How rare is an audiophile
I’ve been extremely busy lately and not had a chance to sit back and listen to music on my system for a few weeks. I’ve streamed my favorite music in the car and on a small JBL Flip-4 portable speaker; which by the way “punches way above its size class.” I continued to enjoy music whenever, wherever, and however i can during this “dry spell.”
So now its 5 am Sunday morning. I know i’ll be spending most of the day listening on the JBL when my wife and I drive out to a lake house we bought recently and are furnishing and getting ready for 4 generations to enjoy lake life this summer and for years to come.
I’ve let my system warm up and hit play on my CD player. I now find myself in total bliss listening to Chris Standing’s newest CD “The Lovers Re-mix Collection.” The effect of the quality of the sound of the music my wife and i are enjoying right now with a cup of coffee is hard to explain, but it brought literal tears of joy.
I started thinking, how many people are like us? What % of the population are audiophiles (whatever your definition of an audiophile is)?
I know the answer is heavily dependent on which country you live in. I live in the US along with ~332,000,000 fellow citizens (please, lets not get political on the meaning of population or citizen).
Are we the 0.1%ers? Are there ~332,000 audiophiles in the US?
i’d be interested in what others think about how rare our species is.
I have friends who buy records. I have friends who "spin vinyl". I have friends who listen to music. I have one friend who is an audiophile. In my town of 200K+, I would guess there are less than 20 actual, bona fide tried-and-true audiophiles. Certainly no audio clubs here, though we do have one store that sells high-end gear. They make most of their sales on car stereo. |
@waytoomuchstuff 🤣🤣🤣 |
There are tons of people out there who "like" music. They want their music close by, but don’t want to be tethered by the physical or mental constraints of being an "audiophile" and/or music "lover". The diference being that the music "lover" is comfortable with prioritizing the music listening experience to the degree where it becomes (literally) front and center, and fully engulfs the senses for some period of time. Those attributes, accompanyed by a high level of appreciation for, and curiosity about, the equipment that makes it all happen completes the definition of the term "audiophile" in my opinion. I enjoy observing people involved in other hobbies, and the parallels to audio enthusiasts. We’ve got waytoomuchstuff parked in our garages, too. We are involved in a ridiculous number of car events. Here we go: Street Rods, Muscle Cars, British Cars, European Cars, Ford Powered Cars, Shelby events and, of course, Sunbeam Tigers in particular. What’s the point here? I think we can’t ignore the element of nostalgia as a factor. in the audiphile community. Most of us (?) have a emotional connection to our (past) lives, the music, and the gear. Younger people today are living in the present and haven’t experienced the historical content in just how important music and equipment is in their lives. Just like those basic biological functions, it may be decades before they appreciate what they had. And, one more point. Whenever I get the opportunity to snag a good example of vintage hifi gear, I like to grab them and hang on to them for my grandkids. I’m also finding that I, literally, can’t give the stuff away. Times are different now. |
