I just keep it on the low down. Hide all my stuff in the basement. Most people never suspect that I'm an Audiophile..... It's just easier that way.....
How To Field Questions About Your Audiophile Lifestyle...
We Audiophiles often have a bit of "The Adams Family" about us to other people..especially to neighbors and those who come into contact with us often.Here are some of the most common questions that come up and some suggestions on how to field them.
Q."About that stereo of yours,; "what kind is it?"
A. Looking at your watch, "It's a q
uarter to 5."
Q."How much did it cost?"
A. "I'm not sure.I stole it."
Q."How come my stereo doesn't' sound like that?"
A."You need smarter friends with better advice." "I hear they really kick"is 5 words from hell, if you are really serious about your selections.
Q."Why do you play "Aerosmith" and the "Butthole Surfers"then switch to that "Beethoven"
crap?"
A. "Beethoven was a musician too."He went deaf without any rock music at all.
Q."Why is your furniture differently arranged than everybody else's, all diagonally?"
A."It has to do with the lighting,"or "Thats the way the previous people living here liked it."
Q."Why do you always walk backwards when there is a strong wind coming at you ?"
A."I like to protect my nice face from aging" or "I forgot my ear muffs today."
Q."Why do you play your CD player with the top off and why does the Xmas tree near it always have greenish blue lights."
A.It has to do with the absorption of stray laser..Err it's too long a story."
Q."Why do you have a Xmas tree still up by your CD player?"
A."It's already September..Might as well just keep it up now."
I hope this helps.
Q."About that stereo of yours,; "what kind is it?"
A. Looking at your watch, "It's a q
uarter to 5."
Q."How much did it cost?"
A. "I'm not sure.I stole it."
Q."How come my stereo doesn't' sound like that?"
A."You need smarter friends with better advice." "I hear they really kick"is 5 words from hell, if you are really serious about your selections.
Q."Why do you play "Aerosmith" and the "Butthole Surfers"then switch to that "Beethoven"
crap?"
A. "Beethoven was a musician too."He went deaf without any rock music at all.
Q."Why is your furniture differently arranged than everybody else's, all diagonally?"
A."It has to do with the lighting,"or "Thats the way the previous people living here liked it."
Q."Why do you always walk backwards when there is a strong wind coming at you ?"
A."I like to protect my nice face from aging" or "I forgot my ear muffs today."
Q."Why do you play your CD player with the top off and why does the Xmas tree near it always have greenish blue lights."
A.It has to do with the absorption of stray laser..Err it's too long a story."
Q."Why do you have a Xmas tree still up by your CD player?"
A."It's already September..Might as well just keep it up now."
I hope this helps.
67 responses Add your response
It almost seems like we should skulk around shamefully because of this oddball conviction we hold pertaining to sound and it's reproduction, well so be it. Those who visit my dungeon aka basement either fall to the side of the so called instant believers or "can you turn the bass up? " type of crowd. I have a sub and plenty capable speakers so bass is not lacking, only some people's perception. so it's a toss up, either show it, ot hide it but what's the point of that??? |
I have had people see my Apogee Duetta II speakers for the first time, marvel at their design and how "thin" they are and then ask me to play them so they can hear "how loud they will play." I politely decline, and change the subject. I have had some people see my McIntosh separate components and comment that they didn't know that Apple also makes stereo components. Hmmm.... |
I'm about a clean aesthetic, so the source components/amps etc are in a separate room, and cables for my speakers are essentially hidden. Thus people really just see a pair of nice looking speakers and - if they aren't interested in such things, don't comment. If they are it's usually "what nice looking speakers, how do they sound?" But man, when I see some of the systems some audiophiles have, every bit of technology just in your face, cables everywhere, risers, tweaks on walls, etc...yeah...that would take some 'splainin' |
I try to keep it hidden, and it’s not that hard. My system is in a spare bedroom with a closed door. People who visit overnight and get shown around by someone other than myself usually glance at it blandly and move on, and those who have even a bit of knowledge pretend to think its interesting for 2 seconds, and move on. I myself never show visitors. Oftentimes during a party at the holidays etc. there will be music playing on the rig with the door open so guests can hear it in the gathering room, but it ’s rare that anyone asks where the music is coming from. To me, it’s just a personal thing for my own use, not something to explain or justify to visitors. When I was in my twenties it was different, Back then, a number of my friends were actually interested. |
