[jakobdam]

I bet a generalization of audiophile people in this matter, is very impossible. I've met audiophiles who spend more time tuning and balancing their equipment, than actually listening to music. I've also met audiophiles who just want to listen to music the way they think the music should sound, and they tend to spend far more time listening to music, than researching and buying and tuning gear.
 
In my case, I'm only a little audiophile, and mostly from necessity. I make music myself, and I enjoy a wide range of music styles. Visiting an audiophile friend, I was extremely surprised to discover how severely bad my own setup was - and this last 1½ year, I've been constantly upgrading and refining my stereo. This taste for a more finely produced sound is now also obvious in my choise of headphones, and I distinguish very hard between monitors and speakers/headphones that are meant for listening music.

 

[bigshot]

I would say that, audiophiles have a deeper (than your average person) appreciation for the recordings and the equipment involved in the playback of music.

Isn't that kind of like having an appreciation for the pens and paper Shakespere used to write his sonnets, and the aesthetics of fine bookbinding?

 

[Wynardtage]

Hi Everyone
 
   This is my first post and I think I prefer doing it here than the classic way of introducing to others.
 
   I love so many different genres of music and many of them not really involve the need of Hi-Fi in many cases, like Experimental music, Power Noize, Trip Hop (which I have seen it related to Low-Fi), among so many others. I personally think the audiophile hardware comes very useful for music like Classical, Jazz, Rock etc but it does not necessarily applies for all the genres. 

 

[bigshot]

I think you're right, Wynartage. I wonder if there isn't a different set of requirements for equipment to play that sort of music... Features and such could be designed to suit. Maybe built in RT distortion and phase filters, visualizers, etc. A trippy version of an iPod.

 

[Happy Camper]

No. We may put a higher value to better sound but I don't see that unusual. Humans have their interests. Some are more in tune with video, time, boating, diving...... and have more disposable income and can spend more for their hobby(s). For those in public forums to criticize or suggest unsound minds would be so foolish as to waste their income on frivolity has other issues that this board doesn't feel obligated to debate.

I seriously doubt someone has the same gear they first bought. My RCA entertainment console is long gone. I've upgraded main systems many times over the years. Some for change, some for technology. As I've broadened my musical scope, I've found I put together systems more geared to the music I was into at the time of purchase. Even today, my rig is set up for detail over musical decisions alone. I was impressed in the capability and not really considering the music. I am trying to find my way back to the music and there is some awesome gear (old and new) to help me find it again and better than I've ever heard it. :evil:

 

[KT66]

I think I am pretty rare, a musician first and audiophile second, and I certainly think I have a better understanding than
most on how an instrument should sound, and song structure.
 
Do I have a deeper apprecation ? yes certainly, I live for music, its what keeps me going.
The equipment just gets me closer to the music I love.
 
But I have learnt that we all hear in different ways, so as I tell everyone, don't buy anything until
you have heard it in your own room.

 

[mikek200]

Quote:

No. We may put a higher value to better sound but I don't see that unusual. Humans have their interests. Some are more in tune with video, time, boating, diving...... and have more disposable income and can spend more for their hobby(s). For those in public forums to criticize or suggest unsound minds would be so foolish as to waste their income on frivolity has other issues that this board doesn't feel obligated to debate.
I seriously doubt someone has the same gear they first bought. My RCA entertainment console is long gone. I've upgraded main systems many times over the years. Some for change, some for technology. As I've broadened my musical scope, I've found I put together systems more geared to the music I was into at the time of purchase. Even today, my rig is set up for detail over musical decisions alone. I was impressed in the capability and not really considering the music. I am trying to find my way back to the music and there is some awesome gear (old and new) to help me find it again and better than I've ever heard it.

I totally agree.
After I got the he-6's & the emo speaker amp,I started to listen to some Brahms ,music, I'e been listning to for 40 years ago,,then on old lp's..now,its like hearing them for the first time.
Of course the recording is a much newer CD,but the technology really helps in hearing things ,and gets you totally involved with the music..that's the way it should be..

 

[Wynardtage]

Quote:

I think you're right, Wynartage. I wonder if there isn't a different set of requirements for equipment to play that sort of music... Features and such could be designed to suit. Maybe built in RT distortion and phase filters, visualizers, etc. A trippy version of an iPod.

Hi Bigshot
 
   Im not really sure of what kind of gear would be the best for the Low-Fi music, maybe thats the reason Im here to explore

. I have seen this artists recording their music on purpose in vinyl records and recording from there their CDs leaving all the pops, clicks and scratches. I personally appreciate both sounds. I recently had the chance to listen to Classical music with AKGs heaphones and its so beautiful but I can appreciate listening Classical music too in an AM Radio with the noize ans interference in the middle. 

 

[bigshot]

I may be an exception, but I haven't upgraded any of my equipment. When I first started out in the mid 70s, I scrimped and saved to buy a set of 10 inch three way custom cabinet speakers from a friend who built speakers for JBL. I picked the drivers I wanted and chose a very good crossover. I still use those speakers today. Likewise, when I bought a turntable, I saved for a Thorens, which I still use. I've had a few receivers burn out over the years, but I still use today's equivalent of the first one I ever bought. I did start upgrading my CD player, spending a lot on a highly rated SACD deck, but that was a huge mistake. I now use a $120 Sony bluray player and it's a LOT better than that thousand dollar Philips.

Mostly, I've supplemented my system... Added 5:1 speakers, hidef video projection, Mac AV server, etc. if you get gould equipment in the first place you can use it until it dies.

 

[bigshot]

as I tell everyone, don't buy anything until
you have heard it in your own room.

That's the best advice that no one ever follows!

 

[Deep Funk]

Quote:

That's the best advice that no one ever follows!

Yup.
 
I'm more of a music lover than an audiophile. Too many things just eat space...

 

[shockdoc]

I'm definitely more of a music lover than an audiophile as well as evidenced by the amount of money I've spent on actual music vs. gear to listen to it. Really, at the end of the day, what I'm looking for with my equipment and recordings is a sound that to ME sounds like the artist is performing right there, live,  in front of me and not just somewhere nearby.

 

[Happy Camper]

I don't think I'd be able to get a couple pieces of several thousand dollar gear home over the weekend to compare. Sounds good, but in practice, impractical. One has to learn by experience, that I agree with. How one gets it is the challenge. At home can take a long time & a lot of money. Fortunately, we can take our headphones there. Speaker fans not so much.

 

[bigshot]

No questions asked return policy is your friend.

 

[supra1988t]

Isn't it the higher appreciation for music that drives one to become an "audiophile"?
 
That is certainly the driving force in my pursuit for a better and more realistic sounding stereo/headphone rig.