Are Audiophiles Obsessive Nuts?

No more "nuts" than any enthusiast. What about boating, cigars, wine, carpenters, car, antique and art aficionados? When people sense the beauty in something well done they are attracted to it by nature. Someone once said "God is in the details",well... I think God is everywhere, but perhaps a little bit more noticeable when we encounter a refined effort. Anyone with a passion for something understands this, either consciously or intuitively. Engineers can sometimes answer "how", but never answer why?, so let's hope the close minded blockheads join the party, they are missing all the fun, and sometimes seem to enjoy spoiling the fun for everyone else. I don't need an engineer to tell me when music has touched my soul, and I don't need anyone to tell me that the equipment I select doesn't make a real contribution towards my experiencing that brief moment of bliss.

.......re "the gold rush syndrome". A statement like that in a EE mag. probably makes for interesting (but very misguided) reading for the intended audience, but is just so much establishment BS, IMO.

While it's true good magazine reviews can be a huge benefit to especially new, or small companies, it's not true that just because a piece of gear gets a good review does not mean that it's "bad", ie that seems to be what the EE is implying. Personally, I've found that good reviewers are almost always pretty accurate, and further, their conclusions are usually a recommendation to audition, not to buy.

In my early audiophile years, I did give more weight to (especially) Stereophile's reviews, and was even guilty of buying by review. And it worked very well, but now I don't need any mag. reviews, 'cuz I can do my own reviewing-- and do. As I've been responding to the EE's inflammatory rhetoric, I haven't yet looked up the recommended wesite, but will. Cheers. Craig.

At least one point that Plasmatronic makes is entirely correct -- there is indeed a herd mentality in audio that is at the very least, interesting to watch. Over many years, I've seen styles and tastes in audio sway back and forth, each time concluding that prior ideas were not true to the music, but at long last the current ones finally work. I remember back in the 70’s, MOS-FET devices were supposed to make all tube and other SS equipment obsolete. The reviews on the first units to use them were sensational and full of over the top hyperbole, and everyone ran out to buy, and manufacturers to produce, MOS-FET audio equipment. After a few years, the reviews started to change, and the general feeling was that the sound wasn't real enough, and in general, the prior technology was much better. So back went the pendulum. Did it actually take several years to finally hear what was inferior? Not likely, but the rush to both own and praise that equipment which is regarded so highly by the "professionals" apparently took precedent over basic, enjoyable listening.

We’ve certainly seen this pattern repeat itself over and over, and its not likely that it’ll ever end. Its very hard to make the conscious decision to purchase an expensive piece of audio equipment that isn't highly praised by the audiophile public without thinking that somehow your ears, or your evaluation methods are flawed. I wrestled with this myself when I upgraded my system last year, preferring the less touted equipment over the most highly praised brands. Interestingly enough, the applause for the ‘best’ equipment two years ago is somewhat quieter now, and the discussions I read about those pieces these days include far more balanced opinions.

From what I can see, the population of true audiophiles – those that know what they want and spend the effort and money to get it -- is quite a bit smaller than the general buying public. As a consequence, good marketing, good press, and a good reputation are essential to the high end audio business. Looking at this from a non audiophile perspective, its no wonder that the conclusions drawn are that audiophiles don’t actually hear more than the rest of the public, they just spend more and believe they can tell the difference. Now, being an audiophile I know this isn’t true, but then again…

Cheers,
Ken

Plasma; I just spent some time in the high-endaudio.com website. It impressed me as being just one audiophile's opinions and rhetoric-- no more, no less. My own opinions are more valuable to me than his, and that's the way it should be. Cheers. Craig.

Nice discussion. He says unnaturally interested. Feels pretty natural to me, though I would have bought a description that used the word "cursed". I think sound just makes a different impression on me than it does a lot of other people. I have friends that think I'm nuts. But they, like the EE, don't seem to hear sound the way I do.

I may not be the bestest critical listener, but I can paint a picture in my mind what sounds looks like. Sort of translate sound to an image like. I like that picture to look a certain way. I don't know too many that also can build such an image (hence my presence in this forum). I also don't know when it happened, or how, it just did. But I don't feel sorry for them, I feel sorry for me.

I sort of wish I never noticed a difference between sounds. Because once you start to, you can't not. Once you are at the point where you can't not, you are ruined, and it gets expensive. Shitty sound (or sound that may not be to your preference) just doesn't work. I want it the way I like it, and no other way. Obsessed? or human?

Could be the same for any other thing, food, drink(time for a joke--I'm not an aficionado of wine connoisseurs), cars, whatever, GOLF! (talk about obsessed wacko's for a hobby, most of 'em I know) Right?, otherwise there wouldn't be such a thing as a cafeteria, and we'd all be eatin white rice and water for every meal.

EE's may just not be impressed by music and sound the way I am. Fine. I'm not impressed by clever math formulas like they are. I think in this sense, thay have no business commenting on something they do not understand, not about the equipment and math, but about people. Small details are everything in anything. It's not about better, it's about what I like. I agree with one, it is a chase. I for one, wish I would finally find it.

I also think maybe audiophilia (to borrow a term) does have A LOT to do with stuff that has nothing to do with sound and how one hears it. All else equal, I want the thing costing $10 more, but looks trick, and sounds less to my preference (by up to 2-3%), than I do the yuck job for less that sounds slightly better. By the same token, I don't care how good it looks, it better sound good too, or it can't stay. But again, personal human preferences that just as easily translates into anything else. I'm a walking dichotomy.

One last thing. I have already said this on numerous occasions: Stereophile sucks for anything other than the letters to the editor and the pictures. On the whole, the ink is useless. Even when they do say something, they usually say nothing. The only other waste of ink that compares is with legal documents.

Again, nice discussion.
Chris