Putting your source hidden away in another room is a good idea, both visually and sonically.The farther the source is from vibration producing speakers the better.I once experimented doing that with 2 turntable set ups whose overall sound quality was at least 20% apart.When the lesser turntable was placed in a room around the corner with a wall between it and the speakers it narrowed the gap at least by half.The better turntable with the vinyl platter continued to be preferred for naturalness and transient definition.Of course I needed long interconnects and in that configuration it is hard to keep them off the floor and not touching "anything", or as little as possible.Long interconnects are better than very long speaker cables.The old presumed assumption that speaker cables lose damping at 50 feet needs challenged.I hear it at way less length than that.It became widely accepted that speaker cables need to ideally be at least 8 feet long.That should be weighed against the possibility of using speaker cables just long enough to hang from amp to speaker without touching the floor or anything else.Of course if you have something as aesthetically beautiful as an Oracle Delphi (which I always thought of getting), its ashamed to not be able to look at it.Also doing it in a way where the preamp is way out of reach is downright inconvenient and maybe arguably, going farther than having a tweaked looking room. |
I should add that the turntable moved into a different room with a wall between it was distanced from the right speaker by about 16 feet and about 22 feet from the left speaker.As I say its hard to keep long interconnects off the floor in such an arrangement but using string from ceiling or trestles to elevate is recommended.Trestles elevating long interconnects is another use for them.Support your HiFi accessories companies also.The come up with a lot of good stuff. |
Thanks for your appreciation of my humor.I am leaving Audiogon as I have no more respect for it, as they just deleted a new Discussion Post I put on where I just accurately described some harassment I was going through on here by some really suspicious people.I guess they are on the side of the wicked.You might have a case of the fox guarding the hen house on here.I will not post again or buy.Watch what you do on here; their seems to be no backup and something like this in modern society is sort of rare thankfully.Usually at the higher levels of institutions there is some decency and sanity, but I guess you cannot always count on that.Watch out on here.A lot of people should be made aware of something this bizarre. |
I'm of two minds about this. Our "lifestyle" ? We aren't swingers and we should not be embarrassed about our hobby or associated toys. I live in an area where people have toys, indulgences etc. While some have raised eyebrows (mostly wives) about my hobby, most understand my interest, just as I understand their interest in cars that can't be driven properly on normal roads, or wearing a watch that costs as much as a 1 month vacation in a Tuscan Villa. I am also a vinyl first audiophile and up until about 5yrs ago I was treated like a Luddite because of my preference for vinyl. Now I am the life of the party, and center of conversation when people find out. And then I give them a tour of my room.... I have a dedicated listening room/office, containing a lot of equipment, and about 2k records.... Most are impressed, and some are surprised. But all understand my passion. We do not or should not have to apologize for our interest in high end audio. |
Play them a solo piano or violin recording - they will either marvel at how realistic it is or ask how loud and how much bass the system has and you'll know whether to dump them immediately or spend more time on them. I had one guy swearing that his speakers were the cat's ass and their only limitation was bottom end. Had him bring them over and play them on my system and compare with my speakers - too about 2 minutes to convince him that bass wasn't the only thing lacking in his speakers. |
Audiogon has lightened their post removal policy a little recently and I feel that's a good thing as I do argue with people from time to time. One newer guy simply used the removal process as a cowardly remedy to any challenging response if he felt they were "personal." Lame...but if anybody can't handle the back and forth regardless of the source or criticism, they likely should find a safe place to dwell and stay away from forums. |
Supertweak, I'm sure you went thru this in other threads, and my question isn't relevant to this thread, but respectfully, what brand of components do you use in your system? I think you claimed this was too personal of information but really, it isn't. Many people do that on this forum. If people don't like what you have, so what??? You say you want to enlighten people about various tweaks of yours. Adding your component listing hurts no one. IMO. I've been told, not in so many words, that my system was pretty much junk. Just ask Audiotroy. :-) |
As to fielding questions about my system, to the non audiophile people, I pretty much keep quiet. When you tell these people what you have and what it costs you usually get a look of "a deer caught in headlights" expression. When I told my Stepson what my turntable costs, he said, "you must be crazy!" .....as he was purchasing a new $800 baseball bat. Cheers! |
