Don’t real audiophiles own their own media?

Calvin said:
Being an audiophile isn’t just about the music. It’s also about the equipment, the contrast and comparison of the media, etc. Audiophile standards may be applied at all stages of music reproduction; the initial audio recording, the production process and the playback. How can someone who owns no media compare and contrast the very best “music” available? IMO, they simply can’t!
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I kinda disagree, in sorts, without well recorded music, I don't care what kind of system you have its not going to sound its best with poor recorded music.,, It's a combination of it all, the music, the equipment, the room. But there are those times a person just wants to listen to music , period, not for the utmost "quality" but for the enjoyment of just listening to music.
 
This thread is getting very stale. The OP assumes that a streaming audiophile was born yesterday and has not experienced any physical media to compare. I personally have been into high end audio since the 80's but was spinning vinyl on my parent's turntable when I was 6 years old in the early 70's. Still love all the wonderful singers from the 50s and 60s that I literally grew up listening to on the radio and vinyl records that my father collected.

Perhaps an even more interesting question is Why Musicians Ignore High End Audio? Why musicians ignore high end audio | PS Audio
 
CPP said:
I kinda disagree, in sorts, without well recorded music, I don't care what kind of system you have its not going to sound its best with poor recorded music.,, It's a combination of it all, the music, the equipment, the room. But there are those times a person just wants to listen to music , period, not for the utmost "quality" but for the enjoyment of just listening to music.
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I agree - GIGO = Garbage In, Garbage Out. Everything in our system matters - including our media.

When I want to listen I desire the best tracks available. But I won't know what these are unless I compare the media. To me this - the comparing and contrasting - is all part of being an audiophile.
 
Calvin said:
I agree - GIGO = Garbage In, Garbage Out. Everything in our system matters - including our media.

When I want to listen I desire the best tracks available. But I won't know what these are unless I compare the media. To me this - the comparing and contrasting - is all part of being an audiophile.
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most people out there will think of that as obsessive compulsive behavior. Normal for audiophile...?

See my post about why musicians ignore high end audio.

Can’t say that seeking out the best recording of the dozens and dozens of albums I listen to during a typical week would be of any interest to me. I’ve done that the first decade or two of being an audiophile. Now I listen to actual music instead of chasing good sound.
 
Calvin said:
I agree - GIGO = Garbage In, Garbage Out. Everything in our system matters - including our media.

When I want to listen I desire the best tracks available. But I won't know what these are unless I compare the media. To me this - the comparing and contrasting - is all part of being an audiophile.
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I have to agree with Calvin on this one.
 
If you own a few hundred albums, yes, focus on sound and listen to it over and over. Buy a new cable, listen another dozen times. Buy a new dac and listen again. That’s the audiophile. Gear and good sound...
 
TheOctopus said:
This thread is getting very stale. The OP assumes that a streaming audiophile was born yesterday and has not experienced any physical media to compare. I personally have been into high end audio since the 80's but was spinning vinyl on my parent's turntable when I was 6 years old in the early 70's. Still love all the wonderful singers from the 50s and 60s that I literally grew up listening to on the radio and vinyl records that my father collected.

Perhaps an even more interesting question is Why Musicians Ignore High End Audio? Why musicians ignore high end audio | PS Audio
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Why Musicians Ignore High End Audio, I know odd, 'MAYBE A thread of its own, but If I played music for a living and was on tour, year in and year out, I most likely would rather go fishing or just get out to a quiet place instead of sitting around listening to more music. :D
 
CPP said:
Why Musicians Ignore High End Audio, I know odd, 'MAYBE A thread of its own, but If I played music for a living and was on tour, year in and year out, I most likely would rather go fishing or just get out to a quiet place instead of sitting around listening to more music. :D
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I suggest you watch some documentaries like the Jazz Loft for example. It will give you a new perspective on what talented musicians did/do with their time and what they consider important in music. Music is not about the sound itself. Only an audiophile treats music as a sound...
 
TheOctopus said:
I suggest you watch some documentaries like the Jazz Loft for example. It will give you a new perspective on what talented musicians did/do with their time and what they consider important in music. Music is not about the sound itself. Only an audiophile treats music as a sound...
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Not even sure what you are talking about.
 
:) Don't Real Audiophiles know the accepted definition of Audiophile? It has nothing to do with Gear or Media, it has to do with enjoying the Music although very loose interpretations of the definition seem to be accepted these days.

au·di·o·phile
/ˈôdēōˌfīl/
Learn to pronounce
nouninformal
noun: audiophile; plural noun: audiophiles

a hi-fi enthusiast.
 
CPP said:
Not even sure what you are talking about.
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I didn't think an audiophile would... Not to sound offensive. When Thelonious Monk would spend days without sleep composing music on the piano up at the Loft on 6th ave in the flower district of NYC, surrounded by other legends such as Charles Mingus, Zoot Sims, Bill Evans and a dozen other Jazz players just jamming together, it was never about "sound". It was about music and music they played. Through the billowing cigarette smoke, the booze and the drugs that was the vice of many of the legends... Most of them burned the candle on both ends and poured their heart, soul and their health into music...

Thelonious would spin beat up and scratched records on the cheapest record player imaginable for inspiration and to help him compose as the dozen of other legends would play their saxophones and jam on the guitars. The building was alive with music, not sound... Musicians do not treat music as sound. Not one of those musicians ever worried about the acoustics or anything else related to sound quality. They just jammed together and performed together in clubs and other venues... The recording engineers worried about sound when recording. Then there is the audiophile... Only a DAC costing as much as a luxury automobile can ever do justice to recordings captured on tape in the late 50s and 60s?
 
