Nietzsche and Runaway Audio Consumption

Not sure the spirit N speaks of exists within any man, yet within an audiophile! Even the most pure of our desires, which is to enjoy music played at high sq level is unworthy of being placed at top of spirit hierarchy.

This is the kind of philosophy that divides, and elicits hubris in those who judge themselves in highest spirit realm. Is the billionaire for whom spending a million on some material good means relatively little of higher spirit than the person who saves and dreams about a single relatively low priced material good?

The spirit N speaks of likely only exists within the ascetic, and no ascetic worth his salt would be caught dead with stereo system.

I dont think N. idea is about ascetism....

I think it is about freedom...

I think N. will be interested in acoustic but not by the price tag of the gear or by upgrading obsession...

I think N. loved music and he will mock  sound obsession linked to anything save acoustic principles...I think N. will experiment to had the best results with the less price...

I think spirit was defined rightfully and simply in the OP post : freedom and the link we entertain with all that exist without mental block of fixation...

Poor or rich, the burden is the same, free yourself from money or from poverty....

Ascetism in audio anyway could be the sign of satisfaction, it is mine.... Noit a dorced ascetism though...

I dont judge people who can afford one million bucks system and be free...

Exactly, the freedom from desire.

Interested in acoustic without the material need of audio equipment. In other words, the sound of nature.

The ascetic is seeking maximum freedom, freed of desire one is absolutely free, at least as free as a material body can be.

Yes, the burden of desire burns within rich and poor, the point I was making is the very same possession the rich man acquires without hesitation the poor man dreams about. Does this mean the rich man filled with less desire?

Nietzsche and Wagner met in 1868 at a party in Basel, and talked all night about their common passion for Schopenhauer. They were close friends for the next several years; Nietzsche's first book, The Birth of Tragedy Out of the Spirt of Music, is in large part a polemic in support of Wagner, who was extremely controversial at the time. In a nutshell, Nietzsche "argued" that Wagner's music incarnated the vitality of the ancient Greek culture all good German Romantics admired, but translated into an appropriately German idiom. Nietzsche was an overnight guest when Wagner presented his "Siegfried Idyll" to Cosima (not yet his wife) at their villa Tribschen on Lake Lucerne on Christmas Day—her birthday—in 1870. The following Christmas, Nietzsche was again, and for the last time, Wagner's guest when he presented Cosima with his own birthday composition: "Nachklang einer Sylvesternacht"—which, apparently, reduced Wagner to laughter. This, and several other Nietzsche compositions, are available in various performances; three of his more successful brief songs were recorded by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. All of his musical compositions rank as juvenilia, however.

What Nietzsche meant by "spirit" (Geist) is complicated, but in this passage it's not a mystery, and hilde45 has quoted it tellingly. A perennial issue on this forum is the relationship between a love of music and a love of music reproduction. The latter is the real focus of "audiophilia," for better or for worse. But the former is the "spiritual" reason for audio equipment in the first place. Pride in one's audio system is what Nietzsche is criticizing here; development of one's taste by means of one's audio system is what he is trying to praise.

@snilf You have it exactly as I understand it. Under this formulation, development of one's taste may be problematic. What is in good taste to one is bad to another. Is there some objective definition of good taste, thus, good spirit?  Also, in order to attain this high order of spirit, does it have to be cultivated, is it not innately within all of us? Does the mere fact of living in material world, full of desires corrupt us from ever achieving this spirit?

Is the audiophile goal of greater love for music and reproduction of music corrupted by the need for material goods, meaning the equipment,  for achieving that goal? Does this mean there is direct correlation between quality of equipment and degree of love for music and music reproduction? In other words, the higher sound quality one can achieve will increase their love of music and it's reproduction?

I think that may be the dilemma. As audiophiles,  I presume even those with high spirit, those seeking high quality systems for the sake of music, are continually seeking greater connection to the music. Is this a never ending quest? And if the quest is never ending is that a truly representative of this spirit N is speaking of? And speaking of quests in general, seems much room for destructive elements, even if quest undertaken for right reasons.

I"m not trying to negate what N is saying here, I do believe there can be an intentional cultivation or development of spirit. Just not so sure the quest doesn't corrupt us all to some degree. My other issue, as previously mentioned is the inherent divisiveness of attributing spirit to some and not others, and who's to judge it.