Should I be here, I don't think I'm an audiophile

[Yorkshire Mouth]

So... I googled "Arthur Shagnasty" as I've no idea... but now that I have googled it... I'm not sure I have the right idea...

It's just a name. I think that's the point. I don't actually care if anyone labels something 'audiophile', it's what they mean by that phrase which is important.

 

[eddantes]

It's just a name. I think that's the point. I don't actually care if anyone labels something 'audiophile', it's what they mean by that phrase which is important.

I just want to say - that I'm probably off chocolate covered marshmallows for the rest of my life now... So a thanks to you from my dentist.

 

[Thomas savage]

Okay, taking that to its logical conclusion, why have a pass/fail, or any commentary at all?

I think the other points I raise are equally scientifically valid. If Amir finds that -115dB is the limit for people being able to hear distortion in the most demanding of circumstances, he's absolutely right to point it out, and use that as a pass/fail threshold, I have no criticism.

But if he also knows that people can only hear that distortion at -90 dB (or wherever) in normal listening (sitting and listening to a 4 minute track at normal volume), then isn't that just as valid a pass/fail mark, indeed even more so?

One is not more scientifically valid than the other. Amir regularly cites published scholarly, scientific articles which discuss the differences most people can hear in normal listening.

Likely because its a accepted norm and what people want . However the information is there unlike in many or most reviews . So as mentioned one can make a informed decision independently of amirms personal value judgements.

Best of both words , to me ..

Iv no clue why you require this ' minimum pass fail ' thing . Feel free to put that value requirement onto the data yourself. Amirm will mention at times if something has a little noise or other distortion thats higher than he'd like but likely inaudible.

Depends on the product , price etc as to whether that's a issue for him .

Hes not ' doing science ' BTW

I'm not sure what weight or significance your trying to add to your demands/opinions by claiming them ' scientifically valid ' .

Little to no ' science ' happens here, ASR is just a place that looks to robust research as a basis for our value judgements.

Amirm might have a white jacket but it won't have tea stains on it so he's just faking it .

 

[Thomas savage]

So... I googled "Arthur Shagnasty" as I've no idea... but now that I have googled it... I'm not sure I have the right idea...

The chocolate marshmallow thing ! , see a night out with Arthur would be a hoot ..

Anyway that's my Sunday afternoon sorted .

 

[Thomas savage]

I can never understand why we have such a thing as audiophile record labels which record audiophile music.

You can't dig Hendrix or Lennon up to re-record, produce, mix and distribute their classics in an audiophile manner.

If someone farts, and that sound is captured and reproduced in the best audio quality known to man, some people would buy it.

It would have to be a brilliant recording as that's a live event i witness regularly.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

Likely because its a accepted norm and what people want . However the information is there unlike in many or most reviews . So as mentioned one can make a informed decision independently of amirms personal value judgements.

Best of both words , to me ..

Iv no clue why you require this ' minimum pass fail ' thing . Feel free to put that value requirement onto the data yourself. Amirm will mention at times if something has a little noise or other distortion thats higher than he'd like but likely inaudible.

Depends on the product , price etc as to whether that's a issue for him .

Hes not ' doing science ' BTW

I'm not sure what weight or significance your trying to add to your demands/opinions by claiming them ' scientifically valid ' .

Little to no ' science ' happens here, ASR is just a place that looks to robust research as a basis for our value judgements.

Amirm might have a white jacket but it won't have tea stains on it so he's just faking it .

I think you're trying to turn this into an argument, which wasn't my intention at all.

Where on earth have a made a 'demand'? Amir will do exactly as he pleases. I've just made a suggestion.

 

[Jinjuku]

I'm an audio enthusiast. One that likes the largest return in fidelity based on the spend I have for it.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

I'm an audio enthusiast. One that likes the largest return in fidelity based on the spend I have for it.

I suppose we can all sign up to that.

One thing which puzzles me is when people (as far as I can tell from their comments here) own several sets of a particular device. Example - they own 5 or 6 pairs of headphones which cost them maybe £100-£200 each. Why not just buy one really good pair?

