An Audiophile is Anyone Who Loves Audio Regardless of Monetary Status. Agree?

Being an audiophile has nothing to do with money. Yes, you need to have money, but more importantly you are a music lover on a quest to compile the best components possible that when combined, achieve the best sound. 

Adding a $1300 power cord to a basic all-in-one turntable, then connecting wirelessly to Best Buy active Bluetooth bookshelf speakers, might not be the most optimized use of your money. That’s probably about $2000 worth of audio gear that would be considered “starter kit” budget.

But an audiophile takes that $2000 budget, and maximizes all components equally to milk every last music note out of that system. Then over time updates their components to steadily achieve different or better sound to their liking. It’s a quest and journey that never ends.

@n80 

yeah, you really need to work on your analogies, because you are mixing professional careers with enthusiasts. I would never call myself a race car driver, just because I own a Porsche and have put a few laps on a track. But yes, I would certainly call myself a sports car aficionado.

Maybe Google the definitions of these words (pilot, doctor, yachtsman, etc)  before you make comparisons, because an audiophile is definitely not a professional, nor requires any training to become one.

Audiophile: “An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction.”

If you have a different and widely accepted definition that you can point us to online, that would be great to share.

@han_n

agreed... audiophiles are on a quest to optimize their system, based on the budget given. To optimize my very small budget, I chose speaker stands to put my KEF LS50 Wireless on, instead of investing an additional $300-$500 on my SVS interconnects(spent $75). This choice was based on my learnings about listening position, speaker placement, and law of diminishing returns on cables/components. Also understanding the limitations of my listening room allowed me to understand where I can best spend my money.

I have to completely disagree with the member who used the “sports car aficionado” comparison. Definitions of aficionado and enthusiast are basically the same. An audiophile is an enthusiast, not a trained expert. And a sports car aficionado is just an enthusiast or lover of cars, which is my other wallet crippling hobby. 

There is nothing in either definition, that prevents any person from having passion and interest about a subject, and this includes audio gear. I might not own a $100K system, but I certainly might attend an audio show for $25 to listen to and talk about what is being showcased.

Again, it is the quest, not the end result, that makes you an audiophile.

You used to be able to change Wikipedia, but it’s been years since I’ve been able to update part of a page (correct & sited or not) and it wasn’t immediately moderated and deleted within minutes. They seem to require very reputable sources, which is why n80 would probably easily convince them to change it. 😉😏

@n80 yeah, maybe just don’t use analogies my friend, because using one poorly does the exact opposite of what you are trying to achieve. :)

All of your analogies require a career in something or specific training. Audiophilia, by globally accepted definition, requires neither being a professional, nor any type of training.

Also look at the definition of the word aficionado. And in the context of sports cars, I’ve yet to see a definition that states you must own the item you are enthusiast about.... including sports cars. 

Because you seem to think you know a better better definition than the globally accepted one provided... do the world a favor and contact Dictionary.com or Wikipedia and try to persuade them on something that fits your liking. Until you have changed the world’s view on the term, maybe you should accept the majority rule of this forum who disagree with your POV. 

“Good talk Russ”