Am I right for this forum?

You sound like a music lover to me.

The definition of an audiophile that I picked up about fifty years ago was someone who is a fanatic to reproduce natural musical sound possible at any cost. It is a disease that results in spending an unbelievable proportion of disposable time and income. Another, the audiophiles system cost more than his car (s). My system has always cost more than the aggregate new cost of my two cars (now two, when young, one). So, no, you are not an audiophile. You are a music lover. You do not have the disease.

Audiophile is about being a fanatic… a bit like having gold fever.

There are lots of other terms like high fi enthusiasts, hobbies. But when it is a major driving force and financial drain… your friends might whisper about “your problem”. You spend the equivalent of six months groceries in a piece of wire “because it makes your system sound better”. You are borderline nuts… that is an audiophile. Your family is thinking about a ten step program and an intervention. You spend an hour on Audiogon forum every day.

Your relative investment is an indicator of dedication, but not the only one. I have known people that do not have large incomes but are fanatical about sound reproduction and dedicate enormous effort to achieving the best possible sound. They are as well.

On the other hand I know quite a few people that have huge investments in audio equipment and yet are definitely not audiophiles. It is a pursuit… something to do. Something to show off, to help them set them apart. Not a driving force and major source of joy. For most audiophiles, no one but family and close friends even know they are. Typically it is a solitary pursuit. But it has become “popular”.

But then I remember the term has always been controversial. I would be occasionally asked what other interests I had and I would respond I have an audio problem… the response would be oh, my husband or brother is an audiophile also… he has a Bose system. My blood pressure would rise and I had to contain anger and frustration… and not blurt out “that is not even remotely an audiophile system, that is a marketing scam”… and say, that’s nice.

On the other hand, English is a living language, maybe the definition is now much more all encompassing.

Should you be on Audiogon. If you enjoy it.

OP, good summary and comment. 

@immatthew “Unfortunately, sound quality usually improves as the equipment improves, and as the equipment improves it unfortunately usually costs more…”

+1

One key of being an audiophile is the objective. At least in my definition it is to recreate the real musical experience in all respects and in proportion. So, it is not to just create a spectacular sound system. Many people create very flashy sounding systems with great detail and bass but that completely loose the music. They over emphasize some aspects and miss others. This is really common, I have heard many. In the pursuit of one or more aspects the music gets left behind, they turn into a real sound spectacular. This is the equivalent of salt, sugar, and fat in food... like Lays barbecue potato chips... very tasty but lacking in nutrition and satisfaction as food.

Typically as these get better they loose the rhythm / pace and mid-range bloom. Which allows for incredible detail and kick drum that hits you in the chest, or imaging is holographic, but the music no longer has the emotional draw.

If you get bored listening to your system after 45 minutes or you tend to music surf if streaming ask yourself if you lost the music along the way.

I have had season tickets to the symphony for over ten years. This and other concerts helped me compare my system to the real thing. Over time mine conveyed a balanced and is a real close representation. So this experience really helped me keep things in proportion.

Sadly, on another note. We got a new conductor whom wanted to make his mark on the symphony. He had a multimillion dollar DSP system installed in the orchestra hall. Suddenly the violins sounded steely on the top, the drums sounded as if they came from behind me ( my seats were in the 7th row center). The triangle became a very noticeable instrument... like it had a solo. The music was very severely compromised...so it goes. My system now sounds better than the live orchestra.

@jastralfu

I was wondering if anyone would get that.

Yeah, I think hearing natural, real instruments from an acoustically good hall will always trump unnatural steely processed sound. Kind of the point…