Audiophile what does it mean, it`s sounds perverted.

[Earwax]

Audiophile could mean many things including being out of control and having an addiction to buying audio gear regardless of just how adulterated or distorted the music winds up being.

Wouldn't it reach more minds if the words audio purist was used in it`s place ?

After all is said and listened to it`s the purity of the artists music that is the most important and should have the main stage when explaining someone who enjoys music as it was intended to be herd... ?

We could start revolution and fight back against the mainstream over lords if we could agree on a proper word to explain the simple truth.

 

[BillG]

Audiophile could mean many things including being out of control and having an addiction to buying audio gear...

I refer to myself as a high fidelity enthusiast instead. The science and engineering is proving that it's certainly a much less expensive approach to the hobby.

If people wish to spend tens of thousands of dollars on high-end amplifiers and whatnot, that's their prerogative. If I wanted such things, I'd have them myself, but I choose to spend my disposable income elsewhere. However, I'm confident, because of the science and engineering, that I'm not missing out on exceptional sound quality by doing so.

 

[Philbo King]

an ear fetish?

 

[DVDdoug]

There's nothing wrong with the word... Someone who loves audio.

But the audiophile community has been nuts for a long time so I don't call myself one. But our host here, Amir, calls himself an audiophile and he's totally rational.

Most of my life I wasn't in the financial position as most audiophiles and I wasn't hearing what I thought they were hearing. I was only hearing things like bass, treble, noise, and distortion, and I didn't know what they were talking about with all of that audiophile terminology. So even before thinking they were crazy I didn't call myself an audiophile.

I used to think they had better hearing than me* so I didn't think they were crazy. Then I found HydrgenAudio.org and started learning about blind listening tests, and I found out that most "audiophiles" "don't believe in" blind listening tests. I realized that they weren't hearing all of these magical things they thought they were hearing. Blind listening tests seemed perfectly logical to me! Arnold B. Krueger (RIP) was one of the inventers of the ABX box (in the 1970s) and he was active on HydrogenAudio. Once I asked him if he had expected the ABX box and blind ABX testing to be so controversial. He was NOT surprised. That's when I realized that "audiophiles" have always been nuts.



* Some people DO have better hearing than usual, and some of it can be learned. Amir is a trained listener. And some musicians have perfect pitch, etc. But most of it is imagined and most audiophiles are old (like me now) and they have at least some age-related hearing loss. BTW - A lot of musicians and audio engineers have some hearing loss from long-term exposure to loud music.

 

[IngMishael]

Audiophile could mean many things including being out of control and having an addiction to buying audio gear regardless of just how adulterated or distorted the music winds up being.

Wouldn't it reach more minds if the words audio purist was used in it`s place ?

After all is said and listened to it`s the purity of the artists music that is the most important and should have the main stage when explaining someone who enjoys music as it was intended to be herd... ?

We could start revolution and fight back against the mainstream over lords if we could agree on a proper word to explain the simple truth.

it sounds perverted cos it is perverted at its core. I refuse to be labeled one. and the perversion is G.A.S disguised as excitement for purchasing new stuff

 

[Robin L]

Audio=sound.
Phile=lover.
CoPilot search says the term first appeared back in 1951 in "High Fidelity" magazine. The term has degraded somewhat, usually in reference to folks who obsess over gear and accessories.

 

[mhardy6647]

oh, it's perverse, all right...

 

[Palmer]

And I felt bad being called a Ferraristi... Oh well.

 

[wadude]

Proud audiophile here. Music first but always fascinated with the gear.

 

[respice finem]

I tend to say objectivist vs. subjectivist.
Not every subjectivist may be an audiophile, and an objectivist is not automatically audiophobic either.

 

[mhardy6647]

I fall in a weird place either between, or orthogonal to, objectivism & subjectivism.
I love music, though... all kinds.
I enjoy the hardware, too, though.

 

[Subob]

I fall in a weird place either between, or orthogonal to, objectivism & subjectivism.
I love music, though... all kinds.
I enjoy the hardware, too, though.

I think this is where I'm at, too.

Since I believe music, however it is heard, essentially elicits an emotional response, I don't believe it can be 'measured' as such.

I take with huge pinches of salt all the word salad and flowery language I've read in 'reviews' of hifi gear over the years. Quite frankly, I find a lot of it comical.

As such, I chose my username here based on the fact that I'm neither a strict subjectivist or objectivist.

I've always loved listening to music throughout my life, both live and recorded, and have always devoted more of my spare income to it than perhaps your average Joe or Josephine would be prepared to do. On the flip side, I skimp on many things most people will gladly spend money on. Just different strokes for different folks.

Have I ever called myself an audiophile? Not a chance!

If we played that psychologists game of word association, the moment they said 'audiophile', I'd reply, 'pretentious'.
That's where I'm at with the word I'm afraid.

 

[DVDdoug]

Since I believe music, however it is heard, essentially elicits an emotional response, I don't believe it can be 'measured' as such.

The music isn't (usually) measured. The equipment is (sometimes) measured to make sure it can accurately reproduce the recording.

 

[mlsstl]

"Audiophile" has the same problem as many words -- the dictionary definition often doesn't have much to do with the emotional baggage that different people attach to the word. Think of the word "discrimination" which, for many, brings up a very negative vibe. However, it also means you can tell the difference between things -- it is very good to be able to tell the difference between fresh and spoiled food. However, when someone uses a word like that, our personal emotional definition often pops up first.

For me, I haven't used the word "audiophile" in reference to myself for a long time. Within the audio community it often conveys a snobbery with which I don't want to be associated. Outside of the audio community the word doesn't really mean much to most people. I just refer to myself as a person who loves and enjoys music played on a good system.

 

[Keith_W]

The interesting thing about "audiophile" is there are objectivists and subjectivists who don't want to be associated with that term.

Objectivists don't want to be "audiophiles" because that term is associated with all sorts of snake oil. They are afraid to be painted with the same gullibility brush as the speaker cable club.

Some subjectivists don't like that term because they claim - disingenuously or not - that it's about the music. Like Johnny Darko.

I enjoy both audio and music. The latter did lead to the former, but these days it does not matter. So what if my interest in music preceded my interest in audio by a few years? In reality I would have gotten into audio sooner if I wasn't so broke when I was young! So I am happy to be associated with both.

 

[Duke]

I take the word "audiophile" it to mean "someone who loves audio".

I don't use it as a derogatory term and so I don't consider it to be a derogatory term.

And I understand that many do see it and use it as a derogatory term, and that's fine; I'm not going to argue with anyone about what that word means to them.

 

[Chrispy]

Many dictionary definitions have it as a fan of high fidelity audio gear particularly. Musicphile would be something else. Mostly it's been abused to death.

 

[OldHvyMec]

AI Overview


An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity, high-quality sound reproduction, often seeking to recreate a live musical experience in a listening room through home audio systems.

OR

I like to tinker, collect, converse, and tell people they don't know what they are talking about.

 

[Somafunk]

“Phile” is derived from the Greek “Philos” (my best mate was 1/2 Greek) and means love/loved/beloved

 

[mhardy6647]

as in philosophy, the love of wisdom.