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Do Audiophiles really like music?

Or is this more of a hobby where they can over analyze the most minute details and spend more money to "get where they want to be". I have been in this hobby a long time now, and have been around live music for a greater part of my life. I've had a lot of equipment and have heard more systems and tweaks then I'd like to remember. But does any of this allow us to "get closer to the music", the reason we go to such lengths as most would admit. I've discovered the only thing that allows me to get closer to the music is to listen to more of it. Maybe I am growing up, or losing interest in losing even MORE hair over a hobby that's suppose to be enjoyable, but I'd rather listen to music then think of how I can improve my system.

What do you think? I briefly mentioned this in the past, do audiophiles really enjoy music, or is the music just an excuse to get better gear so they can "get closer to the music"?
tireguy
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,135 posts
 
Despite having very good equipment and considering myself an audiophile, I don't think there is a direct link between the quality of the playback equipment and my enjoyment in listening to music. Once you get past your basic boombox quality systems I can seemingly get off listening to music I truly like even on fairly mediocre quality systems. To a large extent the equipment is a distraction and the goal I strive for is a system that distracts least.

In direct answer to your question, yes, at least some audiophile really like music.
ashra's avatar
ashra
148 posts
 
Interesting question. Let me ask this:
Does music need audiophiles?
reubent
6,935 posts
 
Ashra,

Obviously music does not need audiophiles. Audiophiles are a very small portion of the music buying (live or recorded) public. Also, when recordings are engineered so poorly that they are not tolerable on a good sound system, the music producers obviously could care less about audiophiles.

The interesting thing about this is that I would guess that the typical music buyer could care less about the sound quality of the recording, but audiophiles do care. Therefore music producers could potentially increase their revenue by producing better sounding recordings. In this case the typical buyer would buy the record for the music and the audiophile may buy it for the sonic qualities.

Enjoy,

TIC
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xiekitchen
821 posts
 
I'd like to point out another aspect of the landscape, record (or cd) collecting... in addition to a love of the equipment and the reproduction of music, some of us are nuts about record collecting as well. This pressing vs. that pressing, imported from this country or that one, etc.
Always trying to find the best sounding pressing.
But I'd have to say the pleasure of the aesthetic experience of music listening is not diminished by basic equipment. I enjoyed certain recordings on my mid-fi equipment I started out with in the 70's as much as hearing them now on much more delineating equipment.
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