[blipblop]

Ripped from another, non-audiophile board, in response to a post on a group buy of cable interconnects:

""Audiophiles" are a scary lot. Anything that ends in "phile" usually isn't complimentary.

I attended an audio club meeting locally, once. I like great quality sound, but to sit around a room and claim you can hear a "slight change in the subtlety of a symbol crash" is about as stimulating as watching a culture grow green fuzz. Most of these guys were in their forties and fifties and still had Mom's home cookin' waiting on the table when they got home, if you get my gist.

I mean, c'mon--once you've achieved great sound from a good quality audio system, who gives a rat's arse about barely detectable subtleties? Do good interconnects make a difference? Sure, to a degree. But to spend hundreds or thousands on them is just a pacifier for an otherwise empty life. And man, life's too short to be trying to detect pitch changes in a triangle tap. It's just bragging rights, but you may as well piss in the wind, 'cause nobody cares about your XTK-7000MC Master Series Proton Custom UltraMega Neutralized Super Mawamba Mojo Interconnect. Except other "'philes", that is. And they forgot about it as soon as they got home and realized the new Hustler came in the mail.

Musically, nothing still compares to a live performance anyway. Do I believe in owning nice audio equipment? Sure. Good interconnects? Yep. To spend thousands on them? Get real. Even if it DOES make a slight difference--who cares? Get out once in a while. Sheesh.

I get a kick of of sites like bettercables.com. Give me a break."

I thought it was hilarious, and while I think he's a bit harsh, I can't say I haven't thought along similar lines.

EDIT: I think I put this in the wrong subforum. Sorry.

 

[usc goose]

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=33434

one of my posts from the early days.

 

[blipblop]

The thing is, I've made the decision, now for awhile, that I'm not going to bother with all this last 2% stuff. I realize that I dn't have the inclination or the predisposition to get obsessed with this stuff. But I'll tell you a good week and a half away from this board did wonders to help me realize that I just don't give a damn whether I'm getting the most out of my equipment and whether I even need more accuracy than I have. Money dictates my purchases and I ain't going no higher.
Why do I stick around? Because everyone here is actually quite nice and its fun to see what's going on. But I'm out. A KSC 35 for portable use and perhaps a cdr780, an a900 for home, and Ipod and a decent stero. And I'm done.

 

[myself, aka me]

Pretend you have a hearing disorder. Then you know you can't hear the subtleties of the music..

I left headphones for saxophone, and then i find myself listening to the main tone, the subtone, and the tone that's somewhere around a fifth above the main tone. I don't know. And I bet it doesn't end there either. Who needs expensive headphones when you can spend $400 on a mouthpiece.. only to buy another twelve to go with it. Audio sucks.

 

[hottyson]

First of all live is NOT always better. I never have enjoyed most live shows because it usually means overly loud volume on poor equipment.

As for the general take on audiophiles, I think that there is the generalized notion of what they are like and then there are those who actually know a few and can categorized them for there oddities. I was going to type a long post regarding what this entails, but mom has dinner on the table and she gets angry if I let it get cold.

 

[Oddball]

Duh I'm still living with my parents...that's part of being high schooler, isn't it?

 

[jefemeister]

the person who was ranting about audiophiles has probably never heard an "audiophile system," their ears are shot, are bitter that they can't afford what they want, or are the type to be happy with mediocrity.

 

[HD-5000]

jefemeister, you took the words right out of my mouth.

 

[Music Fanatic]

Quote:

Originally posted by hottyson First of all live is NOT always better. I never have enjoyed most live shows because it usually means overly loud volume on poor equipment.

Even for classical and jazz music, it is amazing how many musicians "hold back" compared to their performances in the recording studio.

Nonetheless, the quality of sound (if not the quality of music) is usually better live, in my experience (but I usually don't listen to amplified music live.)

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally posted by blipblop 'cause nobody cares about your XTK-7000MC Master Series Proton Custom UltraMega Neutralized Super Mawamba Mojo Interconnect. Except other "'philes", that is.

That's funny and true. Actually the guy is not altogether wrong, he's just exaggerating to be provocative. Regarding "still had Mom's home cookin' waiting on the table", as one who left home at 17 and never went back, thats kind of insulting.

The masses don't know audiophiles even exist.

 

[james__bean]

Quote:

The masses don't know audiophiles even exist.

That's so true. Most people think the best headphones you can buy are the $150 bose triports or the Sony mdr-700's that you find at places like fry's or good guys. To be honest, many people don't even know about Grado headphones. Or Sennheiser for that matter.

 

[braillediver]

Audio, cooking, mountain biking, water skiing, remote control cars, home theater, cameras, watches, pens etc.

The list can go on forever. There are fanatics in every field. So let each enjoy it as they wish.


Mitch

 

[zeplin]

i just hate it when people judge something they don't understand. that is called ignorance. i recently got into a scuffle with someone in another thread about this. he/she couldn't understand that we like to do what makes us happy. how hard is that to understand?
also, people have to understand that being interested in our gear, and enjoying the music that is played on it are two very different things. as a result of me owning high end equuipment, i take the music that is being played on the equipment to the next level. it's as simple as that...no more, no less

if i was forced to enjoy my music on budget gear, i would enjoy it just as much. in fact, i know this to be true as i often do it everytime i go up into the mountains for the weekend.

 

[hottyson]

Quote:

Originally posted by Music Fanatic Nonetheless, the quality of sound (if not the quality of music) is usually better live, in my experience (but I usually don't listen to amplified music live.)

I started a new thread so that I wouldn't thread jack:
http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=64277

 

[oneeyedhobbit]

What the masses think is, to me at least, irrelevant. Audiophilia is a hobby, as so many other things are. Hobbies are, by nature, impractical and ultimately worthless in the long run, but they bring enjoyment. That is precisely why it is practical to me. Music has always been a huge part of my life, especially after I picked up trumpet. I suppose because of that, I trained my ears--even with my old Sony Styles equipment, I could hear a difference and new my $30 Sonys were better than the stock phones. Now of course the law of diminishing returns--my A900 did sound a hell of a lot better than those Sonys, but the returns become less as I spend that much more. Still, if one has the budget and appreciates the hobby this much, let them. Just as my friend does not understand my love of hi-fi sound, so his love of the Airline industry boggles me, or the people who collect Star Wars gear, or Magic: the Gathering cards, or people who buy trendy outfits where jeans cost upwards of $80. To each their own.

P.S. I've had a couple of people listen to my set-up, they all hear an appreciable difference. I can still enjoy music on my laptop speakers, sure I point out flaws, but the musical enjoyment is not lost on me. But I much prefer the balanced and detailed sound of my new rig.