Should people with no turntable or reel to reel be considered audiophiles?

Forget about the DAC for a second. Most of the errors are made in the transport and simply passed on to the DAC. Buffering the data won’t help because the errors occur when the laser tries to read the nanoscale data spiral. The errors occur in the first picosecond. The errors are buffered right along with everything else. I’m not saying some DACs are not better than others. It’s just that DACs aren’t smart enough to know when they’re being fed garbage. Garbage in/garbage out. 🔄

What condition is it, that no matter the discussion, you always bring up the same argument whether it applies or not?  I wasn't feeling quite 100% last night. It must have been that low pressure depression over Kansas. There is no way it was the beer and the excessive sun ... not to mention I don't live in Kansas because low pressure depressions cause one not to feel 100% so it must have been that.

I thought I felt someone’s hot breath on my backside.

Yes. It's the mindset that counts so any kindred soul with a smartphone and headphones is welcomed by me.
MP3 or FLAC.

Those days when it was mandatory for any audiophile to have a turntable may have gone, but even after 140 years of the gramophone, spinning vinyl has not lost its charm. 

Some diehards may argue that the true age of the audiophile was back in those days when amps and speakers had to be built from kits due to sheer cost.

They may have a point, or maybe not. Anyway, we salute you. You lead the way.

From that perspective it is a bit hard not to feel that these kids of today don't know they're born.

But wasn't it always? 

Dear @sokogear : " can’t deliver all the information of a continuous information flow from a cartridge that is not sampled. "

really? because the cartridge is not sampled but neither continuous .

and you insisted again:


""" Within the range of human hearing, vinyl delivers a CONTINUOUS stream of sound.

Tape/reel to reel is better - that’s what they use to capture the music in the studio and it delivers a continuous stream of sound as well. """


As all of us you need to follow learning to undeerstand your mistakes in your posts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIQ9IXSUzuM

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/why-no-interest-in-reel-to-reel-if-you-re-looking-for-the-ultimate-soun/post?postid=1959719#1959719

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/the-very-best-sound-direct-to-disc/post?postid=1963764#1963764



"" 500 TT playing a good pressing will provide deeper, warmer sound ..""


warmer sound? deeper? ( please explain this. ), that does not exist in live MUSIC seated at near field position as is where are the recording microphones.
To understand it you only need to listen at live event SPLs to a horn/trumpet player at 3m. from him or a drum set at the same distance or a piano at 2m. and you will know that warmer is only in your imagination. That’s what you like but not the true sound of real MUSIC.

MUSIC is not sweet or heavy colored, gentle, swetness and the like. MUSIC is agresive, with brigthness, powerful, with natural colorations, fully dynamic, great rythm, up-front, full emotive, etc, etc. More like digital alternative.


I agree with what @roberttdid posted and ceratinly with @bdp24 where yes hardware is an " evil necessity " to listen MUSIC and at the end system hardware is only a tool.

The audiophile likes to listen/enjoy MUSIC it does not matters the kind of system hardware. It’s not the system hardware what defines if you or any one is an audiophile but if he likes MUSIC.
The hardware can gives you different quality sound levels on that reproduced MUSIC.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.