un-becoming an audiophile
Yes, the title is what is sounds like.
I remember long ago, as a boy, I used to be able to enjoy music without picking apart a track. is the bass tight? is the midrange clear and life-like? is the treble resolution spot on? What about imaging/sound stage?
Most people have this very same superpower - not being an audiophile. They can play a song from the worst earbuds, laptop speakers, or even computer speakers - and enjoy the music; even sing along. They aren’t thinking about "how it sounds" or scrutinizing the audio quality. Actually, they couldn’t care less. They can spend their time on other life pursuits and don’t feel a need to invest big money (or much money at all) in the hi-fi hobby.
Any psychologists or scientists in the building? (please no Amir @amir_asr ) since you are neither! ...despite the word "science" being in your domain name - audio science review.
Please, I beg you. Help me get away from this hobby.
Imagine - being able to enjoy all of your favourite music - while still achieving that dopamine rush, along with serotonin, and even oxytocin - the bonding hormone, which can be released while listening to songs with deep emotional messages, or love songs.
We’re very much like food critics or chefs in a sense. We want the best of something (in this case, audio) I’m sure michelin star chefs face the same thing in their own right...can’t enoy or even eat the food unless it’s up to a certain standard.
When we audiophiles want to listen to music, we often play it on a resolving system, so as to partake in a a "high-end" listening experience. We often pick apart music and fault the audio components in our system, cables etc. All of this takes away from the experience of enjoying music as a form of art/entertainment. It has been said that some famous artists don’t even own a high-end audio system.
I gained a great deal of wisdom of from the documentary - Greek Audiophile. In it, we have audiophiles from all walks of life. Their families think they’re crazy for spending all this money on audio. They say it sounds "nice" or "real" but still can’t justify it.
I think it’s all in the brain. If we can reset our brains (or me at least) I can still enjoy music without needing a great system for it.
- Jack
@all ....*S* We all seem to love music, regardless of what form(s) we consider that to be. Not so uncommon ground. How and what we choose to enjoy it Best? That’s the part that gets classified ’hobby’. We just put the word in all CAPS, and have at it. ;)) Have fun out there... |
@petaluman yeah... good point. Live music can also help one appreciate what one has at home... like when I was at a symphony and suddenly realized: Hey, this sounds just like my Heresy IV ...! Gave me even more respect for the Heresy experience. Also, I was watching I think it might have been a Audiophiliac video where he visited a gathering of "audiophiles" in some NYC apartment and asked the question "What is snake oil?" and one of the most telling responses was "It's all snake oil. I don't spend money on gear any more. None of it is real. What's real is hearing live music, so that's what I spend my money on." |
At least on this particular evening, I truly believe that it was my love of hi-fi that prompted me to dive into music-making myself. When I was a kid I loved my records and hated my piano lessons in equal measure. In keeping with this, the moment my piano teacher quit on me in frustration, I stopped playing the instrument and went to the stereo, full-time. I only got back into playing music when I got a guitar-playing girlfriend in high school. Suddenly, I was doing both with equal intensity. That’s yet to stop, this despite the fact I’m now, so to speak, a trifle elderly. I now have a kick-ass stereo and a zillion records & CDs. I stream to break the band. I’ve got several excellent guitars, a very good piano, and a pretty good banjo. I sit at the piano and diligently work on my Beethoven and Chopin...along with jazz & blues. On the guitar I’m an unrepentant John Fahey/Paul Simon style finger-picker. It all, though, ultimately stems from the love for music that my audio equipment is ultimately, truly responsible for. And oh yeah, I'm totally dedicated to my fiddle. |
