Observation: Passion vs Obsession

I side with Tablejockey.  Audiophiles are not athletes honing their skill, but consumers buying things.  I applaud the passion and even the borderline OCD behavior, but let's not pretend it's a creative pursuit.  My comments do not apply to those who DIY and design/build components.

I tend to move to be a bit obsessive during my once every seven year upgrade cycles. But then just passionately enjoy the music in between. I want to get through the upgrade cycles as fast as possible… but they take about a year.

gear changers abound….. music lovers also… not often the same people….7 years now on most of my system, very few urges to change…much….

Oh, it’s definitely a creative pursuit. Yes there are audiophiles who are just "consumers buying things". Definitely there are such people. For sure. But we judge by our highest aspirations not whatever random crap might happen along the way.

Easily the worst system I ever heard was a guy who was the epitome of a consumer buying things. In his case everything he bought was Stereophile Class A. He only bought used, and whatever was the biggest discount from new that was how he judged how good a deal it was. Total consumer mind set. Worst system I ever heard. Could hardly stand to listen to it.

They came over one night, his wife sneaks up to me and confides, "I could listen to this all night!" Because unlike him I am more than just a consumer, I am an audiophile. I love the sound. I am the furthest thing from "consumers buying things". Don’t want to have to buy anything. Do everything I can think of to avoid buying things. Route cables, lift em off the floor, plug em into special outlets, put em on springs, on and on.

The consumer, his wife can’t stand what they have. Mine, which "consumed" by the way a lot less, she loves.

The difference? One is consumerist. The other creative. Creativity rules.

Music has been around as long as there have been humans. Flutes seem to have been invented tens of thousands of years ago. Drums long before that.


I started my journey with piano lessons when I was 3 1/2. I also had a small suitcase record player (with a three  tube amp in it and a brown fuzzy platter with a manual arm) on which I used to play a pile of 78s that was a foot tall. I used to spend hours playing that thing.


Its never stopped. I think its that way for a lot of people.