Audiophilia and it’s discontents

[Analogous]

A entertaining read that explores the evolution of modern home audiophilia, and much more … sample this:

“The problem is not that visual metaphors are used for sound, it’s the idea that visual perception and aesthetics are taken to be a valid modeling system for musical perception and aesthetics. We have a language to work with in this arena of perception, whereas for sound we really don’t. Half the time, people can’t even define what these terms mean, and who knows what each user’s private interpretation is, not to mention hearing acuity and flat-out taste.”

Corner Club Cathedral Cocoon, by Sasha Frere-Jones

Audiophilia and its discontents

harpers.org

 

[mbhangui]

A entertaining read that explores the evolution of modern home audiophilia, and much more … sample this:

“The problem is not that visual metaphors are used for sound, it’s the idea that visual perception and aesthetics are taken to be a valid modeling system for musical perception and aesthetics. We have a language to work with in this arena of perception, whereas for sound we really don’t. Half the time, people can’t even define what these terms mean, and who knows what each user’s private interpretation is, not to mention hearing acuity and flat-out taste.”

Corner Club Cathedral Cocoon, by Sasha Frere-Jones

Audiophilia and its discontents

harpers.org

The small portion about the Japanese Jazz cafes was mesmerizing and it transported me 50 years back when I was a kid growing up in Deolali Cantonment. The thing about all cantonment is about the Army officers mess. My father was an Army doctor and we kids had free access to the officer's mess. This is where officers could come and chill out. During the vacations we kids would go to the mess. All of these mess had pile of LP records and we would go there to listen to records. Sometimes we carried our own LP records. Those days we would go there as a group put on BoneyM, La Bionda, or the lovely bollywood songs of the 70s (Kishore Kumar, Mohd Rafi, Lata). Sometimes older songs by Talat. We would just listen. Very little talking. An officer or two (mostly tired surgeons after a long surgical operation) would come sometimes for a drink and they too would sit and listen silently. The equipment was in no way fancy. Mostly a Philips/HMV record player and a pair of HiQ speakers. There was this emotional connect listening as a group. Then around 7 years later landed in an engineering college and where we learnt how to do wordly things like drinking or smoking chillum that fortified appreciation of music. Smoking chillum was an experience. Few of us had built systems cheap with pocket money. Nothing fancy. A Takara car tape mechanism, a small amp board using TBA 810. Two speakers in earthen pots connected using any wire that could conduct electricity. We would carry our favourite cassette tape and hit the play button and all of us would go silent. The music was varied. Sometimes Beatles, sometimes Trini Lopes singing Lemon Tree. Sometimes Summer Wine by Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood, Jamaican farewell by Harry Belafonte. And then there was hard rock Scorpions, deep purple, AC/DC, Rainbows, Black Sabbath. Listening to music was never about the equipment. It was always the emotional connect and most importantly the Music. The experience was surreal which is totally missing now. We would listen silently. No mobile phone to disturb us and all of us would be in our own personal world listening. Also there was no pressure on the host to serve food, etc, only requirement being was a music system that could play cassettes and the pipe that could be continuously passed around.

I think the concept of the jazz cafe is very good where people just come to listen to music and appreciate it. The minimum requrement being listening silently. Wish there was something like this here.

 

[Kannan]

I think the concept of the jazz cafe is very good where people just come to listen to music and appreciate it. The minimum requrement being listening silently. Wish there was something like this here.

there used to be monthly home get-together 15 years back in Chennai where a small group of music lovers would just sit back and enjoy a melange of music. Not all in the group were audiophiles or bothered about the setup that varied from decent gears to prettry good ones. The idea was to enjoy as a group and exchange notes or those moments of goosebumps.
Sadly the group melted away within a couple of years due to professional and personal committments.

My real foray into music when I could save money to buy cassettes started in the early 90s in Chembur (Mumbai) with a pair of Arphi speakers and a car audio cassette deck as source and later replaced by a Sonodyne cassette deck-cum-amp. The mighty heavy infinite baffle Arphis were installed at the two top corners of our bachelor rented 1-room-kitchen flat as the floor space was at a premium.
I would call those 5 odd years as the zenith of music enjoyment.

 

[manek]

A entertaining read that explores the evolution of modern home audiophilia, and much more … sample this:

“The problem is not that visual metaphors are used for sound, it’s the idea that visual perception and aesthetics are taken to be a valid modeling system for musical perception and aesthetics. We have a language to work with in this arena of perception, whereas for sound we really don’t. Half the time, people can’t even define what these terms mean, and who knows what each user’s private interpretation is, not to mention hearing acuity and flat-out taste.”

Corner Club Cathedral Cocoon, by Sasha Frere-Jones

Audiophilia and its discontents

harpers.org

Most audio systems are now judged mostly by visual artefacts like soundstage and imaging and the 3d-ness of it and what have you. And they try and create the venue at home(big mistake in my books). But who has really seen, heard or been to the venue during the recording to know ? For me its always been the tone.

Music is nowadays taking a back seat IMHO for many an “audiophile”.

As @mbhangui mentioned….emotional connect to me is of prime importance (Music First) and if I get that with an entry level system so be it. As kids we would listen to music with my father(a whiskey glass in hand), brother and I(a lemon drink dunked in ice) before dinner and then the after dinner session would always be with the lights out completely with the small red glow of the amplifier VU meter bulb. No visual cues, no noise from the listeners. Just music. The emotional connect was instant and till today it remains my fav mode of listening to music either with my system or headphones. The experience with lights out where only your auditory senses are alert is something else even if your system is not “said” to have a great sound stage. Try it a few times. You may just be very pleasantly surprised.