Who has the Sickness, the Phile or the Non-phile?


So often I find myself resenting the fact that there are only so many hours to listen to HiFi and I think of those that don't hold this resentment.

I used to think anyone who wasn't obsessive simply lacked exposure, but even though I have introduced many, I have discovered no takers.

At audiophile club meeting it seems to me that the attendees are mostly gear-heads and posers; they say "Ooo & Ahhhh" to anything presented and you can see 1 or 2, maybe 3 in the seats nonchalantly looking over in the direction of the ooo-ers and Ahhh-ers; those few get it. And before anyone is defensive because they know, lashes out that I'm this or that....I don't care. These are obviously my opinions and I'm looking for the opinions of others On The  Question  At  Hand  and not whether or not I am a deluded self important snob.

So, if it is not a lack of exposure, is it a lack of ability?

Surely we are all different, short, tall, smart, obtuse, near sighted, far sighted. Are the ears and or the brains of an audiophile just wired differently than others? Can non audiophiles just not hear what we hear?

Was it childhood exposure that caused this difference in wiring? My father had Altec Voice of the Theater horns and the accompanying gear. Was that it, being exposed to HIFi during brain development? My daughter gets it and boy was she pissed when I sold my VPI TT. I never got along with my father, but was he responsible for my affliction by introducing me to superior sound as an infant?

And, who are the sick ones, the philes or the non-philes?

 

TD

128x128tonydennison

To my surprise... my two best friends and son in law can care less about good quality sound....My two friends run Karaoke on a regular basis and my son in law says he isn't interested in that audiophile stuff. They all really like the sound of my system for the clarity but not interested in having a system themselves. I can't understand it. To be fair I let my two friends listen to some cheap but very good speakers and they went out and bought them but they say they don't listen to music much at home. It made me realize that being an audiophile is relatively rare.

It made me realize that being an audiophile is relatively rare.

I understand, as 2 channel music hasn't changed in over 70 years. It started out as 3 channel, went to two channel and got stuck. The stalwarts will dig in and defend the beach but that war was basically lost after CD sales imploded.

Welcome to the next level of "audiophile" where you have a screen in addition to your speakers. You system will playback both music and movies and check out the growth in the US:

and the global market? Fuhgeddaboudit:

I don't think it is worth the price of admission today to enter the "audiophile" kingdom. Check out this article and you'll understand why the "audiophile" is becoming a dinosaur in the age we live in:

https://www.musicradar.com/news/an-audio-engineer-explains-why-dolby-atmos-music-is-definitely-going-to-supersede-stereo

My son gave me a pair of B&O headphones he was not using, and I’m  impressed at how great they sound. I’m sure the rabbit hole goes much deeper in fidelity, but it struck me at how comparatively easy it would be to achieve awesome sound and have no furniture hassles, room treatment, dedicated nothing, especially since I listen alone when I am listening most critically. 

 

Growing up with little, I always dreamed of an expensive stereo, and other possessions that let others know I had made it, it just was not the road for me. These days my faith drives me to love others deeply, and myself less, and at  this moment, I’m tearfully grateful I ended up here. Take my stuff, not my peace!
 

I hope you all find peace with stereos and otherwise!
 

 

I have found that the great majority of people from any walk of life are not appreciative of HI-FI sound or equipment.  They invariably will say things like "that's nice", or "sounds good".  I do not take is personally, the hobby is not that popular. And there is no converting people into audiophiles usually.