Hi Quicke,
I guess if your thinking goes along the lines of "audiophile" is a pretentious term ... then I would also guess that not sitting in the sweet spot concentrating solely on the music would somehow be a "pride" thing. Curious choice of words.
Speaking for myself, I have never purchased stereo equipment with the idea that I would be glued to a sweet spot while I was listening to it. I have lived in apartments most of my 46 years ... so, I have not now and have never had a dedicated Iistening room. The audiophile considerations (sweet spots, optimal room placement, proper speaker height, etc) are brokered with my real world considerations (the furniture I own, my wife's feelings, my cats' athleticism, the partial hearing loss in my left ear, etc).
I buy very good equipment, because it will sound very good even outside the sweet spot ... maybe not perfect, but still very good. Very good equipment will sound better than mediocre equipment both inside and outside the sweet spot. An old trick for testing speakers (circa 1973), was to put on some piano music and walk back and forth alongside the front of the speakers to see if the pitch changed. If the pitch changed ... you didn't buy the speakers. You also knew that they would sound good outside the sweet spot. Now, there are those moments when I kick back, sit in the sweet spot, put on a "must listen to" CD, and then, fall promptly asleep for the next 45 minutes!
Putting all my rationalizations aside ... the issue you raise is not an audio ONLY issue anyway. It is a consumerism topic. Do you really need a Viking professional stove to cook macaroni and cheese or a Sub-Zero refrigerator to keep the OJ cold or figured-shaped Fritos, for that matter? Audiophiles may stand out because of the "male, small number of participants" nature of our hobby. If you are not going to live in that sweet spot ... you may not need those $20K mono blocks ... but, the Brand X $179 surround system isn't the answer either.
Curious to see your comments.
Regards, Rich
I guess if your thinking goes along the lines of "audiophile" is a pretentious term ... then I would also guess that not sitting in the sweet spot concentrating solely on the music would somehow be a "pride" thing. Curious choice of words.
Speaking for myself, I have never purchased stereo equipment with the idea that I would be glued to a sweet spot while I was listening to it. I have lived in apartments most of my 46 years ... so, I have not now and have never had a dedicated Iistening room. The audiophile considerations (sweet spots, optimal room placement, proper speaker height, etc) are brokered with my real world considerations (the furniture I own, my wife's feelings, my cats' athleticism, the partial hearing loss in my left ear, etc).
I buy very good equipment, because it will sound very good even outside the sweet spot ... maybe not perfect, but still very good. Very good equipment will sound better than mediocre equipment both inside and outside the sweet spot. An old trick for testing speakers (circa 1973), was to put on some piano music and walk back and forth alongside the front of the speakers to see if the pitch changed. If the pitch changed ... you didn't buy the speakers. You also knew that they would sound good outside the sweet spot. Now, there are those moments when I kick back, sit in the sweet spot, put on a "must listen to" CD, and then, fall promptly asleep for the next 45 minutes!
Putting all my rationalizations aside ... the issue you raise is not an audio ONLY issue anyway. It is a consumerism topic. Do you really need a Viking professional stove to cook macaroni and cheese or a Sub-Zero refrigerator to keep the OJ cold or figured-shaped Fritos, for that matter? Audiophiles may stand out because of the "male, small number of participants" nature of our hobby. If you are not going to live in that sweet spot ... you may not need those $20K mono blocks ... but, the Brand X $179 surround system isn't the answer either.
Curious to see your comments.
Regards, Rich