Every time you have guest over for dinner, the evening ends after a few bottles of wine & bourbon in front of the audio system playing some of the most amazing versions of songs they heard all their life, and they sit there slack jawed in amazement that music can actually sound so wonderful. And you offer up the sweet spot to the most unconvinced of the group.
You know you are an Audiophile when:
You have a dedicated audio room.
Your listening chair is in the “Sweet Spot”.
You have sound treatment on your walls.
You spend hours properly placing and tweaking your speakers.
You understand that properly placed speakers will create a 3D sound stage (placing musicians and singers in localized positions… from left to right… front to back) [Sound-stage]
Your stereo is worth more than your vehicle.
You know that higher end components do a better job
of: being less fatiguing to listen to, creating the imaging (sound-stage),
representing the instruments more accurately and with more detail, are more involving.
You are intimately aware of the performance and tonal quality of your system, and can describe the results of any changes in the system.
You are aware of how bad the sound is for the first 3 - 4 songs at any live music event.
98 % of the time… when someone cranks their stereo up and says “This sounds GREAT” you cringe. You could list all the ways and reasons why it sounds awful… but you don’t.
When listening to music… you spend a portion of time listening to and exploring the placement of the sounds in the sound stage, and the quality and detail of your system… with your eyes closed.
You become aware of how bad the sound is on some recordings.
You are painfully aware how awful sound systems are at bars and clubs.
You have increased the sound performance of your system through upgrades and tweaks... multiple times.
You are aware of sound reflections in your home, and live music events.
You continue to learn and try new things.
Out of curiosity… you try various things on your system… to see what, and if… there are any improvements… ie: cables, cords, isolation, dampening… etc.