What is the meaning of a true audiophile


To me, a true audiophile is one who constantly seeks acoustic utopia with non-utopian resources(=time & money).
ryllau
1) Anyone who would rather listen to Manheim Steamroller's Fresh Aire Holiday album than Miles Davis. 2) When listening, anyone whose face looks like an emergency room Doctor examining a trauma patient rather than someone who is blissful and happy listening to music 3)Anyone who has ever said: "You may have never heard of Manheim Steamroller, but this is a GREAT recording 4) Anyone who would rather make 700 adjustments to VTA, speaker toe-in, listening chair placement and volume rather than sit still and listen to an entire piece of music. 5) Anyone who relentlessly preaches the superiority of their single ended triode voodoo wimp system emblazoned with tacky logos and made by some underfunded garage manufacturer 6)Anyone who has ever purchased a Shun Mook product 7) Anyone who can't afford Shun Mook products after their rent, despite the fact that they are, obviously, one of the world's foremost, towering geniuses. 9) Anyone who thinks that a Linn LP-12, a Denon A/V receiver or a Shahinian Obelisk sounds "musical". 10) Anyone who has ever purchased Krell
HAHHAHAHAhAh !!!! Djjd was posting that at the same time i did mine. That one kicks ass !!!! Sean
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A customer of mine who knows that i have great interests in music and audio gear once asked me if i was a music lover or an audiophile ??? I asked them to clarify what their understanding of the two terms were. He said "in terms of reproduction of sound, "music lovers" typically lean towards systems that have warmth, body, pace and are smooth whereas "audiophiles" look for more "detail" and lean towards brighter, more revealing electronics. They also tend to change gear more often than the music lover does". While i would not completely agree with his definitions, i think that they do offer some very keen insight into our "hobby". Needless to say, i was pretty amazed that a "commoner" who owns a "rack system" could "speak the speak" and understand what he was saying. I told him that at this point in time, i am kind of a "hybrid" of the two. I definetly like the warmth, body and pace part of the "music lover" but that i'm also interested in being able to hear as much "detail" without making my ears bleed. In order to find the right combination of the two genres, i was "swapping components" on a pretty regular basis, hoping to find that "magic combination" of gear once and for all. I think he understood where i was coming from and has since inquired several times about the various systems that i have in my house. The good thing is that i think that he's getting curious enough about all of this stuff to try it out for himself : ) Sean
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au'di-o-phile. n. 1. A person who exhibits extreme obsessive/compulsive behavior that happens to be directed at achieving perfect music reproduction, even at the risk of compromising their personal relationships and financial security. 2. A delusional person who believes he or she can find the "holy grail" of perfect music reproduction, a condition often manifest by unrelenting searches for new audio equipment and frequent pronouncements of the type: "If only I had a [INSERT NAME OF AN OBSCURE OR EXPENSIVE PIECE OF MUSIC REPRODUCTION GEAR HERE]." 3. Any of a class of people who dedicate far more time and money developing a music reproduction system to capture the essence of a "live" concert, than they spend actually going to live concerts. 4. Any person who is willing to spend more money to purchase a single "upgrade" AC power cord for an electronic device than is earned in an entire year by 70% of the other people in the world. 5. A malcontent who devotes inordinate time visiting audio equipment dealers, auditioning new audio gear, reading audio magazines, trying seemingly irrational "tweaks" like demagnetizing CDs, continually adjusting their speaker placement and changing cables, and scanning audio-related internet chat rooms looking for other ways to achieve better music reproduction. 6. A person whose life is characterized by extended periods of dissatisfaction and apprehension punctuated by occassional periods of euphoria and contentment induced by sublime music reproduction. 7. You and I.
ANSWER :....An audiophile who doesn't lie?? Wife....... You paid HOW Much FOR THAT???...And what is this thing going to do??
a true audiophile is anyone with the desire to get the best sound he/she can from the hardware available at any given moment. it could be from a $10 clock radio; it could be from a $100,000 dream system. from simple to complex, all you have to do is care.
In my dictionary, it comes right after Audionervosa. In reality, just before.
I am with South43, Cornfedboy and Kkirkpa on this - that the term Audiophile should at least refer to what we are trying to be, rather than some of the other suggestions here which represent the pitfalls we sometimes fall foul of. Otherwise we need another term, or else accept that we are not in pursuit of music at all.
To me a audiophile is someone is wants to hear music that can be reproduced with the same intensity, clarity, and emotion, that the artist had in mind. I believe this is especially true if you play an instrument. You know what a particular instrument sounds like and will not stand for it to sound any different. Hope this makes sense.
Nice quote craig! I think an audiophile is someone who cares about the music so much that they become obsessed with making it sound the best that they can.
An "Audiophile" is: A person who hears differences between audio components (hardware and software) and values highly those faithful to musical values (you dig?).
an audiophile is anyone who cares enough about the reproduction of recorded music to believe there should be a name applied to the penchant.
An audiophile cares about the technical aspects of a recording, instead of how good the musicianship is.
A favorite quote of mine on this subject was by David 99: "audiophiles are neurotic, two channel, sweetspot loners". I really think that quote showed a lot of humorous insight. If I got it wrong David, please feel free to chew me out:>) Cheers. Craig.
I think an audiophile is simply one who listens to equipment, rather than music.
I guess Im no audiophie as my system retails for about $12000.00 but I only have invested about $1000 in software.Many of my Lp's were free or I paid anywhere from a dime to a buck each.I have some "audiophile" LP's and have been collecting Japanese imports,Nautilus 1/2 speeds and MOFI's.I have close to 2500 LP's all collected in the last 4 years.I bought 3000 LP's last summer for 50 bucks and have sold many on eBay.I have kept the best! Even though I have only about $1000 invested in LP's I just call it smart shopping!
As opposed to a Stereophile. an Audiophile is one whose software (LPs, CD's, Tapes, etc.) collection costs more than his hardware.