How Do You Live The Audiophile Life

I know this can sound a bit forward but honestly if you have to ask the above question then your not going to be an audiophile. It's not just about what equipment you need to own or how to get started and what needs to be learned but rather it's part of your being from an early age on (a state of mind) and usually is an obsessive hobby that don't always go away in time. I know audiophiles that have downsized in an attempt to control their compulsive behavior but as soon as they see a piece of gear they love it will rekindle their love for this hobby.
Audiophiles are music lovers but the gear is an integral part of the equation. No worries though, people that are involved in other hobbies are just as compulsive.

phd,

Many good points there. They certainly resonate with me.

I think it got me early as I remember being aware of how the sound of our school audio system changed for the worse when they replaced the previous huge speakers with smaller ones.

I guess I was already a dormant audiophile at the age of 5/6 even though I couldn’t do anything about it until after university. Without the money to buy the equipment it would have remained dormant.

Agree that it doesn’t go away with time. Even now the craving for bettere sound remains, despite experience teaching me of the many false roads that may thwart this desire.

I also went through downsizing, mainly because the money I was pouring in wasn’t related to any perceivable increase in satisfaction and the shift in priorities after marriage and children.

The biggest difference to me was when I realised that a lot of what I had read about CD players, amplifiers and cables was misleading. It was all implied and suggested, not promised, so I have no legal recourse. The better dealers left all of the purchasing decisions entirely down to me, even when in moments of doubt I sought a second opinion.

I will always respect them for that.

So nowadays I look for good recordings, this wasn’t an issue in my vinyl days as you just bought your LPs locally, and keep an open mind towards a future loudspeaker upgrade.

You’re also right about other more expensive hobbies. At best I have probably spent around £20k all in on audio over 35 years.

My brothers and cousins have spent a whole heap more on their cars, various BMW coupés (yuck!), executive Honda’s (nice) and in one case a fully equipped Lexus (wow!).

cd318, thanks for sharing your personal history as an audiophile, it sounds like you have come full circle. I'm not trying to diminish the original poster of this thread but rather I would like to add that we all accept and enjoy anyone that shows an interest in this hobby but just sharing my own thoughts on what I think constitutes an authentic audiophile.

Interesting post cd318....Thanks...