What is the definition of Audiophile?

[davide256]

Quite a good question and I don't have a finished product yet for an idea.

 

However I can tell you what some  opposite behaviors of an audiophile are

 

1. They buy a system and it never changes until it breaks or obsolesces

2. They say there is little difference between their system and anything better they can buy

3. They never attend shows, rarely frequent audio hobby magazines or sites

 

There is also a  difference between the isolated audiophile and the social audiophile. The isolated audiophile

thinks their view on what matters in sound is the only truth. The social audiophile has experienced that other truths exist and that visiting

others truths  may enrich theirs or leave them affirmed with the personal truth of their own audio "gospel".

[Speed Racer]

20 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I think people should get out of the house and talk to others who consider themselves audiophiles. You may be surprised at how inaccurate and condescending your descriptions are. 

 

I’ve met so many cool audiophiles who are nothing like what I see described above. 

 

People don’t amass 10,000+ album collections or go to live shows every week because they like to hear the gear through which the music is played.

 

Sure there are some nut jobs, but there are nut jobs in every hobby and from all walks of life. 

 

Don’t let the nut job tail wag the dog. 

 

 

P.S. Even if some people purchase expensive gear to play audio test tracks and listen to the gear, I don’t care. Who am I to judge?

 

My definition does not include "those" people. How they self-identify is not what this discussion is about.

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, Speed Racer said:

 

My definition does not include "those" people. How they self-identify is not what this discussion is about.

You lost me.

[Speed Racer]

We are defining what the term "audiophile" means to us. I don't self-identify with the term because of the category of people I apply the term to. Your post identified a category of people that I don't identify with the term "audiophile" yet chastised me for identifying them as such. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

44 minutes ago, Speed Racer said:

We are defining what the term "audiophile" means to us. I don't self-identify with the term because of the category of people I apply the term to. Your post identified a category of people that I don't identify with the term "audiophile" yet chastised me for identifying them as such. 

I never mentioned you. Perhaps you see yourself in what I said. 

[semente]

I've visited an audiophile's once who was mad about vintage gear. He had dozens of old amplifiers, CD players, tuners, cassette decks and boxes of LPs in his bedroom, under and around the bed, so many that you could hardly walk. I wonder how his wife can take it...

 

This is an extreme case. He was a collector of gear and vinyl, and an audiophile. If he like cameras he would probably have as many. In fact I have a friend who is a very well established photographer who practically hoardes cameras.

 

I actively restrain myself from collecting anything. I see no point in keeping more than a single component of each category (although I have a spare old amplifier that bought when my "main" one broke down and keep it as back up, on loan to a friend).

But there was a time when I got a bit obsessed with experimenting, a time when I would make silly changes or adjustments and played the same audiophile-approved recordings ad nauseam. Fortunately this was before the days the internet or it would have been much worse. I even collected catalogues but never went as far as to photograph the demos at shows.

 

I'm clean now. 

[Lebouwsky]

Music reproduction is the common thing we share as “audiophiles”. On the extreme left it’s purely about music, on the extreme right it’s purely about electronics/gadgets. On that scale we all float somewhere in between where we feel comfortable.

 

All good, it’s just a hobby.

[beerandmusic]

1 hour ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I think people should get out of the house and talk to others who consider themselves audiophiles. You may be surprised at how inaccurate and condescending your descriptions are. 

 

I’ve met so many cool audiophiles who are nothing like what I see described above. 

 

People don’t amass 10,000+ album collections or go to live shows every week because they like to hear the gear through which the music is played.

 

Sure there are some nut jobs, but there are nut jobs in every hobby and from all walks of life. 

 

Don’t let the nut job tail wag the dog. 

 

 

P.S. Even if some people purchase expensive gear to play audio test tracks and listen to the gear, I don’t care. Who am I to judge?

 

You did a good job of saying what audiophile isn't, so what is an audiophile to you?...just curious....

 

[Lebouwsky]

13 minutes ago, semente said:

I even collected catalogues but never went as far as to photograph the demos at shows.

 

I'm clean now. 

 

You’re clearly a member of the A.A. (Audiophile Anonymous)

[The Computer Audiophile]

3 minutes ago, beerandmusic said:

 

You did a good job of saying what audiophile isn't, so what is an audiophile to you?...just curious....

 

An audiophile is someone who wishes to reproduce music with a high degree of accuracy to the album/track/file. 

