un-becoming an audiophile

I am likely not an audiophile, I can enjoy music, if it sounds moving from a wide range of cheap equipment.

I am not anal about hiss and pops and I don’t start moving cables if it doesn’t [insert contrived audiophile verbiage here].

I am always amused when I read how obsessed people are with this hobby and how they don’t think you can achieve quality sound under 10*x*1000 dollars.

Do I spend too much time reading reviews? Sure. Would I spend more money on it if I had more money? Of course.

At the end I am happy with my system and I enjoy the same music in my car listening to its no name, lousy speakers just as much.

I think what the OP writes about concern the people who are so much in denial, they have all the absurd justification ready anyway, they won’t "hear" or have any of it

@emrofsemanon that's pretty funny. I would say they also use their audio equipment to get rid of their money

celebrate the ever widening first world income disparity

irony or not: proves my point perfectly

@fbgbill 

that's a great looking rack. 

The frames on the wall are crooked, fix them before the boss sees it :)

@larry5729

"the question we need to ask ourselves is what have we done for others?"

very true.

I don’t think people generally who spend many 1000s a year on upgrades alone are the type concerned with thinking about the well being of strangers. But I could be wrong. When I read the comments on the post of how-do-you-stop-house-guest-from-damaging-your-speakers, I seriously thought that some of the members here are pretty scary, narcissistic and antisocial - not in a good way.

@simonmoon @tomic601

did you read the comments under how-do-you-stop-house-guest-from-damaging-your-speakers

It was a collection of the most selfish, egoistic, cynical, disrespectful attitudes I have ever seen.

"Do you have the same hypothesis about people with large expensive watch collations? Or people with their own wine cellars and wine collections? Or people with car collections? "

Is that a serious question? Yes, of course, generally I do.

Many of you live in a bubble. You have a very different prospective of the World. Yes, hobbies and the way those hobbies are pursued tell a lot about people. The way people present themselves on this forum tells a lot about their character. I did not come to a conclusion when I first heard of audiophiles with a lot of money that some of them are selfish/self-centered people. I came to this conclusion reading this forum.

Of course watches, wine and cars are different categories, less lonely hobbies than collecting audio gear. Not all rich people care mostly about themselves. But it definitely helps in becoming rich. It also helps to feel good about themselves that they donate money to some causes. Does it mean I judge altruists? No, I am just pointing out that you can spin everything both ways.

We probably disagree about everything, and that’s fine, I have 0 intention to convince anyone. And again, I am always open to be entirely wrong about everything. That’s what I often am.

 how would one's hobbies influence whether they have philanthropic tendencies or not

I don't even know where to begin. Ask any shrink. Or just use simple logic. The person's personality determines the hobby, not the other way. The person's philanthropic tendencies won't really be affected by the hobby, I never said that. Of course, long term hobbies can change people, so there is that. But the basic idea is the personality determining both the hobbies and empathy

@russ69 

One of my smaller systems was around $3500

Is that a little or a lot? I spent less than that on my "main" system. 

(main = only)

I was simply asking if $3500 was meant as an example of a little or a lot. Don't put words in my mouth, then you are just feeding your own arguments and ego, independent of what I said and meant. It has nothing to do with class warfare.

@uncledemp you said it much better than I could (and I tried :) )

@jumia very true! 

At least I have a couch. Working on a sweet stretch vs a sweet spot.

@jjss49 for your information I never said it's my business how anyone spends their money. What I said MANY TIMES was the exact opposite and that I am happy for anyone to have the wealth to buy whatever they please 

@dadork my responses to you have all been removed. Seems like freedom of opinion is not a thing here when it irritates the wealthy's feeling good about themselves.

audiogon should ban poor people and just become an exclusive club for the rich.

@2channel8 

good to know I am not alone and crazy (well, in this sense) 

it's pretty ironic when the admin removes your comment in which you say "they removed my comment". What are they so worried about? People finding out they remove comments? 

:)

calling it a tantrum is like calling a women speaking loudly crazy. Name calling without addressing the substance is pretty childish....

@holeras1962

plays well into the psyche of the audiophile.

It reminded me of a friend who owned two cafes and then opened a bar and she said: when people buy a coffee, they sit down and drink it. When they buy a beer or a glass of wine, they drink it and come back for another one and keep buying. She turned the cafes into bars as well.

@vinylguy2016 I think there are two types: the high rollers with money no object and the hobbyists here. When the two mix (hobbyist ask a question, high rollers make costly suggestions/suggestions down a spending path or hobbyists comment on a "which one of my 55 cartridges, or do I need a 56th") - there is friction. 

I find it awesome to learn from people with a lot of gear and experience, but I still am in a completely different, removed world, 

@dadork

the word rich wasn't about a number but about an attitude.

Guess what? People who have money are the most charitable!

 for one, I disagree with this sentence, I donate a much bigger percentage of my income than the most charitable rich people, not to mention I pay way more taxes. 

I won't repeat my points, other than: people in the US have opportunities to become rich. In the rest of the world (aside from a few other countries) they don't. People commenting here often display an attitude which ignores the fact that they can afford things  because they are lucky (to have born here/be here). They have typical rich people attitude. (I have no problem with how they spend their money - NONE OF MY BUSINESS, I have a problem with how they think they deserved it)

At the end you and I disagree 100%, and we can leave it at that. 

@bigtwin Silly? Really? I think you could have made your point without the degrading adjective.

PERCENTAGE is what’s what I said/meant, but if you want to misinterpret it, whatever...

"bigger percentage of my income" applied to my taxes as well.

I think I have a better idea about what I pay for taxes (relative to my income) than you do, so I am at a loss with your statement.

A person who earns more pays more taxes

A person who reports more, to be correct,

And I know exactly how many households pay 0 federal income tax.

I am paying ~40 cents on every dollar to federal, state and local taxes. Not including sales tax. My wealthy acquaintances regular brag about how little taxes they pay with accounting tricks and feel sorry for me to have to pay my dues in full.

I find absolutely nothing silly with my statement but it seems to me I am the punching bag here, you guys attack my character and disparage my statements rather than arguing the substance of what I said.

As I said we live in our own bubbles and agree on practically nothing regarding this subject.