Dear Raul,
If you break the word Audiophile into its components and consider the “audio” component. If this were a word association game what would the word “audio” suggest to you? The strict definition is that audio is “recorded or reproduced sound…”
Originally the word “audio” would have invited exactly that reaction from me but now after decades of marketing bombardment I’m just as likely to think of the word “equipment” in response to the word “audio”.
So it then begs the question, “Is a T.E.A. an expert in sound/recorded music or an expert in equipment and its application?” (Apart from the fact that equipment expertise could be irrelevant because one need not necessarily be an equipment expert in order to be “a devotee of recorded or reproduced sound”, although it would be helpful !!! )
Or is the “audiophile” an expert in both?
Audiophile is a name that (most) people these days do their utmost to distance themselves from. Why, I don’t know. Perhaps they fear the name might be misheard and they end up being classed as p**dophiles by mistake! (Or some other –phile but in truth I can’t think of anything worse than that example).
Unfortunately, the reality is that no listener satisfies both qualifications perfectly and therefore it is sensible to assume that a T.E.A cannot really exist.
Sorry to leave you as puzzled as when I started.
Best regards,
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