Should people with no turntable or reel to reel be considered audiophiles?


Just like those driving a Porsche SUV can join PCA (digital audio fans can join Audiogon) but are certainly not Porschephiles unless they also own a coupe (Panamera owners I guess gets a pass here).

Please respond with a yes or no and we'll tally a vote for the first 100 responses.

sokogear
sokogear,

Try Cayenne Turbo. In particular, try it on twisty roads and fast. You might just be surprised. It, in fact, is some good engineering. Try it out.

What is PCA?
Porsche Club of America. I have driven a Cayenne Turbo and a Macan (they give out loaners when I get service done on my car).

They are very nice and fun for what they are. I like them. I may get a Macan when my wife's lease is up, who knows? Many PCAers have gotten them as second or third (or 4th...) cars and all like them and recommend them if that's what you want/need. 

BTW, the most fun Porsche (not fastest, but pretty damn fast) in the recent past is a Cayman GT4. Unfortunately, I really like sunroofs and won't buy a car without one. And no, I don't like cabs since i don't live in San Diego where you can use it the majority of the time. Don't talk about Targa's - the newer ones are really 1/2 cabs with so many motors that in the future you are sure to have a huge bill to replace one of them.
This is how silly your overall position is, and even bringing Porschephile into the discussion. What exactly does that mean?  Does owning a Porsche and being a member of PCA mean anything other than you have the resources to buy a Porsche (and even then it does not always mean that). Nope. Does it mean you know anything about cars? No. Does it mean you are at all a superior driver? No. Does it mean you know how to handle a high performance vehicle at limit? No. Does it mean you know how to properly drive a car for maximum performance? No. Does it mean you have some meaningful pursuit of "automotive" nirvana whatever that is ... no again. Just means you could afford to purchase one.

Used to be really into cars, more consumed by other things these days. In the "crowd" I ran with, unless you had built some aspect of your car, had probably completed a few racing courses, and had actually raced, your were just a "poser". You could tell the type, they would show up on track day, sign their waver, get checked out, visibly "sneer" at the "lesser" humans, then proceed to tear up a lot more dirt than lap times, always coming off the track swearing and blaming this or that, but never their own lack of ability. I have driven racing go-karts that would scare the crap out of most "Porschephiles".

Saying you can't be a "real" audiophile unless you own a turntable or reel-reel is about as valid as claiming "Porschephile" has any useful meaning within the automotive world. I consider a kid with a budget amp and set of speakers who uses his phone as a source, but who takes the time and makes the effort to learn something about acoustics, speaker placement, room treatments, room correction, and the science of audio, a heck of a lot more an "Audiophile", than someone who would attempt to exclude people from "the club" based purely based on their own likes for sources.
Porsche Club of America has 130 000 members? That is more people than some countries.

Total in the world is only 230 000 members.
(http://www.porsche-club-deutschland.de/Mitgliedschaft/index.htm)

On the other hand, AARP has 38 000 000 which is 1.5 times more than a whole continent.
Glupson, I have driven a Cayan Turbo and it is an overweight tub that has more in common with a tank than a 911 or Cayman. All you have to do to join the PCA is know how to pronounce Porsche correctly. It is not a Porsch it is a Porsche. Nobody ever has trouble saying Ferrari. 
Mahlman, thanks for the kudos. I was feeling all alone out here. 
For those of you who do not like a spirited discussion I suggest you take up needle work. If it were not for Cleeds I would not be having any fun.