The definition of an audiophile is when the LOVE of music inspires you to delve even deeper into the mystery of music through the use of artificial reproduction. For all the infatuation that we have for music, no one that I am aware of has ever managed to explain how and why music affects us as it does. To have the power to bring that into our daily lives is what inspires one to become an audiophile.
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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The term has pretty much been lost to a universal assignment addressing people with more money than brains. I prefer to consider myself a musicphile because I just do what any actual audiophile should do, and listen to what sounds good to me. But the majority of people can't come to terms with this because the latest magazine is telling them that they need a brand new piece of equipment that somehow plays audio so differently then every other piece of equipment made over the last 50 years. I ran into a guy on Reddit who kept going on about how his particular headphones are some of the best ever and his conclusions are backed up by math and experience. He just couldn't come to terms with the fact that we all hear differently and that his affection for his headphones is not universally shared. *shrug* |
If you are on this site, and participate in discussions about gear in order to improve your listening experience, you are an audiophile. People change the meaning of words to suit their own purposes, which is hilarious, because words have specific meanings. “I care about the music first, so I’m not an audiophile” I love the air of superiority and the not so subtle subtext of “I’m better than you because I only care about the music” Makes me laugh. Wonder why audiophile became such a dirty word? Is it ego? Do people think they are beyond being defined? Is it fear or insecurity? Why do people feel the need to change the meaning of a word to suit their own needs or shortcomings? Nowhere, in the definition of the word audiophile, does it place a hierarchy on its use. Meaning, you can care more about the music than how it sounds. But if you care at all about the reproduction of your music, guess what. You’re an audiophile. From Websters dictionary:
audiophilenounau·dio·phile ˈȯ-dē-ō-ˌfī(-ə)l : a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction
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