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
@russ69 +1 ... my living room system entertains not only myself but the dozens of social event guests I have over in the course of a month, and it was pieced together for a couple grand tops... everybody enjoys the sound, and indeed is probably the best sounding system almost all of them hear on a regular basis; they bop and I see heads turn during some passages, cocking their ears to hear familiar music at a quality level practically unknown to them. Point being, if there's a will there's a way to find a good satisfying musical system for not much money. |
I can be happy as a pig in mud listening to Dynaco A-25 , NAD 3020, and a 2 head Nakamichi cassette deck… total expenditure $ 618 and $218 of that was in 1986…. ( that’s a joke for the NAD fans )… I also have a love a True Temper flyrod…. Why deny yourself the salt fix of hot dogs or cold cuts ?who am i to say…. |
@simonmoon @tomic601 did you read the comments under how-do-you-stop-house-guest-from-damaging-your-speakers It was a collection of the most selfish, egoistic, cynical, disrespectful attitudes I have ever seen.
Is that a serious question? Yes, of course, generally I do. Many of you live in a bubble. You have a very different prospective of the World. Yes, hobbies and the way those hobbies are pursued tell a lot about people. The way people present themselves on this forum tells a lot about their character. I did not come to a conclusion when I first heard of audiophiles with a lot of money that some of them are selfish/self-centered people. I came to this conclusion reading this forum. Of course watches, wine and cars are different categories, less lonely hobbies than collecting audio gear. Not all rich people care mostly about themselves. But it definitely helps in becoming rich. It also helps to feel good about themselves that they donate money to some causes. Does it mean I judge altruists? No, I am just pointing out that you can spin everything both ways. We probably disagree about everything, and that’s fine, I have 0 intention to convince anyone. And again, I am always open to be entirely wrong about everything. That’s what I often am.
I don't even know where to begin. Ask any shrink. Or just use simple logic. The person's personality determines the hobby, not the other way. The person's philanthropic tendencies won't really be affected by the hobby, I never said that. Of course, long term hobbies can change people, so there is that. But the basic idea is the personality determining both the hobbies and empathy |
