What makes / defines an audiophile ?

Carl's definition: One who needs to get musical satisfaction through listening to accurately reproduced recordings of music. Most of the world gets musical satisfaction in other ways, and is generally satisfied with listening to a recording in a way that is less faithful to the original recorded event (duhh)..........I didn't know I was an audiophile until I was 26 years old. In some ways, I'm glad that my parents weren't into "audio without compromise", because I came to appreciate the process in a more well rounded way in adulthood, rather than knowing it as a child, and just taking it for granted for the remainder of my life (like my future children likely will...and also like quite a few audiophiles have known the hobby).

Carl, your post has warmed me to this topic. What did it was your reference to the non-audiophiles - because that is where I think the secret lies. You see, I notice that what seems to distinguish non-audiophiles for me is that they never actually concentrate on the music. They come into your house and ask to listen to the stereo then proceed to ignore it, or sit in a corner somewhere, or do something else. They do the same if you bring a system over when you are helping them to buy one. They also do this with their own systems - use the music as background or play it mainly while they are in another room. And then it occurred to me that their ears are as good as (or maybe better than) ours. They have bought stereos and have found them difficult to listen to, so they don't. Instead they are in the habit of listening subliminally, since that is the best way for them to get past the distortions of their Bose systems and enjoy some music. So when you become an audiophile, you cross that divide and start to concentrate on what you hear, because now, you are trying to get a stereo together that sounds like the real thing. And that is when the trouble starts. Of course it doesn't sound like the real thing at all and so the long and neverending quest begins....

I agree, but take issue with two things: 1) There's no use in assuming that "most" non-audiophiles can hear as good or better than those of us who are (I do realize you were using that to make a point, though). Not that I'm assuming that they can or cannot, just that there's no need in assuming either way. 2) That a 'phile who has a decent system that "OF COURSE DOESN'T SOUND LIKE THE REAL THING AT ALL"....of course, that is not really what you mean. They DO sound LIKE the real thing to varying degrees based on what aspects of reporduction are concentrated on....I believe what you meant to say was that WE OBSESS ON THE FACT THAT THE SOUND OF THE SYSTEM is NOT the ACTUAL live performance. It all depends on what your subjective definition of the word "LIKE" is.....or for that matter, what your definition of the word "is", is...(chuckle chuckle).

Hi Carl - I hoped I would draw you into some dialogue. Thanks, by the way, for explaining what I meant. Perhaps it is the obsessing over details that really defines an audiophile after all. As you suggest, I was musing that maybe non-audiophiles heard better than us and knew not to bother - merely for amusement purposes. On your second point I meant to imply that when we first cross the divide and buy our first serious hi-fi and sit down to really listen, it does not sound at all like the real thing - and it is that which takes us off on the audiophile path. I would not wish to suggest for a moment that anyone really hears better than you, or that your system does not sound like the real thing - except perhaps to get you going.

Yes, I understand your main point, and I apologize for not reiterating it: that once we finally sit down and actually PAY ATTENTION to the sound of the stereo, we realize that "work needs to be done". BUT WHAT MAKES US "WANT" TO ACTUALLY SIT, LISTEN, AND PAY ATTENTION IN THE FIRST PLACE?.....See below..........I cannot tell you how many times I'll have someone over, they'll sit, and listen for 3 seconds, and then start talking. Or the other thing, is they'll ask to hear something specific, and then the MOMENT it starts, they just want to start searching thru the collection for something else to hear...ALL THE WHILE PAYING ZERO ATTENTION TO THE MUSIC THAT IS PLAYING. Basically, it's attention deficit disorder, based on their conditioned repsonse to a learned behavior, whenever music is playing...it seems to me................................However, if you then say that "what defines the audiophile, is ONLY the obsession"...then that doesn't give us enough credit for the CAUSE of the obsession in the first place: to get better sound because of THE LOVE OF MUSIC...we want to get closer to the music, MORESO THAN DO NON-PHILES. For instance, if we are talking the vast majority of young women: how many of them like dance music, and are obsessed with dancing to it, in "clubs", at around 110 dB, and for hours at a time, until they collapse from exhaustion???? And who do they dance like this with? OTHER YOUNG WOMEN....."it is about the music", except maybe unless you're on a small country so far out in the sPacific nOcean, that you feel the need to take up ship building as your "obsession" instead...LOL!! I'm joking, sort of. I welcome this dialogue, Redkiwi.