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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
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,011 posts
 

I dont think that my audio system at 700 bucks is a waste... 😊 In the opposite compared to it , many systems may be a waste...

And i am not sure that i will go with the consumers masses...😁

I dont listen much movies and when i listened them their musical "content" in general with few exceptions is enough for me on my computer...

I dont need an A. I. wired house with one musical system in each room...

Music is more a sacred hour for me in a sacred place than a 24/24 hearing moment in all rooms ...My wife listen only to silence... 😁

Then stereo system + BACCH filters can make obsolete home theater system and music in each rooms at least for me...

When the masses will go to hell, i will go to heaven... I joke here... 😉

 

I appreciate the reply, you are an excellent wordsmith and yes, I may have been a bit dramatic :).

Going back to the OP, I believe the "phile" has the sickness because both the demographics and technology of audio reproduction has changed. Investing heavily in a two channel system is a waste when compared to investing in a high end home theater and a smart home. Both the sales data I posted and the link to mixonline data (above Elvis) shows this is the direction that both the consumers and the producers of todays media content are going. 😎

 

dabel
1,657 posts
 

Both the sales data I posted and the link to mixonline data (above Elvis) shows this is the direction that both the consumers and the producers of todays media content are going. 😎

Yeah, I’m not one to question this. For the long haul is TBD perhaps.

@kota1 if I ever felt the urge, splurge and submerged myself into those waters of yours a particular Speaker Brand has been decided on.

Must return to that one word … ugh, laziness! Okay, well maybe money has its rightful place somewhere.

mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,011 posts
 

Fanaticism consists of redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.

George Santayana

 

Here the aim is music +acoustic...

And replace fanaticism by marketing.,..

tonydennison's avatar
tonydennison OP
408 posts
 

@frankmc195 

+1.

 

Someone else said its an individual pursuit and that is true

kota1
2,706 posts
 

@dabel

Personally I’m much to simplified / lazy at this point in life at tackling such a project but that’s just me.

It’s not just you, this is why "philes" are sometimes infected with OCD. You spend and chase that last 10% in pursuit of ___________ (fill in the blank).

@mahgister has hit the bullseye IMO, music + acoustic.

Even the most hardcore, spendaholic philes seldom convert their beautiful listening rooms to a soundstage/recording studio type setup (like I did🔊, see the pics in my system page).

Enter the home theater market. Multiple in wall/on wall/satellite speakers and receivers with built in DSP for the lazy among us that want everything, now, on a budget.

If I were single and living in a 1 BR apartment today would I drop $30K plus on a "stereo". LOL.

But I wouldn’t blink dropping $10K for a Sony HT A9 Home Theater sytem with one of their BR players, TV’s and receivers.

Is it as good as an audiophile chrome mountain of gear and sound cannons, no.

Is it "good enough"? See what Andrew Robinson says. BTW. I chose Sony in this example because they coinvented the CD. the SACD and DSD. They have a music label and a movie studio. They generally have a finger in all of the media we consume on both the production and consumption sides. For the cheap and lazy among us, its a great soilution. If you still live with your parents or in a dorm get their Signature Headphone stack.

Andrew Robinson

6:10 mark "traditional stereo setups, they can't touch this"

https://youtu.be/eHcjvdGbaa0

 

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