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
@whart thanks for suggesting those key treasures of “ Spiritual Jazz “ what seems as a decade ago…. I know a guy @sbank you should Know…. And again thanks for connecting me with Max…. Lord of great pressings…. oh the list is long…. But wait….. I’ve got to fit the mold of lonely… ”ain’t nobody loves me cept my Momma… and she could be Jiiving too “… BB |
@russ69 , lurching back to your comment on system cost v. enjoyment of same, the 'time v. money' issue can lurk... ....and sometimes you may have those other objects and/or activities that lurk, beckon, or demand attentions of sorts....in a way too similar a fashion. I just grew tired of pursuing the bleeding edge and the cost of the tickets. Now I just amuse self and enjoy the music, the 'means v. why' and the latter still wins. ;) |
At a certain point, while reading the forums and learning about audio, I realized I did not want to be an audiophile, just as you’ve put it, to the point where it intrudes on simple enjoyment of music. By then it was too late, I had already become one. I had to make a conscious decision that there are times to be critical and times to put that aside. That doesn’t mean that the critic is subdued completely, but it’s a habit that can be developed that puts the critic back into proper perspective. Like meditation: one decides to sit quietly for five minutes without thinking, and simply ‘be’. A thought occurs, ‘Did I pay the gas bill?’ The mediator says, ‘I can think about the gas bill all I want in five minutes, but now I will not.’ The Buddha spoke of it as an exercise, like lifting weights, but for the mind. So, I’m still always hyper-critical, but I don’t dwell on it as I used to. I focus on the music and all the things my system does well. I recall the years of listening to garbage-quality audio and the really cool thing I’ve put together that makes music fun like I needed it to be. Incidentally, I initially misread the topic as ‘unbecoming OF an audiophile’, like ‘unbecoming of an officer.’ And I thought, Bose? |
@bolong …nothing could be further from the truth! Most musicians could give a crap less…they live music. |
