea of the many thousands of dollars I've spent on my headphone rig...and yet has never had the slightest desire to have a listen.
So...I don't know if being an audiophile is a "disease" or not, but it seem to be a fairly solitary pursuit these days. Anyway, I'm happy with it and need no validation from others.
Personally I've been listening to music since I was a kid. My first hi-fi system was a transistor radio my parents gave me when I was six. Still makes me smile when I think of listening to Brown Eyed Girl, Red Rubber Ball on that tiny system. My mom used to sit alone at night in the dark and listen to Simon & Garfunkel albums on a Magnavox console system. My childhood friends and I used to sit on the curb and sing Jackson Browne, Eagles, Linda Ronstadt. My first car had a great sound system. My best friend still reminds me I used to make her sit in the backseat and help me balance things just right! We had Led Zeppelin, Supertramp (yep, bloody well right) blasting while driving. In college I bought my first system a Bang&Olufsen quad reciever with 4 B&O speakers. From there a friend at the Rocket Ranch introduced me to very high end Magnepan speakers (taller than me). I've been a planar person ever since. And a tube person for just about as long. Yes I used to be a rocket scientist, my degree is in Electrical Engineering, chose that major because I wanted to be able to build my own system. Did I mention I'm a woman. Yep that's right there are more than zero women who love hi-fi, and no I'm not the only one.
I cannot tell you how many dozens of times over the years I've had salesmen man-splain me all that hi-fi tech stuff. I also cannot tell you how many times I smiled and walked away. Being a woman engineer I am very used to the old attitudes, women don't know anything about hi-fi, cars, sports etc ad nauseum... And yes to enjoy this hobby you do have to endure all the cracks about "chasing skirts", women don't listen to high end stereo, my wife thinks I'm crazy and on an on.
Luckily times have changed and guys in their 40's and below don't carry around all those old tropes. Makes it easier to share your passion for this 1% hobby.
Whether people listen like those of us here, or through their tiny bluetooth speaker, the important thing is they are listening. Music is common ground for almost all humanity. Not the type of music or the cost of your system. Music soothes the vast majority of souls. So let the label game rest, worry not, kick back and enjoy your passion. Passion after all comes in a wide selection of choices.
Lol one thing that really comes through is that I bet that the majority of audiophiles here can't agree on what they consider good music. I'm a female jazz singer listener and other styles of music are nice to listen to once in a bluemoon (no association intended) but not really my cup of tea. For instance bal-de-vis apparently exclusively listens to classical music and hit it on the head about his listening. Classical is nice but if that was all there was to it, a $100 speaker would do for me but certainly not for bal. If you think we are rare as audiophiles, when we brake down our taste in music we are even rarer.
I was in a music store once looking at the jazz section when a woman approached me asking for a recommendation on what cd to buy for her new boyfriend because he was an audiophile and loved jazz. I told her that Diana Krall was the best jazz singer and she couldn't go wrong by any of her cds. She then said that it wasn't what he liked and went on to describe his taste as fusion jazz.... I didn't have a clue what to tell her and said I was sorry. All the cds in the section were very famous editions and I was sure her new boyfriend had all of them so I didn't say anything. We can still be audiophiles and not really relate to one another.
A matter very difficult to explain and debate without vexing someone...
Music is not like the color taste for the room paint...
our taste of colors are generally more static and will not change much... Our interpretation of colors is also revelatory in some test...
But music express the consciousness history of humanity....The word "taste" here does not implicate the same meaning content as in car choices or colors...
The way we can enter in this consciousness history imply an "education" a formal one or not...
Then the main difference in music for me is not between genres and styles , mainly between classical music being it Josquin Des prez or Scriabin taste, nor Jazz being it New Orleans or Hard bop or free jazz etc , no more between Japan or India or Persia or Brazilian music or turkisch one.... Pygmies chant or Yoruba drummings...
All this is not industrially fabricated music, but music created in a TRADITION , cultural and musical tradition...
Fabricated music display different levels of "fabrication" because there is great musician even in fabricated music...I even appreciate some for few minutes... 😊 But generally i go away from any "fabricated music" , i will not gave exemple here, because it is too complicated and debatable because there is genius musician even in "fabricated music" and there is levels of " fabrication" ...My point is not about judging people ...
My point is about the necessity to educate our spontaneous tastes in something: an experience in a journey that will reflect from humanity consciousness our own consciousness for ourself in our own personal history...
Music is way more than a "thirst" that must be satisfied...Or a Hunger for beautiful sounds...
it is a meditation even for those who dont meditate...
We can meditate in silence or with music... We can observe and feel how music change our body physiology... And our mind set...How music open the door of consciousness more smoothly than "drugs" ...
We can ask ourself why pigmies choral music so much moved us and why Bruckner symphonies has so much "cinematic" content, how Jazz can relax us so much because of his freedom invitation, why is chinese music so poetical near nature and why ragas are so meaningful for the soul ?