[beerandmusic]

6 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

An audiophile is someone who wishes to reproduce music with a high degree of accuracy to the album/track/file. 

 

nah...tooo vague....otherwise everyone would be an audiophile, but just don't know it.....

try harder (wink)

 

 

[mansr]

1 minute ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

An audiophile is someone who wishes to reproduce music with a high degree of accuracy to the album/track/file. 

If that were the case, those expensive components with deliberate distortions (anything with a "house" sound) wouldn't sell very well.

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, beerandmusic said:

 

nah...tooo vague....otherwise everyone would be an audiophile, but just don't know it.....

try harder (wink)

Ha. 

 

I could be be twice as vague and still 99% of people wouldn’t be audiophiles :~)

[The Computer Audiophile]

Just now, mansr said:

If that were the case, those expensive components with deliberate distortions (anything with a "house" sound) wouldn't sell very well.

I disagree. I used the term “high degree of accuracy” because many audiophiles like components with a bit of character. I believe most of these components still reproduce audio with a high degree of accuracy. Maybe not the most accurate though.  

[beerandmusic]

2 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Ha. 

 

I could be be twice as vague and still 99% of people wouldn’t be audiophiles :~)

Who wouldn't want music to be as accurate as possible?

 

The definition would need to  have some inclusion of obsession over the average mentality.

[semente]

4 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

An audiophile is someone who wishes to reproduce music with a high degree of accuracy to the album/track/file. 

 

The market is flooded with "voiced" equipment, which logically has a lower than possible degree of accuracy or fidelity.

Aren't those who buy them also Audiophiles?

[Lebouwsky]

7 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

An audiophile is someone who wishes to reproduce music with a high degree of accuracy to the album/track/file. 

To me it’s about presenting the music at home in a way that is most apealing to me.

[semente]

3 minutes ago, beerandmusic said:

Who wouldn't want music to be as accurate as possible?

 

The definition would need to  have some inclusion of obsession over the average mentality.

 

How about this: "someone who is a member of an audio forum is an audiophile".

Those who visit a forum every day are obsessed. 

[beerandmusic]

4 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I disagree. I used the term “high degree of accuracy” because many audiophiles like components with a bit of character. I believe most of these components still reproduce audio with a high degree of accuracy. Maybe not the most accurate though.  

 

oh, ok....so accuracy is your qualifier....

 

So people that like a little more bass wouldn't qualify....I never thought of it that way....

I think i usually strive to what sounds best to me..."who really knows what accuracy is" ? 

 

I am not sure I can buy that...I have to think on it some more....

I am thinking of different things people buy or do, to make music more pleasing regardless of accuracy....hmmm...something to think about.

[The Computer Audiophile]

2 minutes ago, beerandmusic said:

Who wouldn't want music to be as accurate as possible?

 

The definition would need to  have some inclusion of obsession over the average mentality.

I’d say 99% of people don’t want what’s being served. They want Beats headphones with big bass, they want normalized sound, they want loud because it must be better. 

 

Zero obsession required but it’s sometimes found in audiophiles in my experience. 

[mansr]

5 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I disagree. I used the term “high degree of accuracy” because many audiophiles like components with a bit of character. I believe most of these components still reproduce audio with a high degree of accuracy. Maybe not the most accurate though.  

If it has character, it is by definition not accurate. Audiophile gear is often inaccurate, just in ways that some find pleasing.

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, beerandmusic said:

 

oh, ok....so accuracy is your qualifier....

 

So people that like a little more bass wouldn't qualify....I never thought of it that way....

I think i usually strive to what sounds best to me..."who really knows what accuracy is" ? 

Not what I said. High degree of accuracy doesn’t equal perfection or lack of a little coloration. 

[beerandmusic]

Just now, The Computer Audiophile said:

Not what I said. High degree of accuracy doesn’t equal perfection or lack of a little coloration. 

oh, ok....maybe should have been more vague (wink).

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, mansr said:

If it has character, it is by definition not accurate. Audiophile gear is often inaccurate, just in ways that some find pleasing.

Agree, character isn’t 100% accurate. But this less than 100% accurate gear usually has a high degree of accuracy. 

[mansr]

2 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I’d say 99% of people don’t want what’s being served. They want Beats headphones with big bass, they want normalized sound, they want loud because it must be better.

And many audiophiles want high DR numbers, artistic choices be damned. See that other thread for proof.