Abracadabra: I mapman the magnificent golden eared musical enchanter, hereby decree: you are now an official audiophile!🪄🪄🪄🪄
Sim sala bim: Magjc happens here….Yee ha!
Am I right for this forum?
I’ve been an Audiogon member for some years now; I remember (fondly) "millercarbon," for example, which will mean something to some of you. And I’ve been a lover of audio equipment since high school—so, for over 50 years (I graduated in 1973). And yet...more and more, I find myself alienated from this forum, even though I do still read it regularly.
I do have what I consider a very "high-fidelity" system. I’ve written a very long account of my "audio journey," complete with many photos, but not "published" it on this site. I’m also a member of our local audio club, which includes several very well-heeled members who have systems costing more than most homes (one of them owns equipment valued at nearly a million dollars, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg: his system is housed in a separate structure purpose-built for it that cost well over a million). I play cello and guitar; my wife plays piano, my daughter piano and violin. We play those instruments in the same room occupied by my main audio system, and so I can attest to the "fidelity" of that system’s reproduction.
And yet...my system cost me less than $3,000 in total. I don’t lust after any particular "upgrade," even though I read reviews and all the many accounts of improvements in "SQ" documented in this forum.
So...am I an "audiophile," or not? Do I belong here, or not?
I’m listening right now to a wonderful bit of Mozart. I also love Tool. And Christy Moore. And Eva Cassidy. And so many others. I agree with Nietzsche: without music, life would be a mistake. But am I an audiophile? Do I belong on this forum?
Any sympathy here? Anyone else feel alienated from the "audiophile community" despite loving the miracle of audio technology?
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The simple response is that yes, you should be part of this forum, and are critical to it’s viability since you are a music lover not afflicted with obsessions of an audiophiles persistent pursuit of achieving “absolute sound”. A music lover can listen to music on any system and be immersed in emotion the brings a tear as the soul it touched. This is the cornerstone to the foundation of being an audiophile To borrow from the writer Gibran from the prose poem The Prophet Section On Music to help better define this cornerstone: Music is the quivering of a string, charged with waves from the upper air, it penetrates your hearing, its echo emerges from your eyes in a burning tear, and from your lips as they sigh for a beloved being far away, or it utters a moan caused by the string of history and the fangs of destiny. |
Making music sound more real and involving should not be seen as a character defect. I can lead to an addictive chase without end, or at least ending with the ole empty pockets. My experience has often been an increasing respect for the artist's efforts and the emotional involvement brought by more closely reproducing their intentions. I certainly wouldn't be an audiophile without being a music lover. What would be the point? I am always reminded of the time in the early mornings waiting for the bus inside the hallway where we waited. The sound of Ben E King singing Stand by Me. And tuning that dial on my own little hand held radio so the station would come through better. Same thing. As to the OP, you belong if you want to. |
The 'Art' is reproducing recorded music. The best it can be done with electronic boxes, today, is very low on the price pole. The Marantz Yamaha thingy. The only thing we can DO, is to strive to perfectly get the info from source to the speaker. Compare output of source and input to speaker, it don't cost much. Much more important is the room, speakers, and speaker position. Whenever I hear a system, the main thing I hear is the size of the room. In person or online. Its so obvious.
Cheers |
@jastralfu you are of course correct it’s cue not “que” and I knew that, not sure why I did that but whatever. To the op, I meant no disrespect by my comment and I apologize if it stung. I was only trying to inject a bit of light hearted humor into what looked to me as a troll post. The idea that anyone would want or need affirmation from other members of this community to tell them if they are an audiophile seemed rather ridiculous to me. That and the mention of fond memories of millercarbon (one of the biggest trolls ever) just made me think you were trolling. So again my apologies to you sir. Btw you have a beautiful room and sure that you enjoy many hours of both listening and creating music. Hats off to you.
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