Non-audiophile reactions to high-end headphones Part II
Jun 12, 2014 at 8:03 PM Post #3,466 of 4,655
My path was exactly:
 
Sennheiser CX100 (Prob one of the many fake ones too! But hey, it got me reading more reviews and listening to more!)
Sennheiser HD555
Etymotic ER6i
Sennheiser HD595
Shure SE425
Sennheiser HD650
Westone 4R
AKG K702 65th Annies
Audeze LCD 2.2
 
It's been a fun journey indeed =)
 
Jun 12, 2014 at 9:37 PM Post #3,468 of 4,655
The title to this is something I disagree with by definition of audiophile.

Its a shame that to many audiophile is some elitist snob with boutique gear.

Audiophile is anyone who appreciates sound and music at detailed level. We are all audiophiles here. All of us who as appreciate sound and are discernible critics are audiophiles. An Eddie Current Balancing Act and HD800 not required. Just your ears and music.
 
Jun 12, 2014 at 10:08 PM Post #3,469 of 4,655
The title to this is something I disagree with by definition of audiophile.

Its a shame that to many audiophile is some elitist snob with boutique gear.

Audiophile is anyone who appreciates sound and music at detailed level. We are all audiophiles here. All of us who as appreciate sound and are discernible critics are audiophiles. An Eddie Current Balancing Act and HD800 not required. Just your ears and music.

 

au·di·o·phile

  /ˈɔ
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di
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əˌfaɪl/ 


noun a person who is especially interested in high-fidelity sound reproduction.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/audiophile 

 

Seems like by definition, a person would only be classified an audiophile if they own a high-end system..


 
Jun 12, 2014 at 10:20 PM Post #3,470 of 4,655
[COLOR=333333]

au·di·o·phile



  /ˈɔ
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di
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əˌfaɪl

[/COLOR]
noun

a person who is especially interested in high-fidelity [COLOR=333333]sound
 reproduction.



http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/audiophile 



 



Seems like by definition, a person would only be classified an audiophile if they own a high-end system..



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That is assuming only high end gear allows for enjoying high fidelity sound. Especially considering professionals scoff at high end boutique gear and so does anyone who is a well educated electrical engineer. Your high end gear is gear marketed filled with bs. You can manipulate anyone to hear what isn't there to justify price and marketing nonsense. Price and perception trumps everything with boutique gear.

So, disagree. Fidelity is not expensive. A $80 M50 on sale with a Fio cheap amp will provide high fidelity, clean sound and will also measure well. Anyone with that can appreciate quality sound and be an audiophile.

Buy what you want and enjoy your hobby. But spending big money doesn't make you a better audiophile. Just as you don't need a 10,000 bike to be successful at top level cycling. You don't need 20K in camera gear to take phenomenal pictures.
 
Jun 12, 2014 at 10:22 PM Post #3,471 of 4,655
Another newly-registered troll, why am I not surprised...
 
Unsubscribed, seems like this thread is where the trolls made their lair.
 
Jun 12, 2014 at 10:27 PM Post #3,472 of 4,655
He is precisely right.  A 100 dollar M50 is by all means high fidelity by the late 60s standard of when whole notion of hi-fi was first born.  It has broadband sound, low distortion, and low acoustical interferences.  You don't need to own a high-end system to be an 'audiophile' in the broad sense.
 
 
 
Audiophile has different definitions, and the one my dictionary widget has is what I best think describes an audiophile.
 
Audiophile: a hi-fi enthusiast.  An enthusiast is someone who's highly interested in a very specific activity.  That also includes the person who's willing to keep buying more and more expensive gear relating to their specific hobby, but it is not limited to them.
 
Jun 12, 2014 at 10:29 PM Post #3,473 of 4,655
He is precisely right.  A 100 dollar M50 is by all means high fidelity by the late 60s standard of when whole notion of hi-fi was first born.  It has broadband sound, low distortion, and low acoustical interferences.  You don't need to own a high-end system to be an 'audiophile' in the broad sense.



Audiophile has different definitions, and the one my dictionary widget has is what I best think describes an audiophile.

