@rods84 Great insights.
I think that in a large part people are looking for a reason to shop. The high end store is like a shoe store for them. There’s always one more you haven’t tried on.
The other part is conditioning, and the third part is interpretation. I think audiophiles get conditioned to always be looking for the imperfections, as well as the air, and sense of space. The "microdynamic luster" and loose touch with the message in the notes. We develop a skill set which in the end, may not help us. I used to work in theaters and was constantly looking for signs of dirt on the film, or scratching, focus or visual jitter problems. I lost the ability to enjoy the movie that was in front of me. When I realized the same was happening with me in music I had to deliberately stop doing that.
I do feel somewhat like it’s a type of therapy to listen to great recordings. It’s like going outdoors and looking at mountains that are so far away you’d have to cross state boundaries to get to. It’s virtual reality for the ears. For me that therapy is very important, but still, my favorite albums don’t have a lot of this at all. My favorites are in the lyrics. I’m happy when the two mesh, but it’s not always there.
I also think that audiophiles are quite trendy in what they consider "neutral" sounding speakers. Some of the most highly touted audiophile speakers have poor frequency response, but having been declared the kings, all follow along.
I see this all the time. Music lovers enjoy coming over and listening to music with me, and audiophiles feel it’s not all that. I’ve also been to lots of shows with poorly treated or untreated rooms where I could barely stand to listen in, and yet there were many listeners raving about the sound.
I’ve also seen the desire for "discriminating" hardware. It sells better, though it’s harder to match. After I analyzed a commercial speaker’s crossover and realized the "discriminating" nature was a deliberate hoax I’m done with that. I only buy gear that plays well with others. This includes my cables. I make my own interconnects out of pure silver, and silver connectors and plain stranded copper speaker wire. It’s not that there may not be differences, I just decided this is my limit, I have to make myself happy with this as opposed to being on the endless loop.
And this too is psychology, the psychology of being happy. We can choose our happiness to some degree, but always leaving it up to external factors is rarely the answer.
Best,
Erik
I think that in a large part people are looking for a reason to shop. The high end store is like a shoe store for them. There’s always one more you haven’t tried on.
The other part is conditioning, and the third part is interpretation. I think audiophiles get conditioned to always be looking for the imperfections, as well as the air, and sense of space. The "microdynamic luster" and loose touch with the message in the notes. We develop a skill set which in the end, may not help us. I used to work in theaters and was constantly looking for signs of dirt on the film, or scratching, focus or visual jitter problems. I lost the ability to enjoy the movie that was in front of me. When I realized the same was happening with me in music I had to deliberately stop doing that.
I do feel somewhat like it’s a type of therapy to listen to great recordings. It’s like going outdoors and looking at mountains that are so far away you’d have to cross state boundaries to get to. It’s virtual reality for the ears. For me that therapy is very important, but still, my favorite albums don’t have a lot of this at all. My favorites are in the lyrics. I’m happy when the two mesh, but it’s not always there.
I also think that audiophiles are quite trendy in what they consider "neutral" sounding speakers. Some of the most highly touted audiophile speakers have poor frequency response, but having been declared the kings, all follow along.
I see this all the time. Music lovers enjoy coming over and listening to music with me, and audiophiles feel it’s not all that. I’ve also been to lots of shows with poorly treated or untreated rooms where I could barely stand to listen in, and yet there were many listeners raving about the sound.
I’ve also seen the desire for "discriminating" hardware. It sells better, though it’s harder to match. After I analyzed a commercial speaker’s crossover and realized the "discriminating" nature was a deliberate hoax I’m done with that. I only buy gear that plays well with others. This includes my cables. I make my own interconnects out of pure silver, and silver connectors and plain stranded copper speaker wire. It’s not that there may not be differences, I just decided this is my limit, I have to make myself happy with this as opposed to being on the endless loop.
And this too is psychology, the psychology of being happy. We can choose our happiness to some degree, but always leaving it up to external factors is rarely the answer.
Best,
Erik