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How "Tribal" are we?

So after several noted books about human "tribalism" have come out, identifying the tribe(s) you belong to has become all the rage, I thought it might be interesting to discuss how tribal we as self identified audiophiles have become.  Originally aimed at corporate organizations, the concept has branched out to include societal groups that either we identify with or others do it for us.  The political applications are obvious....but it got me thinking about tribalism in the audiophile world.  It wouldn't be a tough intellectual exercise for us to readily recognize the existence of the tribal mentality in our chosen hobby.

Tubes or solid state, bipolar or mosfets, stock or designer fuses, wire (wow think of all the "sub-tribes"), moving coil or moving magnet, electrostatic or moving coil speakers and lest we not mention analog or digital, to condition power or not, etcetera. 

After participating in many threads here, it does seem that many of us if not all, to some extent, identify with members of these and other tribes within audiodom.

Honestly, what made me connect tribalism to audio is the controversy? over Tekton speakers and whether or not those identifying with that tribe are real audiophiles or just pretenders because "speakers that inexpensive can't be up to our audiophile standards" (say that out loud with your best Thurston Howell III accent!)

I've never heard any Tekton model but I'm not going to exclude them from audiophilia out of hand.  I for one, would love to listen through a pair of Double Impacts to see what designer Eric Alexander has been able to bring to market at such a modest price.  If they are as good as many owners have attested to here then, as Joe Walsh would say, "Welcome to the Club"!

Back to the overarching topic:  tribalism.  Picking on myself, I would belong to the moving coil speaker tribe, the modification tribe, and moving coil cartridge tribe as well as the Vandersteen tribe.  I think there is something to be said of this communitarian identity that we humans like to adopt for ourselves and others.

One last thought;  when does a tribe remain a tribe and when does it cross the line to become a gang?


128x128hifiman5
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,971 posts
 
I would like the audiophile community to NOT indulge in this movement, at least in the form of ascribing labels or tribes to those who hold views contrary to your’s. As you assert, most of us are, as individuals, much more than any tribal label can describe.
Too late. As long as one is granted anonymity through threads like this, the reptile part of their brain will come to the fore, and then, all bets are off. This thread won't last long, despite the best of intentions.

All the best,
Nonoise
minorl
1,016 posts
 

I run into this quite often.  Tribalism.

Be it music types (Jazz, Blues, Classical, Rock, R&B), audio equipment type ( solid state, tube, digital, analog), cars and car enthusiast (Fords, Chevy, Mopar, BMW, Mercedes, etc.)

People have their favorites. 

As far as music goes.  I really don't care.  As the saying goes, I like music that sounds good.  I grew up with Classical, R&B and Jazz.  Played violin (first chair), sax, oboe, etc. The house growing up was filled with Jazz and R&B and some Rock. 

To each their own.

Equipment. Tube or solid state?  Don't care.  I'm an Engineer and design/designed equipment.  Solid state sounds just as good as tubed to me.  If it is designed and built well, that's all that matters to me.  I can think of some great solid state equipment that I would love to have.  Same is true for some tube equipment. 

I have listened to some of the best solid state and tubed systems.  All I can say is if they are true to the recordings and the system disappears and all you hear is the music, then I'm there.

I've restored Mopars and own a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda completely restored (five year restoration).  I can say in my own Mopar car club there are those that dislike anything non Mopar.  To me that is ridiculous.  A nice classic car or nicely restored car is a wonderful thing.  I always ask them, so you don't like Chevys huh?  What if someone gave you the keys to a completely restored 1963 Chevy Split Window Corvette. Would you not take it??  To a person, their answer is, they would absolutely take it.  Or a Tucker or a 34 Packard, or a gull wing Mercedes.

Life is too short for tribes.  Enjoy the day, enjoy the ride and enjoy the music. 

nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,971 posts
 
@minorl , your mention of a '70 Barracuda brought back some memories. I had a '69 Barracuda S340 that I only kept for a couple of months. Fast forward some 35-40 years and one just like it pulls into a parking space as I'm walking by and it really hurt to see it in almost, show room condition. I should never had sold it. 😫

All the best,
Nonoise
minorl
1,016 posts
 

Nonoise;  I get that all the time at car shows.  I also see that here on Audiogon.  How many of us complained about equipment that we absolutely should never have sold or gave away that today we really regret doing so?

enjoy

mulveling's avatar
mulveling
2,053 posts
 
I'm not tribal by nature; rather, I'm a closed-minded loner, hah! Though I'll likely high-five anyone I meet who sees things in a similar enough light.

Some of my "teams":
  • Analog over digital
  • Tubes over SS
  • Tannoy speakers
  • Koetsu cartridges
  • Stax headphones
  • American tube amps
  • Solid-core silver cables

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