Should people who can't solder, build or test their speakers be considered audiophiles?



  So, if you bought that Porsche but can only drive it and not fix it do you really understand and appreciate what it is? I say no. The guy who can get in there and make it better, faster or prettier with his own hands has a superior ability to understand the final result and can appreciate what he has from a knowledge base and not just a look at what I bought base. I mean sure you can appreciate that car when you drive it but if all you do is take it back to the dealership for maintenance and repairs you just like the shape with no real understanding of what makes it the mechanical marvel it is.
  I find that is true with the audio world too. There are those who spend a ton of money on things and then spend a lot of time seeking peer approval and assurance their purchase was the right one and that people are suitably impressed. Of course those who are most impressed are those who also do not design, build, test or experiment.

  I propose that an audiophile must have more than a superficial knowledge about what he listens to and must technically understand what he is listening to. He knows why things work and what his end goal is and often makes his own components to achieve this. He knows how to use design software to make speakers that you can't buy and analyze the room they are in and set up the amplification with digital crossovers and DSP. He can take a plain jane system and tweak it and balance it to best suit the room it is in. He can make it sound far better than the guy who constantly buys new components based on his superficial knowledge who does not understand why what he keeps buying in vain never quite gets there.

  A true audiophile can define his goal and with hands on ability achieve what a mere buyer of shiny parts never will. So out comes the Diana Krall music and the buyer says see how good my system is? The audiophile says I have taken a great voice and played it through a system where all was matched and tweaked or even purposely built and sits right down next to Diana as she sings. The buyer wants prestigious signature sound and the audiophile will work to achieve an end result that is faithful true to life audio as though you were in the room with Diana as she sings. The true audiophile wants true to life and not tonally pure according to someones artificial standard.

 So are you a buyer or an audiophile and what do you think should make a person an audiophile?
mahlman

Showing 29 responses by glupson

geoff would probably drive his therapist out on the ledge...
Nah, he seems to be an easy one.
geoffkait,

"I stink, therefore I am. - robberrttddidd, exhibit A of the public school system 😬"
What do you have against public schools? Is it from personal experience? Where was it? University of Virginia?
"...because they make him feel inadequate?"
I doubt that geoffkait ever feels inadequate. His therapist told me.
isochronism,

"...in the true nature of Porsche, there should only be room for two. In the evolution of the mark anything is now permissible."
Two-seater Porsche cars arrived to the scene later than tractors (one seaters?), tanks to some extent, and hybrids for, I think, four people.

isochronism,

I was revisiting the very first words of the OP...


"So, if you bought that Porsche..."

Could we get back on the topic of OP?

So, is Panamera with rear bench seat a real Panamera, or a hint that driver is just a pretender?

"Good move as you had bottomed out with your own."
We have two bottoms moving.
"why do so many audiogon threads become ’one liner’ dumpster fires?"
Attention span is not that long these days. Write more than one line and you lose them.
"Maybe Mahlman is Kenjit."
No way. Earth has room for only one kenjit.
geoffkait,

"That’s what happens when you don’t get past high school."
I admit. All those years of school afterwards were a bit too much. I should have skipped them and joined you at McDonald’s to deliver a billion smiles.
geoffkait,

Can you imagine how it was when it was a full flood?

Still, continue using whatever is left of it. I will not tell anyone. It will still be better than your own.
That was not a joke.

Feel free to continue using my wisdom as you often do.

Any thoughts about the state of numbers?
"My office was located just down the street at Wright Patt AFB from the US Air Force Operation Bluebook that investigated UFOs."
Office? Is that how local McDonald’s is now called?
Does an orchestra sound any different when you are playing an oboe on the stage from when you are sitting in row 10 away from the stage?

Maybe the problem with that oboe player was that he was a dealer for Cello. Maybe he just did not get the Cello right.
"I can't get enough of Broadway!"
Any from that list of Broadway shows that you have seen on Broadway?
"Get on my level, gents."
Some of us are a little uneasy about parachuting. It may hurt when we hit the bottom.
jrwaudio,

"The spare tire in my 1978 911 SC is in the front storage area."
Thanks.

These days they do not have spare tires and one salesman in the dealership said it is because the car is small. He did not know where they were when cars were even smaller. Mystery solved.


petg60,

"3 years zero issues, still smells fresh new!"
You are such a partybreaker. We love Alfa jokes. Some would call them a "reality show".
mahgister,

"glupson your price will be? :)"
I am not sure yet. It will be the price I can only dream of.

Now, when I saw how it looks no wonder I will be selling it. That rear window is so small I can barely see anything through it.
"All cars are boring except the Bugatti Atlantic 1936....I dream to buy one.... a seller here?"
Give me a couple of hours. I will dream of selling it.
petg60,

"i don't find jokes about Alfa amusing. Annual service is coming."
Skip it. It won't come out of it any better.

A wise guy once told me that any time you take a car to the shop, whatever the reason, you will be back in two weeks. Not necessarily for the same reason.

I visit my car mechanic on the bicycle, for a chat.
geoffkait,

"Alfa Romeo owners savor pinpoint oil leaks. 😛"
Allegedly, new Giulia, including Quadrifoglio, is immune to most of it. Supposedly, even the software works now (recent fix). Be brave.
Once upon a time, a mechanic worth every penny he refused to take from me told me that pinpoint oil leaks are common after an oil change and are the way to rack up the bill.

I have no idea how to fix any of 911's engines, or how they look, but that is what I was told.

While I have the attention of 911 experts, where did the spare tire go before it disappeared? There must have been one. Was it? Where was it installed? When did it go away? This is a real question and you guys seem to have the answer handy.
derekcole,

"...I don’t own a soldering gun. Do I need to join another forum first then graduate or work my way up to this one?"

There is hope for you!

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?443214-Soldering-Station-Never-too-old-to-learn!