Understanding that we begin to think that all mankind is one and only ONE...There is no more tastes here and no more rejection... Save that it is difficult at some point to enjoy for a long time more than a song catched in the radio of fabricated music even with a genius singer and musician behind... I dont put folk music and poetry in "fabricated" music for sure...
I apologize if i irritate someone here, but at the end there is not much taste in music , only preferences in listening time duration ... Did i love much Scriabin than pygmies choral chants or the reverse ? Not at all.... These two different world come from the human soul directly...
I’m an almost-exclusively-classical-music listener. Even if I knew any other audiophiles or audiophile clubs, their various musical tastes would undoubtedly send me reeling out of the room in disgust. I’ve learned long ago that whatever you might recommend to others, they aren’t likely to hear or perceive anything the way you do. And though I live with somebody I dearly love, I wouldn’t dream of subjecting her to my very exclusive taste in music...which is why I’ve put together the best possible headphone-only system I can barely afford. When she fires-up some crappy old pop tunes on YouTube, I just grin and bear it, and wait till she gets it out of her system. That’s what love will do. She has an idea of the many thousands of dollars I’ve spent on my headphone rig...and yet has never had the slightest desire to have a listen.
So...I don’t know if being an audiophile is a "disease" or not, but it seem to be a fairly solitary pursuit these days. Anyway, I’m happy with it and need no validation from others.
All this is not industrially fabricated music, but music created in a TRADITION , cultural and musical tradition...
Right now my favorite genre of music IS industrially fabricated in the TRADITION of the tribes of Africa mostly in the Zulu language... Amapiano music. Thankfully I can get mixes of it on Mixcloud, hit play, and be taken on a journey of rhythm, heart, spirit, it is magical. Here is a mix, enjoy:
I have the pleasure and honour to introduce you to DJ Jean Karungi, the first female DJ in this series. Jean is an Ugandan Based DJ who started mixing professionally in 2021. Since this time she has played in bars and at events. A lover of music in all its forms but particularly drawn to amapiano, afro house and EDM. Her sets are always a reflection of her eclectic taste and an assured vibe for a good time.
Interesting statement from the CEO of Hunnia Records
"
In our recording studio – named Supersize Recording – we have a Neve 88R analog console and a Merging Technologies Hapi Analog to Digital Converter that are used at Stereo DSD 128 and DSD 256 resolutions. Allowing Hunnia to provide NativeDSD listeners with Live, Direct to Pure DSD Stereo releases.
The most important thing to me is the feeling of joy that is brought about by the quality of recorded sound. Sometimes, the music that is being played becomes secondary. This could be some kind of an ancient phenomena, because there is so many types of music the value of which is not given by beauty or intellectual content, and they have only an acoustical effect.
This music works on a sensational level and gives an experience like good food, fine wine or the feeling of sunshine on my skin. It can be noticed on our albums that they are very musically diverse touching a number of genres.
I am not a planner. What touches me – for which I feel love – is an audio recording. This is beautiful in music that it exists in the moment. That has been performed and cannot be heard in the same way again. This is why it is important to record music and theater productions. These are volatile treasures, not like books or movies and must be preserved in all of their glory for you the listener to enjoy for many years to come!"
In two separate private messages, Drake praised Momo’s talent and told him he listens to his music.
“You my friend…are from another planet. [I] Listen to you like a religious experience,” – Drake said in a private message sent to the musician.
Sharing the screenshot, Kelvin Momo wrote: “Waking up to such, speechless! Jokes aside, getting a direct message from Drake means a lot. I don’t even know what to say, but I am f**ken grateful man.”
Drake’s messages come a month after Momo released his 26-track album titled Amukelani.
Waking up to such. speechless! 🙆🏼♂️ le re nna ke etsa hanyani 😂 🫡 jokes aside Getting a DM
Sometimes, the music that is being played becomes secondary. This could be some kind of an ancient phenomena, because there is so many types of music the value of which is not given by beauty or intellectual content, and they have only an acoustical effect.
Sometimes, the music that is being played becomes secondary. This could be some kind of an ancient phenomena, because there is so many types of music the value of which is not given by beauty or intellectual content, and they have only an acoustical effect.
Sometimes, the music that is being played becomes secondary. This could be some kind of an ancient phenomena, because there is so many types of music the value of which is not given by beauty or intellectual content, and they have only an acoustical effect.
An Audiophile is a lover of Audio. The music they use is to facilitate the search for perfect sound. A lover of music is a Melomaniac.
So, if you love music but audio purity is neither your passion nor goal, then you are not an Audiophile, you are a Melomaniac.
And I am talking here about Audiophiles.No offense to anyone who misunderstood my question.
I am detecting a bit of a false dichotomy here.
Not that that is unusual. On all audio forums I visit, I seem to see this, "you are either an audiophile, or a music lover", sort of attitude among many people.
It is my melomania that lead me to being an audiophile. Music certainly comes first, but playing with the gear can also be loads of fun. I am both an audiophile, and a music lover.