I had that discussion with some co-workers last year....My contention is that if someone spends 80K+ on a car...he's (normally a guy) James Bond...a stud, and to be envied...If a guy spends $1,500 on a turntable...he's a certified "Kook"...tells you everything you need to know about our society in 2018.... |
mr_m"Supertweak...respectfully, what brand of components do you use in your system? I think you claimed this was too personal of information but really, it isn't. Many people do that on this forum. If people don't like what you have, so what??? You say you want to enlighten people about various tweaks of yours. Adding your component listing hurts no one..." Mr M I do not think you will be hearing from "Supertweak" because I think he fell behind in his school work and when his mommy found out he would have to repeat third grade again or else go to a summer school she took away his computer priviledges I think she was very surprised to read what he was posting here threatening people with lawyers and attorney generals and similiar threats. |
More to the point... Why do you folks avoid answering questions about your hobby & your systems? Are you too busy - or too good - to deal with the uninformed masses?? I am just the opposite. If someone expresses interest, I'll answer any questions (yes, even stupid ones) and I'm always happy to demonstrate. No wonder the high-end is shrinking if you guys dismiss others with such disdainful snobbery. If they're interested, why not EDUCATE them a little? Inspire them! You might even make their lives a little better. |
As I pointed out recently - as a manufacturer - one should be cautious giving out any information as it can be used against you and we’ve seen a perfect example of that here recently with what’s his name, the Man from Glad. Moreover, many of the more esoteric and controversial tweaks and inventions happen out of the blue and there may be no obvious explanation acceptable to John Q Public or even to advanced audiophiles. |
aalenik It isn't about snobbery. Years ago, I was like you. Wanting to tell the world how wonderful a good stereo system can sound. How relaxing and enjoyable to listen to your favorite music in High Fidelity. After a while, you get a little introverted when people would constantly tell you how foolish you are for wasting time and especially money on stereo equipment. At best they would try to be polite and say they were too busy to listen to music so intently or they could not afford it. When it comes to HEA, it's hard to inspire the "flat earth" believers. IMO. |
Does somebody actually get "introverted" from "when people would constantly tell you how foolish you are for wasting time and especially money on stereo equipment." Who are those people? That's a tough crowd ya got there. My experience over more than 5 decades of audio stuff (I was roped into running a 16 millimeter projector for a fearful teacher in the 5th grade...now I get overpaid to mix concert sound) is most people are so uninterested in audio freaks they don't care enough to be negative about it. "Your hobby is BAD Clem...hang your head!" |
"It isn’t about snobbery. Years ago, I was like you. Wanting to tell the world how wonderful a good stereo system can sound. How relaxing and enjoyable to listen to your favorite music in High Fidelity. After a while, you get a little introverted when people would constantly tell you how foolish you are for wasting time and especially money on stereo equipment. At best they would try to be polite and say they were too busy to listen to music so intently or they could not afford it. When it comes to HEA, it’s hard to inspire the "flat earth" believers. IMO." +1! Most people are not "interested" in the system. Rather, they look to criticize what they don’t understand, either out of ignorance or envy. I no longer have any patience for that. It’s my money, I’ll spend it any way I want, and I don’t need to justify the cost of my system to anyone. My wife gives me carte blanche to buy what I want, no questions asked (even though I am judicious), so no friend or stranger is entitled to an explanation. It’s that simple. |
I work in a stressful job . I come home put on my system sit down and listen . The effect is rejuvenating . What ever money I spend on my system is well justified by its rewards . What other people think or say means nothing . In fact I feel sorry for them as they do not know what they are missing - Ignorance is bliss |
Wolf, Where I used to live in northern Wisconsin, ( now reside in Az.) you were lucky if you could find a dozen audiophiles in a 100 mile radius. If you weren't a hunter or a fisherman, you were nothing. Most of those people up there looked at me as if I had some sort of disease when I told them what interested me. When enough people say to you that that kind of stuff makes you foolish or stupid, you ALMOST, and I say ALMOST start to believe it. When I was still working at a paper mill up there I would meet and work with some of these guys for the first time and when they asked me if I hunted or fished and then told them neither, that was the end of any conversation they would have with me for the 30 years I worked there. I thought it was a very sad situation with those people. I'm not trying to make myself out as a "bleeding heart" but that 30 years was sure a learning experience in life.... |
