Being a curious Person, I have wondered why in many of the posts here, when the term "Audiophile" comes up......it's usually in a negative context.
A couple examples are: "Axiom HAD to put the four post terminals on some of their speakers because of the Audiophiles"..... and another:" I've read too many Audiophile manifesto's".
So,.. I then decided to do a search of this forum.........for the word "Audiophile"...........and to my amazement,.... in almost every post I pulled up, were the words: "I am not an Audiophile,"........almost in a "I Am not ONE OF THOSE" vein, like it was a "badge of shame"....why?
Hmmm,......just who ARE these,.....these,.....Audiophiles anyway?,....what is their agenda?...do they have a mandate?
I decided to dig deeper, and clicked on dictionary .com, for THE definative answer.
Here it is:
Audiophile: "A Person having an ardent interest in stereo, or high-fidelity sound reproduction"
THAT'S IT?.... sounds "innocuous" enough, so where's the rub?
I think EVEN I may be one, after reading that.
YOU TOO may be an Audiophile.......................imagine that!
LT
It's funny how a simple term like "Audiophile" has gained a stereo (a pun
) type for a person that is rather extreme when it comes to every aspect of the hobby or profession.
We all think of "audiophiles" as people that own high dollar cables (that are exotic) and equipment.
I think of an “audiophile” as a person that has a quest trying to achieve a realistic (out of respect to the artist) level of a performance in other words, as close to the original performance as possible.
The extreme piece that is tied to the stereotype is the next level to “upgrade-itus”. Or is it?
I agree tleigh. The search for equipment which most accurately reproduces music - someone for whom audio components are not just appliances, someone who cares about the output from their sound systems and desires to maximize the quality of the output, these are the distinctive characteristics of an "audiophile." I'd guess everyone who posts on this site is an audiophile or they would have bought Bose.
Antique Sound Labs MG S1 15DT, Ah! Njoe Tjoeb with upsampler, Siemens output tubes and Power Kord, Michaura M66s, Vance Dickason Titanic Subwoofer, Mapleshade Clearview Double Golden Helix Speaker wires, Maple Audio Ambience interconnects.
Soney E9000ES processor, Yamaha M80 amp, 2xOnkyo M282 amps, Toshiba SD9200 DVD Audio player, 4 Michaura M55 speakers (modified with Jensen Paper Oil capacitors and Caddock Resistors), highly modified Merak MC6H center channel (2 Axiom 6.5" aluminum drivers, Audiocap Theta capacitor) Mapleshade Clearview Double Golden Helix Speaker wire to center speaker, Monster MiniElect Flat speaker wire all around, Dahlquist PDQ1500 15" sub, and Klipsch LF10 sub, modified Radio Shack Super Tweeters (Audiocap Theta capacitor)
Integra DTC 9.4 Processor, Onkyo M504 amp, Anthem PVA 5 amp, Philips SACD1000 player, Outlaw ICBM, Slim Server, Michaura M665 towers, modified RS Super Tweeters, Modified Merak MC634 center channel (Axiom drivers, Audiocap Theta cap, Mills resistors, cabinet damping), QS8s, M2e back surrounds, SVS 20-39 and Velodyne CHT10 subs.
If you have upgradeitis, you are an audiophile. Live with it.
Holy cow! You have one KILLER system! I bet it sounds phenomenal!
I wouldn’t want to leave the house.
For me, and I may be wrong on this one, but for me an audiophile is someone who spends more money and thought on electronic equipment than they do on music or movies (if you're into HT). Here's a funny article I found on this topic (apologies if it offends anyone):
http://www.cyclesoft.com/Audiophile.html
I spent $900 CDN on cables and brackets
*hangs head* They're all axiom interconnects...and yeah I probably could've gone cheaper, but I know Axiom, now where they came from, and had no hesitation about ordering from them
I just don't mention that a $200 cable connects my tv to my receiver.
