OP here. After a long day hard at work, I’ve finally had time to read everyones thoughts on the subject. So far, it appears most think we are indeed a rare species perhaps approaching endangered status. I’m in that camp also. I live in Huntsville Alabama which became our state’s largest city last year. We have the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, the Redstone Arsenal, genetic engineering business incubatos/companies, the FBI ordnance training school, 2 universities, a regional medical center etc.. i’ve read that Huntsville has the highest per capita post college graduate degreed population in the US. All this is to say there are a lot of school educated people with good incomes. I’ve met many people here who enjoy music and go to concerts (here in Huntsville, Nashville, and Atlanta). I’ve travelled to many states for my work meeting and working with lots of people that ive gotten to know. But i’ve never come across another audiophile. Or at least willing to admit they were.
@riie, im sorry, but i don’t understand you comment “Based on your question, you shouldn’t be that busy.”
@roxy54, i didnt want to post my system (very modest compared to the majority of the chat contributors ive read over the years) to avoid the discussion getting sidetracked. I can share that on a separate discussion.
Any more thoughts on % or number of audiophiles in the US are welcome.
Respectfully,
Ezstreams
How rare is an audiophile
I’ve been extremely busy lately and not had a chance to sit back and listen to music on my system for a few weeks. I’ve streamed my favorite music in the car and on a small JBL Flip-4 portable speaker; which by the way “punches way above its size class.” I continued to enjoy music whenever, wherever, and however i can during this “dry spell.”
So now its 5 am Sunday morning. I know i’ll be spending most of the day listening on the JBL when my wife and I drive out to a lake house we bought recently and are furnishing and getting ready for 4 generations to enjoy lake life this summer and for years to come.
I’ve let my system warm up and hit play on my CD player. I now find myself in total bliss listening to Chris Standing’s newest CD “The Lovers Re-mix Collection.” The effect of the quality of the sound of the music my wife and i are enjoying right now with a cup of coffee is hard to explain, but it brought literal tears of joy.
I started thinking, how many people are like us? What % of the population are audiophiles (whatever your definition of an audiophile is)?
I know the answer is heavily dependent on which country you live in. I live in the US along with ~332,000,000 fellow citizens (please, lets not get political on the meaning of population or citizen).
Are we the 0.1%ers? Are there ~332,000 audiophiles in the US?
i’d be interested in what others think about how rare our species is.
- ...
- 112 posts total
I guess I’m an outlier here. I already had audiophile friends in high school. In college, just about all the guys in the dorms were into good stereos, and several had what even today, and even after years of earning, would still be considered good equipment (Advent and ESS speakers, Stax headphones, etc.). For some years I’ve belonged to a very active Audio Club (about 30 regular members, meetings every other month or so; Richard Vandersteen is coming to visit us in September). Three of my good friends are serious audiophiles, with much more invested financially in their rigs than I have in mine, who are not even club members. Frankly, most of the people I’m fond of are audiophiles to some degree. Just about everyone other than my wife—who, however, is a pianist and musicologist. Go figure. |
I personally know one aspiring audiophile who can afford anything and is ready for an system upgrade; have met a radio engineer who admired my system and wished for something equivalent; and today learned that my cousin's son is a music blogger. She sent him a photo of my system and he reportedly commented, yeah, I want to build something like so I can hear everything on the records (he's a vinyl-only guy, about 40). So while we're very much a rare breed, we're not yet quite yet extinct. |
@mapman....Well, can't contribute...now even more than then....:( Had that output of my personal 'signal injection system' disconnected some 35ish+ years back....spouse agreed and supported that move.... Rare event last night, local buddy who likes what I do and have done brought by a buddy of his from FL.....he'd talked to Pete about what I've got, what I do, and popped by for awhile.. Pete was a nice enough sort, listened to a pair of my omnis', and I'd appraise as being 'polite enough'.... Saw my handful of various raw woofs, and got excited about his collecting Peavy woofers, and a pair of 18" he'd scored recently, commenting that his spouse had suggested...."Not enough amplification...." He did notice I've got 5 pieces of Behringer gear...so I'd wager into 'pro PA audio' and/or 'decent automotive sound'; the latter based as we all laughed at the 'boomers' installs that sound like the bolts and hardware are loosening on their 'rides'... The one woof that caught Pete's eye is a MTX 12" sub salvaged from an attempt to replace a 'normal' 12", the rest being basically trashed....can't say i didn't suspect why that happened.... 35 lbs. of steel with a magnet the diameter of a softball, 2+" thick. I keep everything away from it. Can't find it in their 'vintage' lists. has no model notation on it....other than RFL! in big red letters, and the notation "Designed to rip your face off!" (all caps,of course). Am I a 'phile'? An audio degenerate of sorts? A nasty narrow minded jade? All the above? None of it? I amuse myself well enough...hopefully that counts.... ;) |
One of my favorite parts of having a decent system is having people curious listen to their favorite songs and realizing a different appreciation for music. And I've since gotten my parents and several friends on the train.
Everyone appreciates quality music, and sharing that is part of the hobby in my view. |
- 112 posts total