Audiophiles & music-have you got it wrong?


This thread is partly inspired by comments on "would you refer this to all the interested parties" but also by general comments made on a regular basis.

Of course each person to their own, I do not advocate my views are the definitive ones and I do consider myself a music fan who takes an interest in high end equipment rather than being an out and out audiophile.
However despite some reservations about certain audiophile beliefs I don't come on these forums and say burn in it doesn't exist,interconnects are a rip off and exhibit little more than fine tuning etc.etc.
Why?
Because I don't feel I've explored these issues fully nor do I really wish to therefore my comments would be largely uninformed even if they are accurate from my point of view.
And yet some audiophiles seem to make constant negative remarks about the price and quality of music currently available-are they right?

First up the price of music-this is not to say greed doesn't exist within the record companies but are CD's really that expensive when we compare them to how much we spend on our equipment?
My collection is now worth close to double what my equipment is.
Am I nuts or do I have things in perspective?
I consider I am probably at the extreme end of things with regards buying music but aren't some of you at the other end of the extreme?

Is it the quality of the recordings that's an issue?
Ok-I can't say sometimes that recorings don't disappoint or indeed the fact that older CD's can be badly mastered.
However is it possible that some have attuned their ear to a level of perfection that only exists in a limited number of recordings?
Nothing wrong with that but should our hobby be about matching that ideal or should it be more like how I see/hear things-getting the best audio reproduction possible but accepting that recording will always be flawed or indeed subjective?
Is Robert Johnson any less powerful despite the primative nature of the recordings?

Finally there's no new good music.
I read that endlessly here on Audiogon.
And I ask one question-how do you know that?
Do you read about new music?
Have you the interest to search it out the way you tweak or try to perfect your system?
Do you know what's been remastered recently?

There is plenty of new music that is good but even ignoring the new stuff,there is an endless supply of music already existing that you've probably never heard.
Do you try to expand your tastes?
Does it even interest you to try?

If your relationship with this hobby is about the equipment then fine,that is as valid as any music lovers quest however please refrain from these glib criticisms if you haven't taken the time to make sure you know what you are talking about.

ben_campbell

Showing 1 response by sean

I think that it is a natural tendency for one to reduce the quantity of music purchased as they age. When we are younger, you have more free time, you go out more with your friends, you hear more music both in night-clubs and at concerts, etc... As one gets older, we get wrapped up in work, family, etc... and your free time dwindles. As such, our exposure to newer artists and more current music dwindles with it. I don't think that anybody here is against buying / trying something new, but at the same time, reduced exposure and the time to check into such things makes that harder to do.

Personally, i know that i'm a LOT less daring when it comes to buying unknown or unfamiliar artists than i was when i was younger. First of all, the price of a disc is nothing to sneeze at anymore. When i was growing up, we could purchase albums for anywhere between $2.49 - $4.99 apiece. As it is today, you can barely find beat to death used discs for that kind of money. While used LP's can be found for that, finding someone that stocks such things with a good variety is a task in itself. On top of that, new LP's are priced astronomically to say the least. Yes, greed IS hurting the music industry.

As a side note, i made myself a promise several months ago. I had started checking the local concert listings and promised myself that i would see several different shows that were coming up. As it turns out, i was able to attend one out of about a half dozen due to various situations arising. None the less, it is my goal this year to get out and enjoy myself and music more than i have done in the recent past. Given that my girlfriend is a dedicated "home-body", that may be tougher than i think, but it is something i want to do. Hopefully, i'll be able to drag her to a few shows with me and she'll enjoy them enough that she'll want to make it a regular thing for both of us. Sean
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PS... How about including some info with your responses? Let's list the last live performance that we attended. I spent New Year's Eve with my girlfriend at a White Stripe's / Flaming Lips show and the sound sucked :(