What kind of audiophile are you?

[xanalog]

Some of the traits CheapAudioMan cites apply to all of us but his categories are not the be-all, end-all.
I lean toward being KiSS, "bang-for-the-buck", "set-it/forget it" type gear-head!

 

[Hal_01]

I watch Randy from time to time because I find him entertaining. I keep trying to guess if he is a drinker or not. When he says "Grab a Cup of Coffee" I am wondering what is really in his cup. As for me well, I am that guy in the chair. I come home from work tired, I grab a drink<a real one> crash into my Archie Bunker chair and Crank up my Tunes. The more watts the better had been my motto for decades. Now according my ear testing at work, I definitely have some hearing deficiencies, but hey ya know I wouldnt trade them for anything. I wear my hearing deficiency like a badge of honor. I started going to Rock Concerts back in the 60s here around Los Angeles and Orange Counties, SoCal. Those were the days and I will take them to my grave.

 

[whereisbrian]

I started buying equipment to listen to music in good conditions. Music has always been the most important thing.

There's a 1 to 10 ratio between the value of my equipment and that of my record collection.

I now have 500 LPs left, 2,500 CDs, and I listen to almost exclusively digital files.

I'm not an audiophile, but rather a music lover.

 

[olds1959special]

I think this guy is a shill. The way he talks about the audiophile stereotypes is kind of divisive. At least he admits to being an idiot who's trying to make money.

 

[egellings]

I find cheap audioman’s exaggerated “ every day schmuck” schtick to be fairly agonizing to sit through. But I watched the video.

I didn’t see myself in one of those categories.

I suppose I had to categorize myself it would be something like “An old school audiophile but with a healthy respect for science, and a distaste for bullshit.”

By old school I mean I still have tendencies I developed since becoming an ardent audiophile in the early 90s, reading the absolute sound Stereophile , etc.

If I want to investigate a piece of gear - and here I’m talking mostly about loudspeakers - then I find a way to listen to it (rather than just go on measurements even if they are available… although some measurements can rule out a speaker for me).

Although I had my room acoustically renovated, and aside from one dalliance with subwoofers and room EQ, my preferred method is still the old: buy a pair of speakers, spend time adjusting speaker position, and listening position, until I have pleased my ears.

I’ve long been interested in science and the philosophy of science, so for me measurements and blind testing have always been highly relevant in audio, and the way to ultimately weed out all the pseudoscience.

I just happened to not have the type of technical engineering aptitude that makes doing measurements fun and compelling.
Nor am I interested in DIY.

And if I am experimenting with something that’s on the edge of plausibility - eg speaker footers, tube rolling, I’m happy to acknowledge that without firmer evidence, the results could be simply due to my imagination. The fact that I bristle at anti-scientific claims, doesn’t mean that I need to be doing science at every moment in life. (if I’m trying out a new spaghetti sauce recipe, it’s not like I’m doing science).

And I’m old school in highly valuing swapping subjective impressions with other audiophiles. For me, the subjective effect is ultimately what it’s all about (which doesn’t commit one to be believing in woo ) and that’s why I value talking about it so much.

The addition of BS to audio information has a new word, recently entered into the Oxford English Dictionary: enshitification.

 

[redjr]

You should go back and watch some of his early videos. It's a wonder he lasted a week. Very "amateurish" to say the least. We all gotta start somewhere. Fast forward ~5yrs. He's built a fairly good following. I think that says more about his audience than it does about him. He's perfected his own schtick and it draws a lot of us in - often with bait and switch tactics that I disdain. But sometimes I wonder if he even knows what he's talking about. In fairness, I watch him from time to time, mostly for his 'new products' announcements and 'first view' comments. It must be paying off though, seeing his house and the expensive sports car he drives.