Audiophile: a hi-fi enthusiast.  An enthusiast is someone who's highly interested in a very specific activity.  That also includes the person who's willing to keep buying more and more expensive gear relating to their specific hobby, but it is not limited to them.


I agree with this definition. You can spend $80 on the ATH-M50 and be happy with it, however, some may like to own higher end toys.
 
Jun 13, 2014 at 1:51 AM Post #3,474 of 4,655
I know a self proclaimed audiophile but can't detect the difference between a FiiO E11 amped Sansa Fuze and unamped.
I know a guy who doesn't consider himself an audiophile but noticed how his Edifier 2.0 bookshelf speakers sound a little off after i nudged the direction to the right.
 
Nope, audiophile isn't defined well by the dictionary.
 
Jun 15, 2014 at 2:20 AM Post #3,475 of 4,655
The title to this is something I disagree with by definition of audiophile.

Its a shame that to many audiophile is some elitist snob with boutique gear.

Audiophile is anyone who appreciates sound and music at detailed level. We are all audiophiles here. All of us who as appreciate sound and are discernible critics are audiophiles. An Eddie Current Balancing Act and HD800 not required. Just your ears and music.


I don't see why the title is off. A listener may or may not appreciate the fidelity of an audio system. There are some that really don't care. However, there are those that do hear a difference and also care about it. If they care enough they may become audiophiles.
 
Audiophile doesn't necessarily mean expensive gear. Of course, lots of money may help get you better audio gear, but often a relative inexpensive, well matched system beats the expensive but not so well chosen top audio gear.
 
Using headphones one can easily build an audiophile system without breaking ones bank account. It's sort of a poor mans way to audio heaven. I hope I don't get flamed for that.
 
Jun 15, 2014 at 2:40 AM Post #3,476 of 4,655
 
I don't see why the title is off. A listener may or may not appreciate the fidelity of an audio system. There are some that really don't care. However, there are those that do hear a difference and also care about it. If they care enough they may become audiophiles.
 
Audiophile doesn't necessarily mean expensive gear. Of course, lots of money may help get you better audio gear, but often a relative inexpensive, well matched system beats the expensive but not so well chosen top audio gear.
 
Using headphones one can easily build an audiophile system without breaking ones bank account. It's sort of a poor mans way to audio heaven. I hope I don't get flamed for that.

Well, IMHO, I don't think that last statement won't get you flamed for saying that, because frankly, you just hit the nail on the head. Then again, there are many, many ways to get yourself into audio nirvana through headphones, but sometimes the costs can be comparable to that of a speakerphile (Abyss 1266, BHSE or Liquid Gold, etc. etc.).
 
In the end, it totally depends on the end user's true aim and wallet capacity.
 
Jun 15, 2014 at 4:06 AM Post #3,477 of 4,655
Yea I agree, if i headphones like you said its easier to do. Which explains why I don't even use my Yamaha receiver, since I prefer to keep my gaming ,music and movie sounds to my self.  PLus I doubt I would even use the speakers which why I havent been bothered to spend money on powered speakers, since I would just use my headphones more any way because of how good they sound. The speakers would just be sitting there unused unless I had speakers that sound as good as the T90's in my audio chain.
 
Jun 15, 2014 at 10:58 PM Post #3,478 of 4,655
  Well, IMHO, I don't think that last statement won't get you flamed for saying that, because frankly, you just hit the nail on the head. Then again, there are many, many ways to get yourself into audio nirvana through headphones, but sometimes the costs can be comparable to that of a speakerphile (Abyss 1266, BHSE or Liquid Gold, etc. etc.).
 
In the end, it totally depends on the end user's true aim and wallet capacity.

You can pretty much max out headphones at under 30K (Orpheus). I've seen speaker set ups where the amps alone run 65K, and speakers top 300K. 
 
Jun 16, 2014 at 2:33 AM Post #3,480 of 4,655
Non-audiophile reaction to an above average headphone:
 
My mom said my he-300's had great isolation.. "Wow, I can't hear a thing with these on!"
I don't think she understands what an open headphone is..
 

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