TheOctopus said:
I didn't think an audiophile would... Not to sound offensive. When Thelonious Monk would spend days without sleep composing music on the piano up at the Loft on 6th ave in the flower district of NYC, surrounded by other legends such as Charles Mingus, Zoot Sims, Bill Evans and a dozen other Jazz players just jamming together, it was never about "sound". It was about music and music they played. Through the billowing cigarette smoke, the booze and the drugs that was the vice of many of the legends... Most of them burned the candle on both ends and poured their heart, soul and their health into music...

Thelonious would spin beat up and scratched records on the cheapest record player imaginable for inspiration and to help him compose as the dozen of other legends would play their saxophones and jam on the guitars. The building was alive with music, not sound... Musicians do not treat music as sound. Not one of those musicians ever worried about the acoustics or anything else related to sound quality. They just jammed together and performed together in clubs and other venues... The recording engineers worried about sound when recording. Then there is the audiophile... Only a DAC costing as much as a luxury automobile can ever do justice to recordings captured on tape in the late 50s and 60s?
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Well you are.

And he loved to play Yahtzee, a board game with dice. He and Nellie (his wife) would play for hours on end. And he played ping pong, but he was even better at pool. He was crazy about the television show “Laurel and Hardy. Which only proves the man just didn't live and breath music all the time.

And this thread is so off topic.
 
CPP said:
Well you are.

And he loved to play Yahtzee, a board game with dice. He and Nellie (his wife) would play for hours on end. And he played ping pong, but he was even better at pool. He was crazy about the television show “Laurel and Hardy. Which only proves the man just didn't live and breath music all the time.

And this thread is so off topic.
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Yes, nice copy and paste from JazzBlog 10 things you didn't know about Thelonious... I still recommend the various Jazz documentaries. Plenty on youtube and Amazon Prime. Great visuals on the life of the legendary Jazz musicians of the turbulent era and their struggle to fit their music into society that was not ready to accept it. Many moved overseas where they were welcomed as musicians.
 
TheOctopus said:
Yes, nice copy and paste from JazzBlog 10 things you didn't know about Thelonious... I still recommend the various Jazz documentaries. Plenty on youtube and Amazon Prime. Great visuals on the life of the legendary Jazz musicians of the turbulent era and their struggle to fit their music into society that was not ready to accept it. Many moved overseas where they were welcomed as musicians.
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Put it this way., I like music, that's it I'm done.
 
[Originally Posted by Calvin

Being an audiophile isn’t just about the music. It’s also about the equipment, the contrast and comparison of the media, etc. Audiophile standards may be applied at all stages of music reproduction; the initial audio recording, the production process and the playback. How can someone who owns no media compare and contrast the very best “music” available? IMO, they simply can’t!



kinda disagree, in sorts, without well recorded music, I don't care what kind of system you have its not going to sound its best with poor recorded music.,, It's a combination of it all, the music, the equipment, the room. But there are those times a person just wants to listen to music , period, not for the utmost "quality" but for the enjoyment of just listening to music.[/QUOTE]

Now this is a thread into its own. It made me pause to consider. Am I, or am I not an audiophile. Is it about evaluation of gear and source media, or the music. Because, what happens when I build a system over the years and I feel I have hit the top. I'm done. Now I just play music and love it. Am I no longer an audiophile? Do I have to sit and critically listen to a 45rpm vinyl, then stream a bad version to remind myself one is actually better than the other. Or can I just relax and appreciate the art created by a musician. If I only enjoy the art, and not the process of mastering, mixing, pressing etc, do I loose my hat?
 
Kingrex said:
Now this is a thread into its own. It made me pause to consider. Am I, or am I not an audiophile. Is it about evaluation of gear and source media, or the music. Because, what happens when I build a system over the years and I feel I have hit the top. I'm done. Now I just play music and love it. Am I no longer an audiophile? Do I have to sit and critically listen to a 45rpm vinyl, then stream a bad version to remind myself one is actually better than the other. Or can I just relax and appreciate the art created by a musician. If I only enjoy the art, and not the process of mastering, mixing, pressing etc, do I loose my hat?
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No, you haven't lost your hat, you're just a satisfied audiophile. And that is where all of us should be headed - our end game system that satisfies our listening desires.

However, it does seem to me that many have not been down a similar road as you - and many others. From much of what I read above, the word "audiophile" has seemed to change meanings. If being an audiophile only means one who enjoys music, then anyone owning an iPhone and streaming from Amazon is an audiophile. But anyone in the hobby knows there's more to it than that.
 
Calvin said:
No, you haven't lost your hat, you're just a satisfied audiophile. And that is where all of us should be headed - our end game system that satisfies our listening desires.

However, it does seem to me that many have not been down a similar road as you - and many others. From much of what I read above, the word "audiophile" has seemed to change meanings. If being an audiophile only means one who enjoys music, then anyone owning an iPhone and streaming from Amazon is an audiophile. But anyone in the hobby knows there's more to it than that.
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On most other forums, they would describe it as Listening to the Music VS Listening to the Gear.

So we should really be coining a new term altogether as Gearophile because plenty of music lovers listen in many ways.
 
Shadowfax said:
On most other forums, they would describe it as Listening to the Music VS Listening to the Gear.

So we should really be coining a new term altogether as Gearophile because plenty of music lovers listen in many ways.
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Yes, some listen to music to hear their gear and others listen to their gear to hear their music. At the beginning of an audiophile's journey there has to be a delicate balance of the two IMO. To design the proper system we each need to live in both worlds for a time. After it's designed, then most will primarily listen to their music.
 
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