# Audiophile



## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

Who is an audiophile among us?

How do you weigh the 'audio' portion versus the 'musical' portion of a piece?

How long have you been listening to classical as an audiophile?


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## Richard8655 (Feb 19, 2016)

Interesting topic. I think decent audio equipment definitely enhances the music experience, especially classical music at an emotional level. I'm not sure how "audiophile" one needs to be to reach that ability. I don't think throwing tons of money at equipment is necessary either, as some audiophile magazines would have you believe. 

My friend considers himself an audiophile, but I find he listens to his equipment more than the music. So I think there's a balance between technology and listening enjoyment that each needs to find and feel comfortable with.


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## jailhouse (Sep 2, 2016)

I'm happy with my headphones but will eventually upgrade and buy some good speakers once i have money. And im happy with spotify at 320 as long as the damn gapless works. Seriously, gapless playback being messed up is literally my biggest pet peeve. How hard is it to get it right every time? I do not want to notice that the track changed AT ALL.


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## Zhdanov (Feb 16, 2016)

pcnog11 said:


> How do you weigh the 'audio' portion versus the 'musical' portion of a piece?


these are two different things, cannot be weighed one against the other.


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## Zhdanov (Feb 16, 2016)

jailhouse said:


> I'm happy with my headphones but will eventually upgrade and buy some good speakers


then it would be room acoustics & electric mains issues, that you don't have with headphones.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

http://www.talkclassical.com/hi-fi/


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## Bruckner Anton (Mar 10, 2016)

I have to say that I am a composition-phile, not audiophile.


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## Andolink (Oct 29, 2012)

I'm definitely an audiophile in that the quality of the recorded sound is something I pay attention to and is pretty relevant to how much I appreciate a given recording (and I think I've always been of this mind) and I've spent quite a fair bit of money on audio gear to get to a point where I want to be soundwise. 

But all this concern with with these technical issues is, for me, totally in the service of the music. The music is the whole point of the gear. I'm appalled by how many people over on the audio gear forums seem to focus more on their hardware than on the music. It's a phenomenon I don't understand at all.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

I definitely consider myself an audiophile.

Sound quality of equipment and recordings is quite important to me, but not isolated from the music itself. The better things sound, the more I am drawn into the music.

There is a stereotype of audiophiles, that we care more about the equipment than the music. While these people do exist, they are (I believe) the minority.

Sure, there are days where I pay more attention to the equipment than the music; like when trying out a change in the system, testing a new piece of equipment, etc. Those times have their own type of enjoyment. Paying attention to, the depth and width of the soundstage sound by changing speaker position, instrument placement in the stereo image, comparing subwoofer placement, comparing file resolutions, etc. But the reason for the above is to let me enjoy the music more.

As far as recording quality itself, performance always comes first, but lucky there are more than enough great performances of my favorite pieces that also are great sounding recordings.



Andolink said:


> I'm appalled by how many people over on the audio gear forums seem to focus more on their hardware than on the music. It's a phenomenon I don't understand at all.


But those are forums dedicated to gear. I would expect there to be more talk about gear than music. That doesn't mean that the majority of those people don't care about the music first.


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## Centropolis (Jul 8, 2013)

Andolink said:


> I'm definitely an audiophile in that the quality of the recorded sound is something I pay attention to and is pretty relevant to how much I appreciate a given recording (and I think I've always been of this mind) and I've spent quite a fair bit of money on audio gear to get to a point where I want to be soundwise.
> 
> But all this concern with with these technical issues is, for me, totally in the service of the music. The music is the whole point of the gear. I'm appalled by how many people over on the audio gear forums seem to focus more on their hardware than on the music. It's a phenomenon I don't understand at all.


It's simple, they focus their talks on hardware because it's an audio gear forum. Although I agree that some people do focus way too much on their gear instead of listening to their music. But I also understand is a hobby to them. It's more useful than many other hobbies I can think of...collecting stamps, spoons, Starbuck mugs etc.

I also see this very much in photography stuff....forums, podcasts etc.


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## Centropolis (Jul 8, 2013)

In general, I think if you have the money to spend on it, then it's like any other hobby that costs a lot of money. New CAI anyone? (If you know what CAI stands for, you're probably spending more money in a hobby that's way more expensive than audio equipment. lol)

I am in the group where I would spend the money to get to a point of "good enough" audio quality zone. What's "good enough" depends on your expectations and budget. I listen to my classical music on a pair of Monitor Audio RX2 speakers and HD600 headphones. Good enough for me.


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

Thanks a lot for the comments from everyone. I think it is very important to separate the software and the hardware. I think if one only enjoy the hardware and do not appreciate much about the software, he/she should not be in this forum. Hardware provides an excellent platform for appreciating the minute difference in musician playing style, instrumental technical differences and sonic details etc. The hardware exists because of the software. This order should NOT be reversed. 

My 2 cents.


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## Centropolis (Jul 8, 2013)

Just to add one thing, better audio equipment from the basic ones do make a difference for me. A good example is, I never knew there are raining noises in the background of the song "Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson until I heard it on better equipment.


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

Agreed. "Air Force One" played by Cincinnati Pops Orchestra has four horns on a high end audiophile system. They can be all separated and identified. Again, the hardware magnified the software!


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