Audiophilism is a hobby

@engineears - thanks for your lovely post : ) - I’d just like to say, that to many, the journey and the end are one and the ever evolving same - that every part of being simply lost in the music; the search for that transparency and realism of which you speak; the mistakes and leaps of improvements; the point at which one finally says they have finally arrived, before discovering an entirely new level of realism, dynamics and timbre - are all rolled into a single profound trip of change that never ends. I’ve found for myself that it’s never one or the other at any step of the way, but that the process itself is a series of beginnings and endings, of arrivals and fresh departures. It would be awful to have my journey come to any kind of end! : )

in friendship - kevin

If a hobby doesn’t matter and is something just done for fun, not a necessity, then everyone here could give up their stereo, go back to a clock radio and be happy?

Or maybe we should all just sit around a camp fire and sing songs. I'll bring the marshmallows, haha.

Music lovers use gear to listen to music.

Audiophiles use music to listen to their gear.

I'll admit I'm guilty of being the latter.

I guess it depends on your definition. For me, audiophiles passionately pursue the accurate wholistic reproduction of the music. As opposed to high end audio enthusiasts. My definition leaves a very large percentage of folks out that are pursuing a “sound spectacular” that does not reproduce the musical experience. To me audiophiles are the purists.

I consider my system an audiophile system. Not making instruments into soloists where they are not… not bringing out details out of proportion with the whole of the music. Not hitting you with an artificial wall of bass that would not be there if in real life. A system that reproduces the emotional connection of live music… focused on rhythm / pace and midrange with proportional details.

Music lovers… and I have known a number, simply do not care about the fidelity. They love the notes and order in which they come out. One such music lover I knew owned 3,000 albums and a portable record player with one speaker that he brought in to the record store where he worked. This was a typewriter sized device with a plastic tune arm, red and white box with a handle.

@ghdprentice 

I’m just curious.  How do you define “rhythm and pace?”