- D
That'd be 3 systems, and pretty much staying home is not painful.
I don't think the test for an audiophile is how much money you spend, but your intent, i.e., the search for more lifelike musical reproduction.
Anyone who buys Axiom speakers, I'd consider an audiophile. Among audiophiles there are those who throw their money at the task, and those who try to get the most for the least. Everyone here falls into the latter category, or we'd be talking about our Harbeth's, Reference 3a's, Walsh Ohms, Thiels, etc., instead of Axioms. We'd be talking about Krells instead of used Yamaha M80s, or Outlaw Mono-blocks. I don't think the distinguishing characteristic is being more interested in the equipment than the music, but I do believe audiophiles are more thoughtful and educated concerning their equipment choices.
Those 3 systems I listed up above are each superb. I've heard $40,000 tube amp/CDP/speaker systems which don't sound as good as my modest tube outfit. Anything made by Axiom compares well to speakers costing much, much more. That's a kick, same for ASL tube amps, Ah! CDPs, Michaura (uses Axiom drivers and tweeters), and my highly modified Merak center channel speakers.
Modified Merak MC634 center channel speaker with modified RS super tweeter, Michaura M665 towers ...
Modified Merak MC6H center channel w/super tweeter ...
Why does "audiophile" get a bad rap?
Because things marketed towards "audiophiles" usually represent the smarmiest money grabbing schemes in the industry.
Same kind of idea in a lot of industries... like "car afficienados" (I think I spelled that wrong, ABCD, can you run a spellcheck?) get handed BS like "the new Mazda Miata - we drilled out the brake pedal to save weight in this lean,mean, racing machine"... uh... holes in the brake pedal? That saves, what, a gram? Have a good crunch before you get in the car and you'll save more weight than that!
Ran into Future Shop today to get a 6' S-video cable (had a 3' and some <24') kid catches me buying a Recoton/Belkin/whatever it was and mentions they have a great selection of Monster products right over here.
Just looked at him and said "don't make me hit you" and smiled.
Bren R.
I like Your racing parts analogy..........although by themselves...it seems kinda silly, but...............
it's amazing, (no matter what you race) how much these miniscule "tweeks", IN TOTALITY, create "the racer's edge"......sometimes the difference between"racing",............ and just driving around.
I wonder if this principal can also work in the manufacture of audio products?
Let's see...what else?.....oh yeah..I don't have "spell check".....sorry.
About Monster products......you really should go back to that store, and see that "salesman" again............I don't know if You are aware of this or not, or if You have any portable audio, but Monster now makes Batteries!!!!
Although I don't have any, (I saw some AA's the other day in Circuit City) I Am sure that like ALL of Monster's other products, they will cause a subtle bass improvement, as well as improved sound. (Monster: in portable audio now)................
heh heh.
LT
You make an excellent point about the term being viewed negatively. My circle of friends view me as an "audiophile" and as having "golden ears", and do not understand my hobby. As you mention, they have their own hobbies, and I sometimes do not quite get them! But, we accept and do so willingly without ill will.
I have always viewed "audio" as a hobby, and attempted to get as close to realism with the pieces in my systems. If that meant looking at alternate/different views on technology, than I would do so with guarded optimism. I have a scientific background by nature and profession, but still believe in my ears to a certain point. If you have the means to purchase more expensive equipment, and that is what you choose to do believing that you are closer to your promised land (and I am sure we all have different end goals), then that is wonderful.
However, the mind does not always remain open when something conflicts with our views. THAT is a shame, as even if you cannot/do not share the views, it can only broaden your experience level when attempting to judge. Too often there is a war of words over differing viewpoints. These are caused by many things, but I read them all and try and gain something from them. I may not agree with all the points, but that is by choice, experience and done with an open mind.
Anyway, I have and do own an array of equipment, some of which has been mentioned in this thread. I attempt to remain realistic in my pursuit, and do not "wear it under anyone's nose".
