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Love the gear (or listening to it) as much or more than the music? Sacrilege!

Back when I was in graduate school, an Art History doctoral student and I used to go to the art museum together. We saw some amazing paintings. But she was just as interested in their frames or their lack thereof.

In audiophile circles, in my limited experience, the drum that beats is always the same — "Remember, this is about the *music*." Or, "Too many audiophiles forget that the real goal is the enjoyment of music." Etc. There's also a variant — "Too many audiophiles are just listening to the gear, not the music." The finger only wags in one direction.

So...while no one would ever assert that it's ok to *only* love the gear (or listening to the gear, mainly), I wonder how many would be willing to admit that they love the gear as much or even more than the music? Is that something you have ever heard someone admit — or have admitted yourself? Because sometimes the music is pretty ugly and the gear is pretty beautiful.
128x128hilde45
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justmetoo's avatar
justmetoo
381 posts
 
Let's talk about this marvelous kitchen-top radio! I WANT one of these!
It be a lot more 'green' than my all class A gear, not so?
Save me some more electricity!
Dishes I do myself, no problem.
Am I wrong to decline any ideas suggesting a BOSE?
Been there of sorts years back and it was 'deeply disappointing'... 
So, if the sound matches my system, is at its very best at present, I'd surely still let it go - so long that kitchen radio looks a bit sexy, at least 😌.
Does that still make me 100/0 then, because no like no ugly looking kitchen radio...? 🤔 
edcyn
1,876 posts
 
My Primaluna integrated looks like I stole it from a 1950's doctor's office.  My Sony SACD player is the veritable epitome of the anonymous, rectangular electronics box.  My NOLA speakers are gorgeously finished but they still look as if I purchased them from a Circuit City, who knows when.  My SOTA Sapphire looks time-warped from the height of the bad taste Seventies.  My snake pit of cables is veritably laughable.  Of my components, only the Alphason tonearm has physical panache.  Retro and amusingly overwrought, it deserves to be on the inner sleeve of a Thomas Dolby album.  As the Dolb sings in one of his tunes, it "blinds me with science."  None of this matters, though.  The sound they all emit is seductive and lovely.  And oh yeah, my silver-faced Mytek BB may be tiny but it looks decidedly elegant -- simultaneously well sorted out and luxurious.
douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
I do audiophilia in a superior fashion by making many systems, not expending much on media, paying very close attention to the electronics and listening closely to them, seeking variety in experiences, and not being satisfied with what I consider average playback. Only when the system is performing at a very high level am I content and enjoy the music. But, when that happens, which is often nowadays, after years of striving, I enjoy music as never before.

I am a System Builder. :)

Oh, wait, for the benefit of all the Chintziphiles, Musicians, Pro Audio techs, Music Lovers, and Mediaphiles, I forgot to add YMMV. ;)
ejr1953
895 posts
 
Back in the late 70's/early 80's I was a salesman at some high-end shops in the DC area and I learned that people who seemed to be listening to the equipment not the music hardly ever bought anything.  So I took a lead from my more experienced co-workers and set the customer up in one of our sound rooms, showed them how they could switch from one speaker to another and let them do their thing.

I'll never forget a small number of customers saying that they intended to purchase an amplifier when "digital" amps became available.  This is 1978!
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