2. misc-audio
  3. 162189-139155

Why do some think "music" (not gear, trading, etc.) is the ultimate end?

A recent thread spurred a debate about the word "audiophile." Again. It went round and round in the usual ways.

What I don't understand is why so many take for granted that loving music is superior to loving gear. Or that gear is always -- and must be -- a mere *means* to music, which is the (supposedly) true end.

But if you stop and think about it, why do we love music? It gives us enjoyment.
Isn't that why people love gear? The enjoyment?
Or even, to push the question, buying, selling, changing gear? That's for enjoyment, no?

So, it raises the difficult question: Why do some think that "music" as an "enjoyment" is better than "gear" or "shopping, buying, selling, trading"?

Not everyone believes this, but it is the most prevalent assumption in these discussions -- that "love of music" is the end-which-cannot-be-questioned. 

So, while music is the largest end I'm personally striving for, I do realize that it's because it brings me enjoyment. But the other facets of the hobby do, too. And I'm starting to realize that ranking them is an exercise but not a revelation of the "one" way everything should sort out. It's all pretty subjective and surely doesn't seem like a basis on which I could criticize someone else's enjoyment, right? 

What do you think? On what grounds do you see it argued that "music" is a *superior* or *ultimate* end? Whether you agree or not, what reasons do you think support that conclusion?
128x128hilde45
erik_squires
16,144 posts
 
I have no dog in this fight, as my live and let live position is that how you enjoy a hobby and why you enjoy it is so very personal.

Some people fish for the sport, others for the eating, others to get away from people.  I'm not here to judge them either.
hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,974 posts
 
I have no dog in this fight either and I have seen pictures of the insides of  amplifiers with people saying things like look at those beautiful mosfets or those beautiful toroids.

I suspect that many people are so afraid that the music is going to get lost that they make it the only or exclusive thing that is valued in the equation... but function and design are part of it too. At least for me.
oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 
I got 5 minutes to do everything I can. This is how it’s gonna play out..

The vinyl, 3 pictures, the dog, the bunny, the wife, and my hat, kinda in that order. Insurance will have to fix the rest...

You can have every car on the planet.
because I want a chauffeur and a Roller. Back seat please.

With a very nice stereo, that plays RtR, Vinyl and anything else I want. gosh I can dream...

After the mess got have some tunes, might as well have some nice one. Onward James..

WAR "Born in a Hurricane", that will do...

Regards
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
I don't know that the music is any more important than the gear- or the other way around. How could it be? As Robert Harley explains in his so excellent it should be required reading The Complete Guide to High End Audio, music is unique among communications in that the medium and the message are inseparable. Music can be written on a page but it is much more than a string of notes. Systems that are better are literally playing different music than lesser systems. 

Everyone knows this. Its one of the most common things people say with a good upgrade, they are hearing new things, things they never noticed before, etc.

Recently four audiophiles drove up from Portland to hear my system. The whole time I'm asking them what do you want to hear? Finally at the end one asked me to play my one special show off the system recording. I was actually kind of flummoxed. If the system is good enough its no longer the system you are showing off. The job of the system is to reproduce music. Not make. Reproduce. The whole idea of showing off like that, well think about it. Its like Arnold posing. He's showing off his muscles. But there is a lot more to Arnold than big muscles. Proved it by becoming a movie star and governor. I could play Bela Fleck Flight of the Cosmic Hippos, show off awesome bass. Not a lot of music content. Might as well be playing test tones. Flex, look at my guns! (Anchorman.)    

Of course music not gear is the ultimate end. How can anyone be so dense as to not see this? The ultimate goal is a system that disappears leaving only the music. Which cannot happen without a really good system. So of course the system is the ultimate end. How can anyone be so dense as to not see this?  
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,230 posts
 
Are you a tourist or a traveler?


More to discover