Audiophiles & music-have you got it wrong?

Ben and company,

Clearly it's all about the music, no other logical reason to accumulate quality gear. That being said, time marches on and also becomes a very rare commodity so expanding an already volumonous music collection can't always be a priority. If you're fortunate enough to have the discretionary income it's entirely possible you don't have the leisure time to enjoy it. Here's an example, a guy with a job that requires LOTS of travel and three kids (ages 10, 12, 13).

10 year old daughter: in the winter she swims indoors three days a week, goes to Girl Guides once a week, takes karate twice a week, and participates in indoor soccer once a week. In the summer she swims daily, diving meets twice a week, and soccer three times a week.

12 year old daughter: in the winter she plays ringuette twice a week and does her karate twice a week. In the summer she swims daily, diving twice a week, soccer three times a week, golf lessons once a week.

13 year old son: in the winter he plays/practices hockey daily. Golf in the summer. Listens to the same shit on the computer as Albert's son does, thinks about and chases girls 24/7.

The government is unreasonable and won't let them drive yet, so a parent shuttles them all over the place. Yep, this is my life and many other 'Goner's have similar schedules and demands on their time. We still enjoy the hobby and love good music. I have a ton of music I don't have time to listen to, yet still buy more, maybe I'm an optimist?

The complaints about price regard direct/personal and indirect consequences. I can not get in to the validity of the indirect, but after subtracting it plus subtracting the number of complaints about the price of audio gear, I'm not sure CD cost complaints are worth mentioning in Ben_campbell's music v. gear context. Even less so when people argue the principal of the overpricing and doing the math for $3-4 over a hundred or two CDs. Some people are set to be cheap with CDs and not gear, but that sliver means nothing to me. Just people.


"There's no good music anymore" irks me, actually. I find it pathetic. My theory is the claim is sum of the following: (a) "Good" music, whatever that is, is harder to get a hold of, obviously for a number of reasons. (b)"Sometimes the music evolves and it's the listener who is left standing still." by Onhwy61 is apt. (c) The disdain for societal direction is probably another turn-off, another barrier, cummulating in to too much effort to find what is worth while. This is sharp contrast to the good old days, I'm sure.

"My collection is now worth close to double what my equipment is.
Am I nuts or do I have things in perspective?"

Even imagining the literal extremes of both ends, I really think this question should be limited to one's self. People talk about "it" being about the music, but the "no good music anymore" claim and certain posts is evidence that audio is intrinsically enjoyed more than music exploration.

Relating to Sean's first point....
I budget approximately $35 per paycheck for new or used CDs.
Obviously I'll get over budget sometimes. Due to stores unwillingness to carry much stock, sometimes you must buy when you find a desired item. When I was younger I budgeted for 2 albums per paycheck. Cds cost a bit more, but I still budget for four recordings or more a month.

I read music mags and newspaper reviews. Ocassionally I'll try some artist I have no knowledge of. Most recently this was Eric Truffazz. Sorta Maynard Ferguson meets King Crimson with a healthy nod toward the early to mid 70s Miles Davis bands. He has four CDs out on Blue Note. Electric jazz. I have no tendancy toward conservatism in my purchases of music and in fact new artiasts are in demand here! Dave Douglas and Bruce Barth are two recent discoveries for me.

My point is I see a different natural tendancy than Sean. Mine is to maintain my music habit at approximately the same level as 30 years ago. Minimum of four recordings a month and I'm always seeking new artists. I also use the Internet to locate concert dates by my fav artists, get the tickets and hotel reservations. It is much easier than in 1975! Yep...I still try to see Santana, Mike Brecker and the like whenever possible. However, I do not have as much time to pursue music as I once did. But then I do work full time now.

And yes Ben, the cost of the music purchased over the years drawfs the retail price of my current system and in fact the retail of all systems together that I have owned. I sell or trade equipment and music I do not like. And no...my stereo does not sound like live music...probably never will. Apples and oranges imho.

I'll probably never have as much invested in gear as I do music, but I've come closer than I ever thought I would just a few years ago. Which actually disturbs me - not only because I think of audiophilism as being fundamentally silly and wrongheaded in many ways even while I pursue it to a large degree, but also because this trend is probably at least partly the result of my not liking current music offerings enough to keep me occupied going to concerts and buying new recordings. I spend less and get more records now than 20 years ago, simply because almost everything I buy these days is scrounged up used. Still, it's really impossible to ever run out of worthwhile music you don't own, and I do buy a fair amount of reissues and comps.

What I really need to do is get a better computer and connection so I can discover music online, since radio where I am is useless nowadays. It's not a method of exporation I enjoy thinking about, but I'm so limited in my ability to exploit it right now I don't really know what I'm missing. Or maybe, like 20 years ago, I just need to get a part-time job in an independent record store (or what the hell, open up my own). Except that being exposed to or wading through too much musical crap depresses me, and I no longer care about being hip or current. I figure that at my point in life (40 this year), I finally deserve to be a curmudgeon, and am blessedly free to hate almost everything, no matter how many try to tell me it's good. When it comes to art, I think there are limits to how worthwhile what's produced outside of a thriving and organically evolving millieu can be, and the forms I love most are way past their golden ages. (BTW, that also mostly goes for art, literature, architecture, industrial design, cinema, TV, and radio. I told you I was a curmudgeon.)

One thing I am looking forward to that audio technology can assist me with is fully experiencing the record collection that I already have. I've got many thousands of 45's that I would like to play more, but it just takes so much time and effort, when even having to flip over LP's can be a distraction. I intend to get a real old-fashioned jukebox one day, but would also love to eventually get into the kinds of digital hard-drive based storage systems I think are coming down the pike. Additionally, I forsee myself seriously considering adding some kind of digital satellite radio capability to my system (and car) in the future, because who wants all the music you hear to be stuff you own?

Anyway, I've pissed off enough folks around here before with my diatribes about stereotypical audiophile listening habits, and I don't think we need to go there again on this thread (and especially not for the people posting to it, for whom such bile generally wouldn't apply, thank goodness).

P.S. - Nice going on the Lips show Sean. Sorry about the sound, hope you've managed to get over it :-)

I'm on the opposite side -- music outweighs the cost of the hardware (by far, I should think). OTOH, as Jeffloistarca notes, I wonder when I'll have the time to listen to all the software I have say, once again; the rate of incoming music outstrips the listening, so there's an accumulation of stuff.

After all, music is like a book: it's important to grab and have at home. One day, we'll listen to (read) it. If we don't have it, there's no chance of enjoying it, is there?