Good thread, Eric. A lot of thoughtful posts here. I particularly appreciate the posts by audiozenology and almarg. I will say that a few years ago I realized that the quest for perfect sound reproduction is ultimately pointless, because whenever I attend a Symphony Concert I realize that no home system could ever reproduce the sensation of being in a large hall . Ultimately home listening is an illusion,albeit a potentially very satisfying one. Different equipment highlight different aspects of that illusion. Once a satisfying recipe is found, stick with it until your preferences change, but accept that reproduction of music is inherently limited.
Who else here is frugal?
If I had to describe myself as an audiophile in one word, I'd like it to be frugal. Iconoclast may also be right, but if I'm different it may be due to being frugal. There used to be a TV show called The Frugal Gourmet. To paraphrase him, the food he cooked wasn't necessarily cheap, but he'd get as much value as he could out of what he was doing.
Being an iconoclast doesn't hurt either. Listening for yourself and buying what you like, regardless of what reviewers say and how expensive something is also points us towards this.
What about you? Do you feel better saving money than spending it? Then tell us about yourself. :)
Being an iconoclast doesn't hurt either. Listening for yourself and buying what you like, regardless of what reviewers say and how expensive something is also points us towards this.
What about you? Do you feel better saving money than spending it? Then tell us about yourself. :)
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When one of my non-audiophile friends had an idea of how much I spent on my music audio system, he referred to me as someone who had "more dollars than sense". Of all the comments in this thread, this one hit home the most (to me): "Nothing wrong with carefully spending your hard-earned money." I have made lots of "investments" in my life, financial, marriage, our kids, our home, etc. and when I experience the joy of having an audio system that I really enjoy, I'll add that to the list of "money well spent". The one thing I'd add...I have a relative who trades cars very frequently. I don't remember him owning one for an entire year. He's never "satisfied". So no matter how much he spends, his "investment" never seems to pay off. |
Why would that annoy you do alll expensive things you find annoying? I don’t subscribe to Stereophile in large part because they don’t cater to my price range or home type. To compare it to car magazines, at least Car and Driver spends as much time on vehicles I might buy as they do on super cars I never will. |
hombre" Some expensive things are worth the money. Some aren't. It only requires the intelligence to make the distinction." Value is subjective not objective so you're apparently superior intelligence won't help you in this argument, claim, and assertion. |
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