[bubsdaddy]

A few months back an offhanded comment - "Well, the Senn MX500 certainly can't be considered audiophile" - made me wonder where hobbyist or enthusiast ends and where audiophile begins. The current "Name the Audiophile headphones you hate" thread has made me wonder again. It occurs to me that the closest I probably have to what could be considered an audiophile phone is the Grado SR80 and I bet even that falls short in some opinions.

My sources are almost always an MP3 player or a portable CD player so I never felt the need to spend more than I have on a nicer set of cans. I enjoy what I have very much but the bug bites me every now and then, just not an expensive bug.

Where do you draw the line?

 

[nikongod]

do you enjoy listening to it?
thats all you need to know.

 

[tnmike1]

after you've spent about $300 for Ipod 5g, $250 for used SM III v6, $250 for Portaphile maxxed (just to compare the sound of the two) $90 ea for cables from two cable manufacturers and assorted wall warts to power this all. Inother words, drop about 1 grand and STILL look for improvements

that's my definition

 

[GreatDane]

Considering the average persons view...when they look at you like this>

when you tell them how much you spent...well then, YOU might be an audiophile.

 

[DDRRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikongod do you enjoy listening to it? thats all you need to know.

Exactly.
Audio PHILE, as in love.

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bubsdaddy Where do you draw the line?

When you stop listening to the music and start listening to the equipment more.

Thus, I prefer to be called a music lover, not an audiophile.

 

[F107plus5]

When you sit there listening with eyes closed, noting each tape splice in the master, noticing each instrument individually, and laughing out loud at a new sound previously un-noticed, and always needing a box of Kleenex tissues close by,

then you might be a....

 

[PiccoloNamek]

When you buy your first triple digit figure cable.

 

[Duggeh]

IMHO


You can be an audiophile at ANY price point or gear point where you are making a distinction i how or the the way in which you listen to the music you listen to, based upon the equipment you use to listen with.

Doesnt matter if thats an HEV90 and HE90 or a PX100 + CMOY, if you are looking and listenign for the equipment rather than the musical transmission in itself, then you have boarded the audiophile train. Audiophilia has more, fundamentally to do with equipment and specifications than pure musicality does. However the two are not mutually exclusive by any means. I personally consider myself a musicwhore before an audiophile. Althoguh I do enjoy the audiophile side of my hobby.

 

[Roger.McMurphy]

"To be an audiophile, or not to be, that's the question."

The upgraditis thing is not about being an audiophile, but a headphone geek. There is a huge difference between both terms.

Only audiophiles suffer from upgraditis, and only audiophiles can become audio geeks, as they truly desire the best sound there is. It is indeed a sickness, but also is a passion. We all got this sickness, but sadly, some of us are in terminal

.

For most of us, rationality is not an option in this beautiful headphone world!

The point being: On these forums, we are all audiophiles, as long as we are interested by good sound, satisfied or not.

 

[Electro Point]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh IMHO You can be an audiophile at ANY price point or gear point where you are making a distinction i how or the the way in which you listen to the music you listen to, based upon the equipment you use to listen with. Doesnt matter if thats an HEV90 and HE90 or a PX100 + CMOY, if you are looking and listenign for the equipment rather than the musical transmission in itself, then you have boarded the audiophile train. Audiophilia has more, fundamentally to do with equipment and specifications than pure musicality does. However the two are not mutually exclusive by any means. I personally consider myself a musicwhore before an audiophile. Althoguh I do enjoy the audiophile side of my hobby.

2x

Yes audiophile can begin in any price point. Audiophile is really when you would care more towards the equipment and how it reproduces the sound then just the music itself.

 

[PeeeMeS]

You can spend a million on a kicking new stereo system and still not be an audiophile.

You have to have the audiophile snobbery/audiophile walk/swagger down.

 

[Thai Fighter]

IMO I'm an audiophile and a non-audiophile at the same time. For instance, when I get a new pair of headphones I always spend some time on evaluating their actual value and on wondering if I did the right thing when I bought them. After a few days though (or sometimes weeks) if the headphones survive the test of time (thus I don't get rid of them) I begin to listen to the music...

 

[PhilS]

These types of threads, which pop up every other month in some variant or another, always crack me up. Webster's defines audiophile as "a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction." Thus, one can be an audiophile without even owning any high-fidelity equipment at all. And one can be an audiophile even if you own have cheap equipment. And owning expensive equipment doesn't necessarily make you an audiophile. Generally, though, one would expect a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction to undertake an effort to obtain the equipment necessary to produce that quality of sound, assuming one has the means to do so.

But people like to re-define the word to satsify their own agenda, biases, or prejudices. Thus, the usual comments to the effect that "audiophiles" care more about the equipment than the music -- a notion that is just plain silly, and that is arguably not even consistent with the definition of the term.

Turning to the initial question, someone who refers to a certain headphone as not being considered "audiophile" probably means that that phones are not capable of producing "high-fidelity" sound, or a sound quality that the average "enthusiast" would consider to be acceptable or of reasonably good quality. Of course, where the "high fidelity" line should be drawn is a matter of judgment about which reasonable people can disagree, although most would probably agree that certain phones clearly are not high fidelity and certain ones clearly are.

 

[bubsdaddy]

I appreciate the answers so far. It's a good discussion. But let's make it more personal. Which phones do you own that you consider capable of producing high fidelity sound, or audiophile quality? Which headphones do you own that just sound good but don't make the cut?