As a shrink and an audiophile, I can say that in my experience, many philes are "o.c." But, so what...to be successful, we need an optimum level of o.c. Sucessful people tend to be more "o.c." than non-sucessful people. Further, empirical evidence does not reflect the totality of human experience. In audio, hearing is believing, which, ofcourse, is subjective. My spouse, who is not an audiophile(far from it), can readily identify differences sonically, between componants and cables, as well as "tweaks". Lastly, audio is a great hobby, bringing untold pleasure and fun, as well as being a great source of meeting like-minded folks, who, as mentioned earlier, tend to be more sucessful, but more importantly, more fun!
Are Audiophiles Obsessive Nuts?
The following is from the website of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/select/0898/tube.html
Agree? Disagree? Why?
“High-end equipment is aimed at the most obsessive audiophiles, famed for worrying about small details which most people ignore or cannot even hear...
“The rise of high-end sales was influenced by the statements of subjective audio reviewers, whose nontechnical and rarely rigorous listening tests at times encouraged near-hysteria among magazine readers. A positive review in a powerful magazine such as Stereophile can trigger hundreds or even thousands of unit sales, and turn an unknown manufacturer into an instant success. A negative review can sink a small firm just as easily (and has done so)...
“Much of high-end is conducted in a gold-rush fashion, with companies advertising exotic connecting cables and acoustical treatment devices while making wild claims
about the supernatural results achieved. The result: negative comments from the professional engineering fraternity. Items have been published in the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, in electronic-industry journals such as EE Times, and elsewhere that attack the methods and conclusions of the audiophiles...
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/select/0898/tube.html
Agree? Disagree? Why?
“High-end equipment is aimed at the most obsessive audiophiles, famed for worrying about small details which most people ignore or cannot even hear...
“The rise of high-end sales was influenced by the statements of subjective audio reviewers, whose nontechnical and rarely rigorous listening tests at times encouraged near-hysteria among magazine readers. A positive review in a powerful magazine such as Stereophile can trigger hundreds or even thousands of unit sales, and turn an unknown manufacturer into an instant success. A negative review can sink a small firm just as easily (and has done so)...
“Much of high-end is conducted in a gold-rush fashion, with companies advertising exotic connecting cables and acoustical treatment devices while making wild claims
about the supernatural results achieved. The result: negative comments from the professional engineering fraternity. Items have been published in the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, in electronic-industry journals such as EE Times, and elsewhere that attack the methods and conclusions of the audiophiles...
- ...
- 40 posts total
- 40 posts total