 

[Thomas savage]

I suppose we can all sign up to that.

One thing which puzzles me is when people (as far as I can tell from their comments here) own several sets of a particular device. Example - they own 5 or 6 pairs of headphones which cost them maybe £100-£200 each. Why not just buy one really good pair?

I expect they do it because it pleases them to do so , men particularly like to collect things and men of a certain age even more so. With headphones they might also find them all different and enjoy that.

Or maybe they are slaves to obsessive tendencies and have some compulsive disorder.

Probably one or the other, let's pretend its exclusively the former .

 

[Berwhale]

I suppose we can all sign up to that.

One thing which puzzles me is when people (as far as I can tell from their comments here) own several sets of a particular device. Example - they own 5 or 6 pairs of headphones which cost them maybe £100-£200 each. Why not just buy one really good pair?

But what constitutes a really good pair of headphones? Headphone's are a personal item that you wear, i.e. there is more to them than sound quality alone (materials, weight, clamping force, open or closed, etc.) I'd be concerned for the members that own 5 or 6 DACs

 

[Grumple]

Shagnasty's

I went to uni with a guy affectionately known as Shagnasty. It wasn't a name associated with audiophiles. Although maybe a case could be made for saying he was always between a couple of transducers.

As to the OP, I don't much like the term audiophile as a descriptive identifier. It has a rather negatively loaded significance. However, identities are often foisted upon us by those pesky "others". An outside observer would probably describe a lot of my behaviour as that of an audiophile. Whereas I feel like I've merely fallen down a rabbit hole of curiosity.

 

[Thomas savage]

The answer to your question in the OP is , yes if it pleases you and you find it of value .

A alternative question would be ' Do i belong here , I dont belive I'm a classic audiophile' . I think that's what your really asking .

That depends on ones needs , ASR can be a great resource to dip in and out of . Belonging.., well maybe thats available to some but its not required by ASR nor dose the information provided here require one to feel anything towards this place..

You can treat it like a text book , one with a few benefits in terms of useful interactions with others .

No obligation to conform lay with the reader or member, no obligation exists from ASR to conform to any one single individuals values either .

Its a personal choice , i for one welcome ' non audiophiles ' even those who are only that because of a strong sense of denial . I think the most important thing for everyone is people are happy to be here , its a positive experience for them and their contributions are in good faith . No other requirements exist as far as I can remember.

 

[sritacco]

So, what's an audiophile?

Amir briefly touched in this in one of his videos, he distinguished audiophiles from music lovers.

Well, I'm a music lover, but one who wants his music to sound as good as possible (within certain parameters, like cash), so is that audiophile?

I see people refer to being an audiophile as a hobby. I believe the same people are those who constantly spend money changing one piece of kit for another. Well, that's definitely not me. I want to buy the best that I can afford, in the hope that it'll last years, and only upgrade when the world has moved on enough that I can replace what I have without breaking the bank, and get a significant upgrade.

In (I think) the same video Amir talked about using his skill, knowledge and experience to identify any possible weaknesses, even if most people wouldn't hear it themselves, on the grounds that he wouldn't want to hear something, not point it out as most others wouldn't, recommend the product, and then have complaints from those who've followed his recommendation and who do hear the issue. I think that's fair enough. Elsewhere, Amir has talked about identifying differences (I think between 16 & 24 bit) by playing a small 1 or 2 second section over and over.

Is that what being an audiophile is? Or just an audiophile reviewer?

I'm not dissing anyone. People get pleasure, sometimes in very expensive ways, from some crazy hobbies. It's not my job to tell you what to do with your money!

Like everything else Audiophile begat Audiofanatic and Audioextremist. Both of those groups also contain significant populations with more money than sense.

 

[bluefuzz]

Well, I'm a music lover, but one who wants his music to sound as good as possible (within certain parameters, like cash), so is that audiophile?

Well, that's pretty much the same reasons I am here and I wouldn't describe myself as an audiophile. I'd certainly never even heard of most of the brands people seem to talk about here in hushed tones before I joined the forum.

