What Do I Buy To Become An Audiophile?

[susheeljohn]

How do you like the companion II ?
On a scale of 1-10 what would you rate it at ?.

 

[susheeljohn]

Re: Any comments on Bose Speakers ?

Hi John,
I know one guy, whose name is S.John working in an Oil PSU. Don't know, whether you are the same guy or not.

I am not with an oil PSU..never was with one..thanks for the lead on the system.

 

[malvai]

I beg to differ from a few here...An audiophile's quest is to reproduce music as close to the original recording as possible. This can only happen with high end equipment. Being an audiophile is a hobby.

This is different from being a music lover. An audiophile may be a music lover but the vice versa may not be true.

Audiophiles who are non music lovers are nothing more than gadget gurus who get thrills by owning various audio equipments, wherein the temporary joy is obtained by the sense of ownership of such equipment.

I would add "within his budget" to the statement. Because, bro, everyone works to a budget.

And while there are many gear lovers who are audiophiles, the truest of all audiophiles have a simple quest: make their music sound as good as they can, within their budgets at that particular point of time in their life.

Which probably explains why audiophiles upgrade every now and then. This single property is the difference between a casual listener and an audiophile: have the means, will upgrade!

Obviously, the audiophile, is a bit of a fanatic. Or rather, quite a fanatic, as my wife puts it, when she talks of my hobby to her friends...

Now coming back to the other kind of audiophile - the gear geek. Now this guy loves to won gear and showcase its strengths basis some audiophile demo discs. You'll usually find a lot of demo discs and audiophile releases dominating such collections. Ask these fella anything beyond the demo discs and you get vague, evasive answers.

I have no respect for such people. And find them boring. As I have never been able to have a meaningful conversation on music with them. Ya, but they'll be great repositories of gear advice.

I liken gear-o-philia akin to having an expensive car, a full tank, but nowhere to go. Its just a quick show around the block and back for such likes!

Now, a true audiophile uses his gear and reaches audio nirvana everyday!
(Ask my neighbours! They are getting pretty tired of me blasting music 3 hours every morning AND 5 every evening when I am in town!)

Now dictionaries define audiophiles as people who strive to get the best hi-fidelity sound. So, yes technically Sachin, you are correct.

But why would anyone who is not a music lover want to accomplish this?

So I say again, if one loves his music, collects a lot of it, listens to it and want to hears it and enjoy it in an increasingly better way, to come as close to it as possible, is already an audiophile.

In my journey as an audiophile, I have met many people who make very modest wages, with lots of family commitments, scrimp and save for years, and then upgrade from a boom box to a entry-level rig costing 50k. Would that not make him an audiophile?

or would it take a spending of atleast 3-5 lakhs to make him an audiophile?

I think, the answer lies in a person's intent and love for sound and music. The money, the gear, these are just an indication of a person's spending capacity at that particular point in time. Period.

 

[vivek.saikia]

Now, a true audiophile uses his gear and reaches audio nirvana everyday!
(Ask my neighbours! They are getting pretty tired of me blasting music 3 hours every morning AND 5 every evening when I am in town!)

Seriously Malvai, how do you manage to get so much of listening hours?
With my time schedule, I am not being able to spare even 1 hour/2hours in the morning/evening for pure music listening. All I am doing these days is passive listening

 

[keith_correa]

So if one does not love [or listen to] music as much as most [audiophile] others and if that someone is on an equipment quest to better the reproduction of music - what does that make him/her? I think audiophile.

 

[malvai]

So if one does not love [or listen to] music as much as most [audiophile] others and if that someone is on an equipment quest to better the reproduction of music - what does that make him/her? I think audiophile.

Exactly my point!

 

[malvai]

Seriously Malvai, how do you manage to get so much of listening hours?
With my time schedule, I am not being able to spare even 1 hour/2hours in the morning/evening for pure music listening. All I am doing these days is passive listening

Well, I wake up at 6 am. Read the papers etc, on my listening chair! I (currently) work not too far away from home. So listen till 9 am.

I usually am back by 7. Have an early dinner and listen to the glorious sounds till 12 or 1. That's most days...

On Saturday and Sundays, if there are no other obligations, I get more time for music.

But, when I shift to Delhi, things will change. As I will be spending most of my time playing with my little son!

 

[iaudio]

Buy these and you can be sure of audiophile status:

 

[anm]

great news! welcome back. We will have another audiophile [who also happens to have GREAT gear] close by.

So moving to Noida or some other place?

But, when I shift to Delhi, things will change. As I will be spending most of my time playing with my little son!

 

[malvai]

great news! welcome back. We will have another audiophile [who also happens to have GREAT gear] close by.

So moving to Noida or some other place?

Moving to Gurgaon... my wife's just finalising the deal there and I am getting the stuff ready for the packing and moving!

 

[susheeljohn]

But, when I shift to Delhi, things will change. As I will be spending most of my time playing with my little son!

I wish I could invite you to our neighbourhood, I could steal some free music from you given your listening times match my free time !!:lol:

 

[malvai]

I wish I could invite you to our neighbourhood, I could steal some free music from you given your listening times match my free time !!:lol:

don't even try it!

Ya, but you're most welcome to share the moments when i listen to the music!