he's an audio-fool.
he's an audio-fool.
Some folks here may see "Audiophile" as a term of derision, but it doesn't have to be. Phile is "Love" so the term translates to "Lover of sound" or "Lover of audio". Any term can used as an insult, but that doesn't make it so.Originally Posted by DaCarlson
It doesn't just mean folks who buy very high end gear and disparage all others ...
As Rolf sez - Sometimes its just about the music ...
2ch: WiiM Pro; Topping E30 II DAC; Oppo, Acurus RL-11, Acurus A200, JBL Dynamics Project - Offline: L212-TwinStack, VonSchweikert VR-4
7: TIVO, Oppo BDP103D, B&K, 2pr UREI 809A, TF600, JBL B460
To me I've always considered "audiophile" to be a mildly derogatory term to describe someone who is forever chasing his/her tail on a money burning spiral of continuous audio dissatisfaction.
A music lover on the other hand uses his stereo system to connect with the performance, the idea the band were trying to convey, the event, the time in their lives etc.
I've 'connected' with plenty of performances either via ropey pa systems in dodgy pubs to late night tunes eons ago on am radio or in the first flushes of youthful passions over various car stereos-you don't need a $4000 passive preamp to do that-and to me that's where the whiff of BS associated with our passtime crops up.
Saying all that, to your average person we probably 'all' look a bit nutty and I know that my better half thinks I should be certified so it's all relative I suppose ;-)
Yes... and no. I have many friends whose opinions I respect and whose taste in audio runs parallel to my own... If they say try this or that device, I'll certainly give it a shot.
To most people an audiophile is a term referring to some sort of eccentric just like a birder or a philatelist. Within the audiophile community there is a subdivision who think themselves too smart to get sucked into spending a fortune on wires or gear... instead these folks will spend hours assembling wire from Cat5e or building an amp or surfing eBay for a deal on some under-appreciated piece of audio gear... I don't know why a person who spends time and effort in the pursuit of high fidelity audio would be frightened by any title let alone one that as Heather pointed out is so benign.
There are those who do love music and are quite content with AM radios and boom boxes... they don't read forums like this.
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I don't know what an audiophile is; none has ever come by this forum.
[I THINK one may have, once, but he left too quickly in his jon-boat for us to know for sure....]
I guess your understanding of Greek and Latin isn't as good as Heather's.
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I have driven heavy trucks all my working life. As a driver one has to be aware of noises ( thumps pops, hissing, grinding or the sound of breaking glass ) lol Not to mention the clatter of the engine , the whine of the turbo or the roar of the exhaust.
At days end l like to unwind by listening to some music .It relaxes me and attunes me to a more serene place.The evolution of my gear to listen to it has been on going for over 45 yrs. It was never an obsession. I let my ears be my guide.
I see discussions here that are very interesting does that make me an Audiophile ?
I understand there is no cure for Audiophilia but there are some interesting therapies to ease to ease the discomfort of the sufferer.
Over the holidays I purchased a hd-dvd player. I also managed to obtain a cd encoded in dts. Put the two together and the experience was almost , well its hard to describe. Surely it can't get any better than this. A little unsettling though. No longer are the musicians on stage in front of you. Now you are standing in the band.
Guess I am one (of you)
Perhaps some discussion of the definition or the terminology is in order.
I dont think the term has anything to do necessarily with having possession of hi end components.
For example you could own a lot of very old vintage gear and have a passionate long term interest as a collector/user trying different combinations.
I think the point here is the tenure and frequency of interest and use of such audio equipment.
That is to say, if someone saw owning and using a sound system as a short term thing or passing fad I would not regard him/her as an audiophile.
If someone bought a relatively expensive system purely for the enjoyment of hearing his favourite tunes without any care of what the equipment was I doubt they could be regarded as an audiophile but a music lover of course.
Someone who just reads Hifi equipment magazines regularly but does not own any audio equipment may consider themselves as an audiophile but they have an interest and are really a follower.
The person who regularly uses and is passionate about their sound system and constantly tries different cables and makes other changes and associates with like minded people is an audiophile.
But there is a sublte and perhaps interesting distinction between an audiophile and a HiFi fanatic.
A HiFI fanatic is an audiophile without what might be decribed as commonsense or limitations. They hang out at hi end audio stores, spend vast sums of money on regularly upgrading their system and go to extreme measures in pursuit of audio nirvana.
It's an obsession.
It's a disease. An imbalance in my brain chemistry.
I have no control over my thoughts or ebay queries.
There are no drugs that my insurance will reimburse.
Gotta join The Twelve Step Program.
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/twelvesteps.htm
Wish me well as I go into the light!
if you call someone an audiophile its almost an insult.
i dont care as long as we can talk about music with a passion.
its the tweakers you should be worrying about.
buying air to supprt there gear (masterbase)
spending hunderds of dollars on silver wire.
using gold fuses in their fusebox.
and every littele tweak makes an improvement.
oh my god bass is much tighter, there air around the musicians now.
much more transparency!!!
and all because they use wooden spikes in stead of iron
finally i have a pair of 604 8g's....there not easy to find in the netherlands
I once roomed with a guy who wasn't an audiophile. He special ordered CDs from the distributors because the stores wouldn't carry them. He had a collection of about 500 hard to find classical CDs, mostly piano because he was a piano major. He used a portable CD player and headphones to listen.
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