The diary entries of a little girl nearing 30! - Page 524  

Congratulations, a_rec! You deserve recognition for your great review.

The Platform Pure 6 is starting to tempt me. Damn.

What is still most fascinating to me about the differences of approach in this hobby is the desire of some for absence, especially with regard to headphones and their function as an audio thoroughfare. The bibliophiles I've known love to read---love the content that books convey---yet they would never say the goal of their reading is to just have the information presented to them while ignoring the book as much as possible. What partially defines them as bibliophiles is a love of the artifact itself: the tactile sensation of page-turning, the smell of the paper, the historical (and at times monetary) value of original editions.

I would agree certainly that headphones are tools first and foremost, created with a specific function to fulfill through their use. There is a certain unique element to them however in that how they go about fulfilling this isn't so easily defined. A blade for instance is said to be a good tool if it's sharp, as that is the quality of paramount importance in fulfilling its role. Even something like a modern edition of a book or a film projector which are somewhat more analogous to headphones in that they allow for the relay of information as an artform still have more straightforward tasks to fulfill. If a DVD player only presented films in varying shades of blue and green for instance, it would be seen as anomalous. Yet headphones are often valued by some for presenting music with varying degrees of coloration. On the other hand, there are those who feel the most successful headphones---the ones that best fulfill their role as tools---as those which minimize their presence as much as possible. This even speaks to a difference in focus among those who are primarily concern with musical reproduction. This latter subset is concerned with replicating the original recording as closely as possible, whereas the former isn't concerned with accuracy so much as simply approximating their personal taste. The latter group explores material in so far as they attempt to plump the depths of it to extract as much information as possible, whereas the former group may also be interested in exploring the effects of different equipment, listening to the way colorations change their favorite material. I suppose the emphasis would be on some kind of preconceived absolute versus the acceptance of multiplicity.

Of course, these are gross generalizations made for the sake of reflection. In the above-mentioned cases, headphones are treated as a means rather than an ends in themselves, and therein I think a huge distinction lies: the primary distinction between the audiophile and the collector. That is why I say the collector sees headphones as more than tools, as tools are primarily a means to an end. Of course, the collector like the bibliophile recognizes the functionality of the object in question, and just as the bibliophile values the written material contained within a book, so to does the headphone collector value the ability of the headphones to relay music. Conversely just as some bibliophiles only care about the value of and profiting from their collections, so to with some headphone collectors as well. However for some there is an appreciation of the object in and of itself, an admiration for its aesthetic qualities and design, for its historical significance and the story behind its coming to be in one's position, and the experience of using it. Just as a bibliophile might enjoy the physical act of turning pages, the headphone collector might enjoy wearing and adjusting the fit of the device.

If you were a headphone, what headphone would you be?

If you were an earphone / IEM, what earphone would you be?

What headphone or earphone would the love of your life be (if you're not in a relationship, then guess)?

What headphones or earphones would your two best friends be?

What headphone or earphone would your arch-rival / villainous nemesis be?