You enjoy recorded music enough to also enjoy accumulating the tools needed to make listening to it a more refined experience. You may actually be having fun doing that.
You're not a true audiophile unless...
I can't tell you the number of posts I've seen that start with something like this. Why are some people so anxious to qualify this like it's some sort of title? Being an "audiophile" isn't a concrete or objective thing like the citizenship of the country you were born in or being an MA. It's reflective of your hobby or taste, much like calling yourself a "foodie." Can anyone else chime in with some of the more ridiculous qualifications people have come up with for calling oneself an "audiophile?"
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"Audiophile" is now similar to terms such as "conservative" or "liberal." it means so many different things to so many different people that it has become a throwaway expression. 1
: one that is or is designed to be thrown away: such as
a
: a free handbill or circular
b
: a line of dialogue (as in a play) de-emphasized by casual delivery
especially : a joke or witticism delivered casually
2
: something made or done without care or interest
3
: a child who has been forced to leave home or who has run away from indifferent or hostile parents
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The label "audiophile" can be a badge of honor or invoke grimaces and/or mockery depending on whether interactions with others are complimentary, helpful, or condescending. When opportunity arrises, and you enthusiastically whip out your smart phone or tablet, display photos of your audio system, vacation high points, pets, and grandkids (in that order), you just might be one of "those audiophiles." The term "audiophile" implies a degree of elevated knowledge and/or status related to the reproduction of music at home compared to the "average" music listener. If everybody had exceptional music systems and could do a deep dive into high performance audio, we would not be referred to as "audiophiles", we'd just be called "normal." General prerequisites for being an "audiophile" would include a highly sensitive "antenna" to pick up musical nuances often overlooked by "others", low(er) tolerance for errors and omissions in musical reproduction, an excellent command of vocabulary related to musical reproduction and equipment, and the ability to clearly communicate those observations and experiences with others -- including "non-audiophiles." While owning expensive gear will certainly accelerate one's "audiophile qualification status" it is no guarantee that status will be sustained if the other qualifications listed above are not satisfied.
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