[khaos974]

When you listen to music, no matter the genre, how do you appreciate it?
Pushed to the extreme I would say that a "pure" audiophile would be happy as long as it sounds great with silky highs, lush mids and punching bass, the technical aspect of the recording is primordial.
The "pure" musician would not need to listen, just reading the score would give still give them enjoyment and appreciation of the elaborate thematic developments, the phrasing, the modulation... And the technical ability of the player/conductor is way more important than how it was recorded.
 
I realize we're on head-fi and people at least attach some importance to reproduced sound but some may be here simply because they have money and time to burn
 
Personally, I'm somewhere between the two.
 
EDIT: A little mistake in the poll, I meant "A badly recorded but well played performance still rocks."

 

[rhythmdevils]

I'm guessing you mean "A badly recorded but well played performance still rocks"  or something like that.  The way it reads now doesn't make much sense.  Nor does the order of the last 3. 
 
But good question.  I like beautiful sound quality, but well recorded crap is still crap.  Poorly recorded genius is still genius. 

 

[Trysaeder]

I get better headphones because I want to enjoy my music. It's not about having the most hyped gear, my primary goal is to find a headphone and iem that I am really happy with having for a long time. Having gear comes into it a tiny bit, I'm now looking at pimping up a DT880 manufaktur instead of buying a used one.

 

[Young Spade]

I get better equipment because I want to get the most out of my music. Up until a few months ago, I got somewhat colored phones/IEMs because it was more about the enjoyment of feeling the excitement of the music and getting up and dancing.
 
Now I'm more focuses on the details and the small nuances of it; getting phones like the UM3X to the ER4S and K702s. Although some of the "excitement" is gone, I find my enjoyment in hearing every little detail that is in the song. 
 
However when I do feel like cranking it up and dancing or whatever, I have the speakers/sub in my room for that; although I've really been thinking of throwing some cash down for some "exciting" over the ear phones like the ESW9As or something......Sadly it's going to be a while since I just bought an Archos for the vidoes/web browsing. 

 

[G.Trenchev]

I'm towards musician-like
 
"A badly recorded but well recorded..."
what what

 

[Prog Rock Man]

Pure audiophile for me. My taste in music has expanded and I would now rather listen to well recorded jazz than badly recorded rock. I am most impressed by high sound quality.

 

[krismusic]

When the gear I am listening to music through is right, then I can forget the gear and listen to the music. I would like to say that the music is the important factor but in reality a bad recording ruins it for me.

 

[gurubhai]

I don't care if it is a great recording if I don't like the music itself.
On the other hand, I don't mind going to great lengths for obtaining better recordings of music that I love.
The whole point of getting better source/reproduction chain for me is to enjoy the music that I love.

 

[Permagrin]

I already voted but agree so much with the last few posts to reiterate:
 
"It's all about the music. Even if it's the best recording in the world, if it doesn't suit my musical tastes then it's not worth listening to." 

 

[hodgjy]

I always associated the term "audiophile" as trying to recreate the sound as close to the the live performance as possible.  This, then, in turn implies that it is a musical aspect.  To experience the music as the artist intended is audiophile.

 

[logwed]

It depends on when/where I'm listening. My car is where I rock out, crank up the volume, and love the musician. My bed (where my rig is) is where I lay down and listen critically for every nuance. In the latter setting, since I'm listening for the tiny bits of music, the recording is very important, because otherwise I wouldn't hear the details at all. However, the music is still what I'm listening to (I don't listen for 'sparkling highs' or 'deep and accurate bass'). At the same time, I have fairly nice (Bose, my stepmom had them installed, they're better than stock) speakers in my car, so it's still pretty accurate, so I'd say I'm about 50/50.

 

[simreg]

Like logwed, it depends on the scenario for me. Sometimes I listen for learning purposes, trying to figure out a passage of guitar work, why it sounds so good, or what not. Sometimes it is just background music.
 
I like live music recordings more - they move me more than most studio stuff. I guess I want to hear the music, not the mixing wizardry or what $20k in outboard gear sounds like. Thankfully we have badly recorded YouTube videos to satisfy that urge.
 
It really just depends on the goal of that listening session. It can vary per session, so I try to be as prepared as possible, equipment wise

 

[ANinjaBurrito]

For people leaning towards the "Pure Audiophile" choice, think about this:
 
Would you rather have to listen to your music collection through Stock Apple Headphones, or never be able to listen to music again?
 
I mean, I do attach some importence on audio quality (Hence why i'm here), but sometimes you just have to suck it up and deal with what you have. 

 

[Permagrin]

Hmm, I always assumed audiophile meant someone who loved music (as it is translated linguistically). I guess I'm not a "real" audiophile then. 

 
/totally agrees with ANinjaBurrito

 

[Edwood]

Mostly as an Audiophile.   But well recorded crap is still Crap.