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ARE YOU A " TRUE EXPERT AUDIOPHILE " ( T E A ) ???

Dear friends: I questioned my self several times about with no sure answer in this " easy " question.

A priori almost all of us think we are and through the Agon threads ( and in other forums. ) we try to show " we are ". We try to share our experiences and " best " learning and at the same time through those thread  discussion we try to learn. Well not all, many of us posted/post to be the winner: the one with the right  and only explanations.

Through my audio life I learned that exist no single audiophile ( included proffesionals reviewers/"gurus". ) whom write the right audio " bible ", many of us have higher knowledge level on some audio topics and " almost "  all ignorants with other topics it does not matters what that " guru " can think.

IMHO the high-end audio experience is a day by day endless learning and we can learn not only from those " gurus " but from the " rookies " too.

Now, the main subject in the thread is to find out with certainty what means: T E A   level  and to start somewhere first I would like ,  along all of you,  try to find out the definition of an Audiophile.

So, the thread is totally open for all of us come to help on this T  E  A   quest.

So, for you: what's and AUDIOPHILE ?  main characteristics for ?

W E L C O M E D  !!!  your effort is appreciated. Btw, the thread is NOT and evaluation of each one of us but looking for answers and a learning exercise for all.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.


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oblgny's avatar
oblgny
845 posts
 
No,  but I am The Walrus!  Goo goo ga joob!
oblgny's avatar
oblgny
845 posts
 
It really all depends on whom is proclaiming to be an audiophile and how one goes about spreading the gospel of hifi.

In my business there are more "experts" than you can swing a dead cat at,  most of whom pontificate rather than educate,  delve into virtually every aspect of minutia attempting to impress rather than enlighten,  and think they know more about the product than the person who actually makes them.  Borrrrrrrrrrrrrring!

Frankly speaking,  I don't know a mosfet from a misfit,  but I can HEAR the difference between equipment - god knows I've bought enough stuff over the years to validate that statement!

To paraphrase a line in the movie Do The Right Thing,  "...those who know don't tell,  this who tell don't know..."
paladin's avatar
paladin
227 posts
 
I believe that most of us here on the gon are audiophiles.
I also believe that anyone who actually thinks of themselves as a TEA has an ego the size of Kansas.
There are some of us that have & truly enjoy their $1K systems as much or more than others who have mega buck$ systems.
In all honesty - I think the only TEA's are people that you believe are the experts. ie: Someone who can walk into a listening room & detect imperfections in a system (like a tweeter off axis/plane, too much boom in bass, an anemic amp etc.).
I have only met one such person in my 50 years in this hobby & am lucky enough to have him as a friend who has helped me develop great sound over the past 20 years - THANKS TED!
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,147 posts
 
I would argue that if you can make a good living on being an audiophile, then you qualify for the T-E-A.  That would mainly be designers, manufacturers, retailers, but also a few reviewers.  But just because they are experts, doesn't mean they will always be right.
lewm
12,553 posts
 
First, I'd say that one can be an "audiophile" without having attained the status of a TEA.  Second, I would define the term "audiophile" as "a music lover who got side-tracked by a parallel obsession with the reproduction of music by electronic means".  And finally, I would not dare to define myself as a TEA, but I would probably be willing to concede that someone else may be a TEA.  However, no one is ever free of his personal biases, which gets in the way of being a TEA for all others audiophiles.  For example, your bias against tubes, Raul.

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