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Music lover or audiophile?

I think you have to decide, are you a music lover or audiophile?  I know the majority will say, both.
 I’m not so sure though. The nature of audiophilia is to get in there and fiddle with the tools, like any other hobbyist.  The difference in our hobby though is that presumably, our ultimate goal is to have the best musical experience we can get. The hobbyist is never really finished. The manipulation of the materials is the fun. The music lover, however, wants to get the most out of that esthetic experience.  
By continually plying materials, the audiophile is on an endless quest for better sound.
 After years of this quest, I’ve decided I can be a music lover or an audiophile.  I’m happy listening to my system now the way it is.  So, I’ve decided to be a music lover once again.
128x128rvpiano
rudolfogrease
37 posts
 

Love music like anyone else. The sound quality is essential. Being a busy person especially in the US its rare to sit down an have a quality time listening especially if you found your holy grail setup. I don’t touch or not even change one bit of my setup now. I’m trapped in my music room and car audio. I cant find myself to appreciate any other places or headphones. I don’t know why. As of now, I’m on a hunt for better music formats. Its either I listen to a quality sound or not listen at all.



millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
music lover or audiophile, that is the question

In grade school they brought in a concert violinist to play for our class. Still clearly remember him saying close your eye and listen, then he would play to sound like one, then two, then a whole bunch of violins! When we went on a field trip to the Seattle Opera House I remember closing my eyes listening to the symphony orchestra.

So thinking back on it, even when I was listening to real instruments  I was listening as an audiophile. My first significant purchases with my paper route money were all stereo components. I was maybe 13. In selecting these I knew little at the time about frequency response, and hardly anything about power, but I did listen very keenly to see how everything made music sound. So maybe I was a music lover.

Later on when shopping with my laundry list of sonic attributes to seek out, or avoid, it would seem I was an audiophile. But the components I bought always seemed to be the ones that got my toes to tapping.

Music lover makes me think of the saps on the stairwell in Animal House. I'm more the Bluto who comes along and smashes the guitar. Only thing even more insipid, audiophiles pedantically parroting what makes a good whatever, and how can we design a test to be twice as blind. 

What is the word for the guy who just loves listening to really good music played back really well? That's me.

zarathu
19 posts
 
Once I built a line array speaker system(16 mid ranges, 31 tweeters, on3 12 inch woofer, electronically crossed, with a separate amp for each section, the sound was so distortion free, that I could simply not tell how loud it was playing.  The electronics distortion levels and other measurements were always below hearing in comparison tests.  
And so, when I found myself making a comment that I could hear placements left and right, but also forward and backward, there was no more audiophile left in me, and only the music lover.
rvpiano's avatar
rvpiano OP
2,412 posts
 
My point exactly.  Once you have found a place of contentment, there is no need to twiddle and replace.
You turn from an audiophile to a music lover.
whostolethebatmobile
290 posts
 
Music lover first. Vinyl record collector second. Music archivist (rare 45 digital transfers) third. Tweeker fourth. Audiophile distant fifth.
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