To what extent is this a ‘hobby’?

[Yorkshire Mouth]

It’s clear that, whilst we’re all here for similar reasons, there are quite distinct sub-groups.

I always raise a mental eyebrow when I see the term ‘hobby’, as it doesn’t appear to apply to me, or at least not in the same sense as it does to others.

I’m a music lover who wants to listen to his music in the best quality which is both practical and affordable. So I tend to go through phases when my kit is getting old, or it breaks, or the technology necessitates it (who’d have heard of a streamer 20 years ago?). Or maybe if there’s a sudden and large change in the quality available.

So I buy a hi-fi set up, and that’s it until I need a new one, or new components. Certainly, I like to read, and keep up-to-date, as I find that if you tune out for two years, when you return, you haven’t got a clue what anyone else is talking about.

But I’m flummoxed by people who research, test, audition, discuss, save up for, and eventually buy a hi-fi, then immediately want something else. I saw a video on YouTube yesterday, there’s some bloke and he found and bought his ‘end game’ amp and speakers, and he’s sold them; not through dissatisfaction, but pretty much because his hobby entails constantly wanting to try out new gear, and that trying out means living with it for a couple of years.

Then there are people with several DACs, headphone amps, and dozens of pairs of headphones.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a firm believer in de gustibus non est disputandum. It’s your time, it’s your money. It’s your life. It’s your ‘hobby’, and I’m not here to criticise.

I can only offer my own perspective, that it’s a modus operandi which appears to bake in dissatisfaction and unhappiness. Not to mention cost!

I have been reading and researching at these excellent forums for a couple of years or so now, and I’m on the brink of buying/finishing a new set up. I’ll start a separate thread on it soon, and I’ll post my thoughts, feelings and perceptions as I start to live with it.

But after that I’ll be happy to live with it (unless I find I’ve made a glaring error), until the situation dictates I need to change. As I say, I’ll keep reading, and maybe asking the odd question, just to keep up to date. But if my new system is everything I hope it will be, I’ll not be looking to change anything just for a ‘hobby’.

But I got to wondering, am I the odd one out? Are there just a small handful of us? Or are most of us like this, and we just hear more from the terminal upgraders, because they’re constantly upgrading, and like to discuss that, so they appear to be larger in number?

 

[RayDunzl]

hobby - an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure.

As for upgrading my audio, I did that a long time ago.

I have other interests now to consume my more than adequate spare time and spending money.

 

[sajgre]

In my case it is not a hobby because I won't change gear just for the sake of buying new stuff but it is a hobby considering how much I'm willing to pay for a better sound. Improvement would have to be pretty big but I would upgrade if I find enough money and speakers that would sound better.

 

[Galliardist]

Music is far too important to be a "hobby". When your hifi system is there, and you are at the listening to music stage, it's not a hobby.
When you get engrossed in the equipment, it is a hobby.

I guess this site has become a hobby for me - and while my main system is not yet complete again, I'm not dreaming of "upgrades", rather searching out an interface for streaming and internet radio that my partner will curse only rarely rather than every day.

On other forums I come across comments like "every time I play a record I dream of what will be better with my next upgrade". To me, that's the very definition of hell, along with continuous tweaking. I know I got out of vinyl a lot later, but ditching sprung turntables with all that angst was the best move I ever made. Buy once, buy well, buy easy to use, and get listening.

 

[Mart68]

1) Buy a whole system, don't change anything ever until something dies and can't be repaired or is to much hassle or cost to repair - Using equipment to listen to music.

That's not a hobby but I do sort of envy those people.

2) Buy a whole system and making it better over time as funds allow. That's sort of a hobby in a loose sense of the word.

3) Often change components, especially speakers, to get a different 'take' - whether it is preferred or not - just out of interest. Essentially using music to listen to the equipment. Talking about it on forums. That's sort of a hobby. I did quite a lot of that in the past, less so nowadays.

4) Constantly changing especially cables, supports, trying different DACs, magic boxes, fuses, and any other crazy gizmo that comes along. Talking about it on forums. That's a sort of hobby too, although with the foo element it is a bit more like partaking in tea party with the stuffed animals. The equipment (the toys) is real, the interaction is a fantasy.

5) Building your own equipment. Now that's a proper hobby.

 

[Digby]

I have an admission to make. I hate upgrading. I much prefer the familiar and when the familiar breaks (or is obviously substandard), then I will change. There have been times I have 'upgraded' and noticed a significant difference for the better, other times it has been a sidestep or downgrade in some way, even though it shouldn't have been on paper. For whatever reason, I find the latter more worrisome than the former.

I think I have a tendency to get caught up in details and seeing a bigger picture can be helpful. That is why I try to avoid too much changing equipment, unless there is a significant and irritating flaw that needs addressing or I am sure that there is a substantial improvement to be had.

But I got to wondering, am I the odd one out? Are there just a small handful of us? Or are most of us like this, and we just hear more from the terminal upgraders, because they’re constantly upgrading, and like to discuss that, so they appear to be larger in number?

I think part of the reason that terminal 'upgraders' end up here, is because they feel they've had the wool pulled over their eyes with too many of their upgrades. Higher prices don't always equal better equipment and they would like to try and find a way of 'making sense' of equipment, so that they can make purchasing decisions based on sound scientific evidence, rather than florid prose in What Hi-Fi or similar.

I don't think that arriving at this forum provides all the answers, however. There are still personal questions as to what scratches an individuals itch that the charts and graphs here can't really measure.