Ok, enough rambling!!!!
How did page one of this thread get so W..........I..........D.........E?
Can Someone fix that?
1st pg.is a big pain in the arse to read.
It's what happens when people post pictures that are too large...
Or when people's resolutions are set too low... Looks fine to me at 2048x1536 and even if I lower to 1600x1200 just a tiny bit of scroll. I do have to admit that on my secondary display (17" LCD at 1280x1024) there is signitificant scrolling required... But that's what my 21" CRT is for.
Obviously, a computer attack from the "way too big picture posters", a little known, anti-Audiophile splinter group.
Sure, 21" screen, no problem, but on my 15" widescreen laptop, it's still a little wide.
Try downloading Opera (they have a Mac version). Opera offers page scaling that also scales the pictures, unlike IE and Netscape that only change text size. Opera also has mouse gestures and countless other bonuses to make browsing easier, but there are too many to name. The only complaint I have about it is that some javascript pages give me trouble. I guess maybe Mozilla Firefox would be a good alternative for me (but I'd have to give up my prized mouse gestures).
DJ,
Opera, IE, and FireFox all include autiomatic image scaling features, but none of them work with INLINE images. That feature only works when you view a linked JPEG in its own window.
Sorry, I posted those pictures from photobucket - wasn't thinking about size. It is a pain.
In reply to:
Obviously, a computer attack from the "way too big picture posters", a little known, anti-Audiophile splinter group
hey now.. i am a proud member of that group.
so, to save you stress of having to click and scroll..
i will start a new sentence underneath the other.
it makes it much easier.
i could make you a short list of the offensive picture people..
but, why bother. there are plenty of other things,
in this world,
to
get
mad about..
dont
you
t
h
i
n
k
?
bigjohn
In reply to:
DJ,
Opera, IE, and FireFox all include autiomatic image scaling features, but none of them work with INLINE images. That feature only works when you view a linked JPEG in its own window.
Actually pmbuko, that is incorrect. I am aware of the VERY ANNOYING "feature" in IE which I disable that scales down all images opened directly (not limited to JPEG). I am glad that Opera does NOT do this by default. I think firefox does the annoying thing, and I prefer Opera anyways, as I like my mouse gestures. The Opera feature shrinkes the whole page to basically scale the virtual pixels to pixels displayed ratio. If you have opera, hold down control and scroll the mouse wheel to activate page scaling. Alternatively, on the main toolbar where there is a 100%, change that around and see the images change size as well as the text, in proportion.
[Walter Sobchak]Huh. I did not know that.[/Walter]
Cool feature.
Yea - it's definitely one of my favorite things (along with being virtually immune to most exploits such as VB exploits).
Once an audiophile is released from prison and finds a place to live, don't the local police have to notify any parents with HT of their adress?
No scrolling here.......course dual 21" LCD's has that advantage
... 3200x1200 BABY!
- D
In reply to:
3200x1200 BABY!
with an annoying gap in between the first 1600 and the second 1600.
dude, just because it's 3200x1200 doesn't mean I can't maximize to one monitor.
it's 1600x1200, then another 1600x1200. I can drag stuff back and forth, maximize to one, send it to the other maximized.....you have to see it
I think I'll stick with my 2048x1536 + 1280x1024... Unless I get another 21" crt and make it 2048x1536 + 2048x1536... Although I'd have to scrap my LCD for that, and I do still like LCD for certain things (text basically).
Gee, I thought I was cool with 1280x1024 + 1024x768. Suckage.
Daph, that's not what I meant. You KNOW it would be much cooler to have the same screen area contiguously.
Ah, but that's still nothing. THIS is cool:
Yeah, the second I see a
photo of one of those things instead of a rendering (just the like the 3 screen one a few years ago) I'll believe it's not vaporware.
It's not vaporware. It's just really expensive. Check out their site:
http://www.9xmedia.com
There's a PDF with pics
here.
Oh, fine. The other one was.