AudiogoN Forums: Other than music, why are you an audiophile?

Other than music, why are you an audiophile?

I would hope that the first reason why anyone is an audiophile is that they love music. I’m going to assume we all have that in common. So the question is: Other than music, why are you an audiophile?

I’ve had an interest in audio and hifi for twenty years, but it took me a long time, and a fair amount of introspection, to come up with a good answer. My answer is personal. It may not be true of anyone else. Here it is:

Other than music, I’m interested in audio because I’m fascinated by EMERGENCE. The concept of ‘emergence’ has been around for at least a century. It has been used by philosophers and scientists to mean a whole that is “greater than the sum of its parts.” More technically, emergence is a relation between system-level characteristics and component-level characteristics. A system’s characteristics EMERGE from the characteristics of its components when…

(1) The system’s characteristics are DIFFERENT IN KIND from the characteristics of its components.

(2) The system’s characteristics are CAUSED BY the characteristics of its components.

(3) The system’s characteristics are DIFFICULT TO PREDICT from the characteristics of its components.

What does this have to do with audio? Everything. In an audio system…

(1a) The musical characteristics of an audio system are DIFFERENT IN KIND from the electrical/mechanical/acoustical characteristics of its components.

(2a) The musical characteristics of an audio system are CAUSED BY the electrical/mechanical/acoustical characteristics of its components.

(3a) The musical characteristics of an audio system are DIFFICULT TO PREDICT from the electrical/mechanical/acoustical characteristics of its components.

Hence, the musical characteristics of an audio system EMERGE from the electrical/mechanical/acoustical characteristics of its components. In other words, an audio system, taken as a whole, seems “greater than the sum of its parts.”

To me, the phenomenon of emergence differentiates audio, as a hobby, from many (but not all) other hobbies, where emergence does not happen. To me, the phenomenon of emergence is what makes hifi seem like magic, in that something beautiful and emotional emerges out of something mechanical and electrical. And that is why, other than a love a music, I am an audiophile.

Anyone else?

Bryoncunningham (System | Reviews | Threads | Answers | This Thread)

01-29-10

Responses (1-47 of 47)

Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it.

01-29-10 Because the music sounds better. Ncarv

01-29-10 Buying vinyl. Tiguwagu

01-29-10 I like to second guess myself. in other words, i am always s ... Jig

01-29-10 I've always enjoyed experimentation...... but audio experime ... Wpines

01-29-10 Hi bryon, as i might expect, coming from you, that's an int ... Almarg

01-29-10 you omitted that they can be considerably less than the sum ... Stanwal

01-29-10 Because i'm gay and attracted to old, bald guys. Viridian

01-29-10 I am an audiophile cuz it's cool. i have a lot of freinds wh ... Davt

01-29-10 I'm an audiophile for the sex...there i admit it. my system ... Jmcgrogan2

01-30-10 When everything clicks, its the closest thing to time travel ... Scpetscott

01-30-10 Btw… is being bald a prerequisite? if so i’ll turn in my car ... Blindjim

01-30-10 Thanks for the idea of emergence. that is very appropriate. ... Jndean

01-30-10 Drives my wife crazy. Buconero117

01-30-10 besides providing a good listening experience, there is mu ... Islandmandan

01-30-10 Some people like to fondle knobs! 8^) Rja

01-30-10 Because if you're not independently wealthy, almost everythi ... Danielk141

01-30-10 Because music has to sound! Marakanetz

01-30-10 Couldn't cut it in mixed martial arts also once as a kid, i ... Mapman

01-30-10 I have three reasons: 1) i like to tinker with stuff. when ... Cbw723

01-30-10 I hate having money lying around. Danlib1

01-30-10 Not for the women. it is interesting to spend sat afternoon ... Newbrook

01-30-10 And i'd just end buying a second porsche but for this hobby. ... Newbrook

01-30-10 Sound obviously. that's the ultimate goal. price per pound, ... Donjr

01-30-10 I have been fascinated with this hobby since i played around ... Tonywinsc

01-30-10: Bryoncunningham

I'm not totally buying into this emergence concept. I work with and design systems. So I will say this: Components working together make up a system, but the system characteristics can be described mathematically and predicted beforehand based on the behavior of the components and how they interact. When the results do not match prediction, then some complexity or variable has been overlooked, that's all.