 

[Waxx]

I buy stuff i can use for years, or at least try. The only exception is speakers, i make them myself mostly, and are constantly fideling with them. But the process of designing and building is as important as the result for me. I got good speakers, i don't need new ones, but i like to explore and learn more about them.

I'm also a cheapskate, i like to have the best sound for the smallest ammount of money. So sometimes i sell gear i like because someone offers a lot of money for it, more than i think it's worth, and more than the replacement would cost when being reasonable. I did sell some good amps and speakers like that for a ridiculous ammount of money to collectors, and replaced them with cheaper gear that is as good but does not have a snakeoil hype arround it.

 

[fpitas]

I buy stuff i can use for years, or at least try. The only exception is speakers, i make them myself mostly, and are constantly fideling with them. But the process of designing and building is as important as the result for me. I got good speakers, i don't need new ones, but i like to explore and learn more about them.

My situation, too.

 

[Zim]

The way I see it there are two major kinds of hobbyists (though not mutually exclusive) in the audiophile world;
1. Music/sound enthusiasts/hobbyists who love great sound be it music or some other form of aural entertainment, and simply want the most suitable equipment to do so.
2. Tech enthusiasts/hobbyists who are nerding out about the equipment they've acquired and how music and/or sound is reproduced with said equipment.

One can be one. One can be both. One can be 90% former, 10% latter. And so on. The main difference to me is the former can be content with what equipment they (finally) have, while the latter will continuously pursue the next acquisition regardless of contentment with the sound they get from what they already have.

 

[Deleted member 21219]

For some people, the word "hobby" is a cover-word for obsessive behavior. For others, it's not.

Jim

 

[Digby]

For some people, the word "hobby" is a cover-word for obsessive behavior. For others, it's not.

Who decides where the line is drawn between normal and obsessive?

 

[Sokel]

It was a hobby for some time until I realized that the only meaningful "upgrade" was speakers (or looks,it's important to me).
Then it turned to another kind of hobby,concerning room,etc even if I hired pros and optimizing what's there.

At the end I wondered how on earth I was setting up my gear without measuring them,cause standalone performances are nice,but hook them together and surprises come one on top of the other,only by measuring you reach a decent result (both room and electronics).

It's fun thought!

 

[Deleted member 21219]

Who decides where the line is drawn between normal and obsessive?

The way I see it, there is no such thing as "normal". (Yes, I realize that your opinion may be different.)

However, I prefer to divide human behavior into two categories: destructive or non-destructive.

If your behavior is damaging, either to yourself or another person, then that's bad. Get help.

Otherwise .... carry on.

Jim

 

[Digby]

However, I prefer to divide human behavior into two categories: destructive or non-destructive.

If your behavior is damaging, either to yourself or another person, then that's bad. Get help.

How do I get help for spending excess time on this forum? Surely that behaviour is (mildly) destructive to other parts of my life that could do with tending to.

However, i would miss our chats come verbal jousts here, so is this destructive behaviour or not?

 

[Deleted member 21219]

How do I get help for spending excess time on this forum? Surely that behaviour is (mildly) destructive to other parts of my life that could do with tending to.

However, i would miss our chats come verbal jousts here, so is this destructive behaviour or not?

Everything we do or say has an affect on both ourselves and others, but that doesn't mean that it is all destructive. Our lives are an interwoven tapestry of causes and effects. Ultimately, it is our burden to understand ourselves, and how we fit into that tapestry.

No one can relieve us of that burden. We can, however, make our burden much more difficult to bear.

Nice chatting with you, too!

Jim

 

[tw99]

@Yorkshire Mouth I feel exactly the same way when I see the dread words "this hobby" in a post about equipment.

I bought a basic but good quality HiFi system as soon as I could afford it in my 20s because I love listening to music. That's the same reason I still have a (better) system today. My hobby is enjoying music.

I've absolutely no interest in box swapping on a whim or to chase the ultimate measurements, or "more plankton" or whatever the latest subjective nonsense might be.

My last two system changes have been because technology actually improved: A better room correction setup with MiniDSP, and a relatively small but very powerful power amp that replaced one 3x the size that was far less efficient. I'm thinking about speakers, I've lived with the current ones for 10+ years, but I haven't yet seen anything that would be domestically acceptable and a significant improvement in enough areas to change.

 

[LuvTheMusic]

Another consideration: the psychology surrounding choices. See Barry Schwartz "The Paradox of Choice", in particular the difference between those satisfied with "good enough" and those who constantly re-evaluate seeking "optimal" choices. And this is likely more of a spectrum, so some of us are pretty much satisfied but occasionally wonder about some upgrade, while those on the other side (so to speak) are occasionally satisfied but pretty often wondering about an upgrade!

 

[fpitas]

For some people, the word "hobby" is a cover-word for obsessive behavior. For others, it's not.

Jim

I can quit any time I want!

 

[solderdude]

Hobby:

an interest or activity to which a person devotes time for pleasure

I think people on ASR use their hifi sytem for pleasure and devote time to listening. So... a hobby by that definition.

Personally I spend more time tinkering with headphones out of an, kind of autistic, interest in that small part of the hobby.

People that buy gear just to have a setup and use it as background music or just to watch movies/TV just use gear as a tool to do just that.
Those interested in the gear and sound reproduction use it as a hobby.

I am not looking for upgrades myself (don't need any) but am rather interested in the electronics and perception and this only in a small 'corner' of the hobby.

It used to be a profession but have more fun as a hobby.

 

[JayGilb]

My situation, too.

Same here.