For the vast majority of my listening, I don’t care about the gear. I am only listening to the music. But, there are times, maybe a few hours every couple of weeks, when all I pay attention to, is the gear; swap gear, mess with speaker placement, listen to "audiophile approved" recordings just because they sound great, not necessarily because I like the music.
Very few new movies are worth viewing...And i dont like any genres, i prefer a genius nevermind the genre...
Very few music offering beat the best of all that was already available ...Here too nevermind the genres or styles or cultural origin, only genius matter...
It is better for me to listen a mediocre B- drama series from Korea to learn about the long history of Korea between china and japan and the difference in outlook between confucianism and buddhism it is way better than listening a mediocre B -drama series from hollywood with no content ...
In the same way instead of listening a new popular guitar player nowadays why not listening a genius and master of sitar as Nikhil Banerjee ? or master Ostad elahi ? or many others...
Curious. Do most people only watch certain movie genres like they only listen to a handful of musicians?
And sometimes an audiophile doesn't know that they're an audiophile. Growing up, one of my friends in grade/ high school's dad was a stockbroker. I think that he was earning a six figure income in 1968. Certainly had the toys, but one thing I remember was in his study office at the back of the house he had this built in system. The speakers were three way horns on either side of the entrance to the study(large six foot wide) with what I think were six tube amps. I don't know any of the brands but the sound it created was fantastic. Wide, tall, and deeeeeep. He just liked music and never talked about the equipment. It was so much better than anything, anyone we knew back then systems.
There may be something to this theory. I was exposed to HiFi as a young child by my biological father and some family friends. But I didn’t have a serious interest in it until I was in my teens even though my mother and stepdad had zero interest. It sometimes does feel like it’s in the genes and I see my daughter is developing some interest. There are other bizarre traits that appear to have been inherited on my father's side, like zero fear of all herpetological creatures and an appreciation of all music genres.
It's a hobby. Different folks have different objectives. That some like to Barry details used to drive me crazy, but the fact is that we don't universally like a particular genre, are those who listen to classical snobs, those who listen to heavy metal or country knuckle dragging Neanderthals? The hobby is personal, that X thinks spending $300 for interconnects is crazy, and Y thinks $300 for ICs only buys garbage is irrelevant if $300 ICs make the buyer content. Respect the opinions of others because this is all just opinion based, and ones opinion for what pleases themselves is just fine. When it comes down to personal preference and either choice hurts no one, there is no universal right or wrong.
Was it at a certain age and being able to experience Shellac replays owned by Parents, maybe not.
Was it as a result of being able to experience music replays on a Radio, definitely something stuck from such early experiences and still remains with myself to date.
Was it experiencing how a Musical Encounter can impact on oneself through seeing it as a replayed happening on a TV, definitely a biggy this one, and has a great influence on my developing a interest.
Was it going out and experiencing live music being replayed of Bands I had become very influenced by and discovering New Music Encounters as a live performed music, this is substantial and possibly the most influential. This is now a lifestyle, a personality is developing and friendships are evolving through shared enthusiasm for the same attraction. Merchandise of the influential performers is being acquired and the desire to experience the merchandise replayed is a big attraction.
Replaying merchandise requires a few simple tools to get a end result, the tools at some point can become of importance and hence the pursuit of learning about audio equipment becomes a secondary interest.
I believe without any reservation, that when a intense focus has manifested on the audio equipment side of the equation, that music and the enjoyment it brings becomes a out of focus area in the individuals life. How the audio equipment is said to perform is to become much more important than the Source Material containing the recorded music.
The focus on audio equipment becomes even more deranged when individuals become solitary and have very isolated experiences with their pursuit of the equipment nirvana. There take is all that matters, and their experiences are mainly gathered as interpreting Manufacturers Sales Spiel and reviewers assessments.
This gets even more interesting when such an individual becomes in their own mind a authority not to be challenged, on the basis they are now with a unusually deep insight into how a publicly presented measurement for a audio devices designed parameters impacts on the end produced sonic.
I have learned to keep myself steered well clear of this mindset and avoid any extended communication with such types, the most basic exchanges are to me exhausting, life is way too short.
The two types that occasionally cross paths are easily defined, the following is a very basic outline.
One type really enjoys musical encounters, as a Live experience or as a Recorded Music Replay, or there is a alternative, where the music being produced means little, but the Obsession about the Audio Equipment has taken on such a controlling influence the pursuit has become extremely sapping of the individual.
I think the question is a bit wrong-headed because it ignores several foundational questions:
1 - Who really loves music? (show of hands)
2 - Who really has fun messing around with audio gear to play music? (show of hands)
3 - Who does bot?
Picture a ven diagram of people: left circle = people who answer yes to #1; right circle = people who answer yes to #2; overlap of the 2 circles = those who answer yes to #3.
I’m in the overlap group. I prefer to regard my motivation as "passion," though at times the obsessive nature of the pursuit can seem a little deranged.
I don’t know any people who only obsess over gear, but don’t actually use it to appreciate music. I suppose that exists, but is a little hard for me to understand.
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