[Jahn]

Music first, even if your immediate focus may be gear. Because without music, you might as well be fiddling with Legos. Doesn't matter if it's listening to music (headphone gear) or making music (instrument gear) - without music, it's just gear. And I love music too much to stay in a hobby without it. Which is why I'm not too big of a "let's make the Statue of Liberty out of Legos!" fan.

 

[stewtheking]

I love music, and if I had to choose between the "gear" and simply the "music", then there's simply no contest, but it's a different type of obsession. Sort of like how tinkering with an old banger, or doing up a classic car in a garage is not the same as a love of driving, but they often go hand in hand.

Yes, there are people who clearly have more of an interest in gear than music, but is that such a bad thing? It's their obsessional money-spending habits that help feed innovation and invention in the industry, and give more great products back down the line for the rest of us to buy.

 

[Faust2D]

I hate equipment. If I could go to live concerts all the time I would do it, but I can't so I have to have all this junk around my house.

I also don't understand buying equipment because it looks good or has great specs. Who cares if it looks good and sounds like crap. I would rather have some ugly thing that sounds good.

 

[TheAnomaly]

definitely not.

 

[Hi-Finthen]

Both of course, although the chicken/egg thing applys here. I love music in general, its exploration as well as hearing once again those musics forever linked to my personal history.

The gear too, is a learning process and a wonderful thing to experience the same music only slightly differently presented, rather than absolutely better other than personal preferences, or even to learn our preferences.

At least, thats where I am in the journey here. I have been investing more in my music CD collection though, now that I've I've come to a level of gear comfort zone... Other than the next CDP upgrade, of course...

What's really the shame, is the gawd awful lot of poorly recorded music in the mainstream, apparently recorded simply as a commercial music product without regard to its quality.

 

[LonerGenius]

I wouldn't love my music as much without my equipment...but my equipment is useless to me without my music!

 

[Oddball]

I can listen to my favorite songs on stock headphones, but I can't listen to songs I dislike on top equipment. While I have a thing for all the shiny things, it was music that led me there.

 

[vcoheda]

i love my gear. i love looking at it. buying matching equipment. reading specs. tweaking it. but everything is done for one reason: the best possible reproduction of music.

i'm sure there are those who just like to accumulate certain things, but they most likely are collectors not audiophiles.

 

[uzziah]

it's a great question and i admit i've fallen into this pit; but i'm letting go of it and remembering that music is the thing

 

[Ingo]

I would say that my "love equipment" is worth more than music.

 

[ruZZ.il]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Music first, even if your immediate focus may be gear. Because without music, you might as well be fiddling with Legos. Doesn't matter if it's listening to music (headphone gear) or making music (instrument gear) - without music, it's just gear. And I love music too much to stay in a hobby without it. Which is why I'm not too big of a "let's make the Statue of Liberty out of Legos!" fan.

hey whats wrong with lego?

anyway.. think about all the things you can do with oscilloscopes and freq. generators and stuff! all the rolls of log-log paper, etc..

no, just kidding... I've really started appreciating the music a lot more cause of the gear. I've exposed myself to new styles, sound, etc.. and listen a lot more. but I've always been fascinated in 'sound'.. the physics behind it, the electronics, etc.. so its gear for me. but I love the music

 

[Jahn]

absolutely. like all those Gameboy DJs. man, you have to be a gearhead to get something like that to sound good. but you know what? if you succeed, the beeps that come out do sound pretty groovy! so even something that nerdy results in fun music to listen to.

 

[feh1325]

i would rather be stuck with to an ipod shuffle full of songs at 64 kbps with stock headphones than an orpheus or whatever dream system with only one song

 

[ruZZ.il]

feh, I agee! but I'd rather have the parts to build an amp for a few hours even if I could never listen to it, than to listen to music for a few hours, if I were made to make the choice. thankfuly I dont

Jahn, kinda, yeah. but maybe a bit more intricate than the gameboy stuff but I find myself listening to psy-trance a lot less, and rock a lot more.. the real instruments detail, etc.. mmm.. the gear is great to make, etc etc.. but I wouldn't appreciate it nearly as much if all I would see is tech specs and the sorts.. the music is what makes it awe and mighty, and so much more gratifying.. I'd have moved on to building other stuff long ago if it weren't for the music.. I think you know what I mean

 

[tonym]

A valid question. I drop into the Naim Audio forums now and again and judging by the tone of the posts over there and the 'quality' of the music on the "What Are You Listening to Now" thread, I'd say 'yeah' a lot of fellas (because it's invariably fellas over there) like their kit more than their collection.
Similar in some ways to when I was competing in cycle racing many riders were just as taken with the thought of receiving their new team kit and bikes than the prospect of actually riding events.
Similarly, I hung out at a few TVR meets when I owned mine and for the most part, the better the car the more you stood around talking about it and when they did drive, they drove like t*ts

That's fellas for ya!