You are quite right that, for MANY types of systems, system characteristics can be reliably predicted from component characteristics. These types of systems tend to be either aggregative or mechanistic. A representative example would be a mechanical system like an car engine.

But for SOME types of systems, system characteristics cannot be reliably predicted from component characteristics, at least with the current state of science. These systems tend to be either highly holistic or highly complex. A representative example would be a biological system like an ecosystem.

In other words, some systems are more likely to support emergent characteristics than others. For ones that do, like ecosystems or economic systems, it is notoriously difficult to predict system characteristics from component characteristics. In theory, it is possible to predict the system characteristics of even highly holistic and highly complex systems. In fact, some progress has been made in the last two decades with the mathematical modeling of these types of systems. But we are still a long, long way from being able to reliably predict the behavior of highly holistic/complex systems by studying the characteristics of their components.

What follows from this is that emergence, as a phenomenon, is largely in the eye of the beholder. That is to say, it is largely a consequence of the cognitive and perceptual limitations of persons. If we had the mind of God, nothing would appear emergent. But since we don't, some system characteristics APPEAR emergent that are altogether within the scope of physical laws. This is why, in the OP, I used phrases like "an audio system, taken as a whole, SEEMS greater than the sum of its parts" and "the phenomenon of emergence is what makes hifi SEEM like magic."

Of course, I wasn't suggesting that hifi is magic. I was suggesting that sometimes hifi SEEMS like magic, because the musical characteristics of an audio system are the result of the holistic/complex interaction of the electrical/mechanical/acoustical characteristics of the system's components. As such, they can be difficult to predict. Certainly for the average audiophile, they are often difficult to predict. But even for the designer of audio components, I would imagine that they are often difficult to predict. Otherwise, designers would not need to rely as heavily as they do on listening tests. In any case, the difficulty predicting the musical characteristics of an audio system from the characteristics of its components is what makes hifi sometimes SEEM like magic. And to me, that is part of what makes hifi special.

Bryoncunningham (System | Reviews | Threads | Answers | This Thread)

01-30-10 Hi bryon - for me, it is all about the music. the technolog ... Learsfool

01-30-10 There is no other reason but the music. Cyclonicman

01-30-10 Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable fr ... Tonywinsc

01-30-10 It's about the quest to achieve accuracy of timbre. the ques ... Mrtennis

02-02-10 I was borne in it. my father had a recording studio and made ... Dhgee

02-03-10 I have a sick obsession with brushed aluminum metal boxes wi ... 6550c

02-04-10 Mmmmmmmmm, brushed aluminum... and pretty lights, too, pref ... Aggielaw

02-04-10 Other than being able to optimally enjoy music, which is num ... Rockadanny

02-04-10 Because there's no going back? i have been building up my s ... Jult52

02-04-10 It's a lot like sex...once you try it, there's never enough, ... Abucktwoeighty

02-04-10 Interesting post. by your definition i am definitely no audi ... Shadorne

02-04-10 I love music, of course, but i'm an audiophile because i als ... Tobuns

02-04-10 Hi shadorne - thanks for your contribution. a few brief word ... Bryoncunningham

02-04-10 Byron, sorry but everything that ain't on the recording is ... Shadorne

02-04-10 i too am not very interested in "sugar coating." ... Bryoncunningham

02-05-10 Abucktwoeighty: does that make those on the upgrade merry-g ... Aggielaw

02-05-10 and this would be because the equipment or equipment matchi ... Shadorne

02-05-10 Well, it is the music first for me, but since you asked... ... Stevecham

02-05-10 no. the issue of whether or not a system characteristic is ... Bryoncunningham

02-05-10 Aggielaw, i think it could be either, depending on who's poi ... Abucktwoeighty

02-05-10 ah a fellow physicist - me too. i enjoy that theoretical st ... Shadorne

02-05-10 Ponderous, abucktwoeighty, ponderous... ;) Aggielaw