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Am I no longer allowed to consider myself an Audiophile?

OK, I actually have some pretty decent equipment to listen to. But lately I've been inundated with reviews/opinions about the unmatched transparency of the Magico M9 loudspeakers. But at the same time I have been admiring the new Yamaha NS-5000 speakers (about $15K) which are considered quite awesome sounding in their own right. This brings me back to my 1st wonderful sounding  ADS-810-II speakers (2X 8in. woofers, and a dome-midrange and tweeter). Easy to set up, nice wood cabinets, matching stands, less than $900/pair, with remarkable separation of  instruments, great for ALL types of music, and only minor limitations. Anyway, as nice as the Magico's are, the required room and a whole lot of other things that are necessary to make them play music makes me want to complain about all the over-the-top gushing coming from various experts. It's not the cost of the M-9's that bothers me, but the "laboratory conditions" you almost have to place them in. OTOH, the Yamaha speakers got favorable reviews from the Abs,Sound in 2020, so what more do you really need if you have a living room (a couch, a coffee table, pictures on the wall.etc.) to really "listen" when the music takes over? I find the bewildering complexity involved with scientifically "almost perfect" sounding million-dollar systems to be what it is- an experimental approach rather than a pleasurable way to relax and imagine becoming a part of the performance. So I would want to go to a dealer and audition the Magico's,no question about it. But I would bring some music with me, and I'm certain it would be an enlightening experience. But I wonder if it would change my overall opinion about recorded music. 

french_fries
jmalen123
246 posts
 

@zx10 Ouch! MY xt250 and I are certainly butt hurt and will drown our sorrows in some bourbon. We forgive you. To each his own.

kingsleuy's avatar
kingsleuy
192 posts
 

To me, simply by the fact that you are still chasing the audiophile rabbit deep down it's hole, pondering this and other audiophile entities answers your question.

Yes, you are an Audiophile.

french_fries OP
822 posts
 

Dear Toro3, WHOA, STOP RIGHT THERE!

I appreciated your comment nonetheless, and I thought I had made a new friend besides. I just wanted to share my views given the time, effort, and money I have already spent on my system, and I ignore some of the limitations that, at the end of the day, I know I will never get rid of. Just the house-hunting I went through years ago was a major pain- until I found one with a "great room"- 14 x 20 with cathedral ceilings. No, I could not build a house from scratch ($$$). or one with a "horse barn" attached. But I made out OK, just not my version of Nirvana. Maybe Magico could (just for me of course) build a stand-mounted 2-way with a sub. I wonder how close to transparent they could get and simplify everything at the same time. It could cost less and still have the same quality-level. But please share your thoughts at any rate. Older people (like me) can use the support!

jmmaccord's avatar
jmmaccord
24 posts
 

Yes, you are an audiophile! Not many of us has the money to chase the high end stuff in search of sonic perfection. Even if I wanted to sped big money on a big speaker, my room wouldn't handle it and it would sound like crap! You tweak what you have to make it sound great in the room that you have. That's all most of us can do.

tomic601's avatar
tomic601
13,677 posts
 

Nothing new under the sun…. Remember the audiophile rag The Sensible Sound ?…

and to the OP…. I think your speaker journey evolution answers your question…. Wringing the last ounce costs $$$ but 

  In our hobby MUCH of what counts as performance is purely subjective and often a luxury good.

i sold a lot of 810 back in the day - great value in a very well made and engineered product… we carried ten speakers or more at that price point… happy ears

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