I listen to a lot of music. I want my equipment to reproduce as accurately as possible the recordings I listen to, which isn't necessarily synonymous with sounding good, but it's nice when it does. I am also relatively impecunious and thus want the best gear for the least financial outlay. Add to that a general interest in tech and science and an aversion to snakeoil. ASR ticks those boxes.

 

[ta240]

audiophile
noun [ C ]
US /ˈɑː.di.oʊ.faɪl/ UK /ˈɔː.di.əʊ.faɪl/

a person who is very interested in and enthusiastic about equipment for playing recorded sound, and its quality

I like that one.

Some of the definitions I come up with include "high-fidelity" in them which is where the arguments often arise as someone into systems with 2nd harmonic distortion can be "interested and enthusiastic about equipment" but since "hi-fidelity" means accuracy to the original then any distortion, pleasing or not, doesn't fit definitions with "high-fidelity".

This is just crying out for a Venn Diagram. Each circle thinks the other circles are nuts.

 

[threni]

"So, what's an audiophile?"

Anyone who describes themselves as one. Given state of audio/hifi discussion outside of this site, it's not a positive attribute.

 

[rdenney]

I'm an audio enthusiast. One that likes the largest return in fidelity based on the spend I have for it.

"Enthusiast" is a good term, and avoids the baggage that has freighted "audiophile" in recent years.

It is true that many musicians have mediocre systems, and I think there are two reasons for this. The first is that musicians are often impecunious and have to make do with what they can afford. (A site like ASR that identifies low-cost, high-performance components is a god-send to poor musicians, I would think.) The second is that they are supremely capable of filling in the blanks of what they hear, given that their memories and experiences are filled with what it sounds like in real life.

As with any hobby, there is an axis that connects apparatus to what the apparatus is used for. Some tend to one end of that axis or the other, but there's no reason why a person can't be equally interested in both. There need be no contention between the two ends of this axis--it's a big world and there's room for all.

At times when I'm messing with audio, I'm in engineer mode and am being very technical in my approach, and at other times, I am in musician mode and simply want to hear, say Bryden Thomson's interpretation of Vaughan Williams's London Symphony. Both provide deep satisfaction. Sometimes, there is a technical problem that prevents enjoying musician mode, and sometimes, the music is so compelling that the engineer gives way to the musician. We read of reviewers often forgetting their review duties and just listening--that is a response to compelling music that is presented to them without distraction.

So, this notion of a contentious division between musicians and audiophiles (or, better, audio enthusiasts) is one I resist. I'd rather find ways to encourage a meeting of those minds rather than highlighting their differences.

Rick "there has been no better time than the present to experience superb audio and low price points" Denney

 

[AnalogSteph]

(A site like ASR that identifies low-cost, high-performance components is a god-send to poor musicians, I would think.)

Not just them - the average music enthusiast tends to be in their 20s, give or take a decade... not exactly drowning in money is a common theme. It doesn't have to be perfect, but getting 80% there (80/20 rule) while your hearing still is largely intact is worth a lot. That's what makes good affordable hi-fi so important, either new or as a used hand-me-down. It follows that any fancy (expensive) components should be built with longevity and repairability in mind.

 

[FooYatChong]

ASR helps you enjoy your music without fear of missing out.

 

[Hammeredklavier]

It doesn't have to be perfect, but getting 80% there (80/20 rule) while your hearing still is largely intact is worth a lot.

Yeah, I think some people tend to forget just what small differences you can end up chasing down, even if - and it's a big if - you can actually hear it. I haven't spent ages doing ABX tests and so on because I find them unpleasant and I can't be bothered, but such experience as I've had taught me that even if I can hear a difference, it's so slight as to be irrelevant. It's like well encoded MP3s: if I listen really carefully to a 'killer sample', I can hear it, but if it's that hard to hear the difference...

I remember a few years ago, someone I think on the pink fish or hydrogen audio forum recorded the output from a cheap 'pro' power amp, digitised it level matched to the original, and invited people to download the WAV files and try to identify which was which. I didn't do very well...

Then we get people who still insist not only that they can hear jaw-dropping differences between amplifiers, but between kettle leads! I'll stick my neck out and say, "you can't".