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Audiophile man lies on a track between two extreme end full stops called "just listening music" and "going nuts." Amount of money spent for the equipment determines which point you are close to. Unfortunately, there is no end point in the audiophile world. Like any other hobby, if it is kept under control, it is a very good hobby. But if one just listens sto pitting, creaking, farting noises after spending $300.000-USD for a system, the next full stop is a mental hospital for sure. I like a word saying "there is a very thin line between having a hobby and being a lunatic". IMHO, cables, cartridges and tubes are very very dangerous items which carry you to the dangerous full stop quite quickly. They have to be avoided as much as possible. I know a man who uses 10.000-EURO loudspeaker cables and drives a 20.000-EURO worth car. He is a lunatic. I use my secondary system in my own listening room (yes it is a small room but all in all I am away from my wife and children at the times of listening which is very very limited and nobody get hurts for my music listening sessions which would have required invading the living room and disturbing my family in another case) which costed to me around $3500-USD (integrated solid state amplifier+CD player+pair of bookshelf speakers+own custom designed racks) and I don't even know the loudspeaker cable brand name which was given free of charge with the loudspeakers. I don't care about them much because if I pay more than 10-USD for 2x2m of cables, I can not explain it to myself after being an engineer who is using a SS amplifier. I have an acoustical spectrum analyser system (not purchased for the hobby but business use) which costs almost like my system and according to that, my system sounds quite flat and neutral. It is what I want it to be. All in all, I use it for listening music as correct as possible under my hobby purchase limits. It would be a bit better but in that case I would need to sell my car, house and even change my marital status. It is not what I want to do. All in all, it is just a hobby not an addiction for me.

An audiophile is a music lover who desires as accurate reproduction of music as possible within the budget they can afford. This does not necessarily mean high priced. For example the original AR turntable was less than $100. An audiophile is one who chooses well engineered recordings and plays them with no signal modification. And demands well designed equipment inside and out with no bells and whistles. So you it is about goals not money: an audiophile wants to recreate the original musical event with no changes; an non-audiophile wants to change the music to their tastes.

An enthusiast who singlemindedly seeks to reproduce the original musical event as realistically as possible in his own listening room.

Someone who cares about and knows how to get the best possible sound from a system for whatever budget they have to work with.

To me, an audiophile is simply anyone who cares about good sound enough to pursue it. How much you spend in that pursuit, or what you listen to doesn't matter.

A person who finds pleasure in the aural experience in all its variety and detail. A music lover might be more conscious of the suggestions and symbolisms of the movement of sound. It doesn't mean that she is not enjoying sound itself but and an audiophile experiences this pleasure more consciously.

That's easy, anyone who actually listens to music in the foreground is an audiophile (non-auds, everybody else, uses music as a soundtrack accompany other activities). Since they're not really listening, sound quality is a non issue.

Someone who strives for the best possible sound. Money doesn't have a lot to do with it. What really matters is whether hi/she is a "musicphile".

It's my testimonial name of how music should sound. I'm an perfectionist.

State of mind. Paying attention not only to music itself, but how accurate the sounds are played back.

An audiophile is some whose zealous love of music, aspires to achieve a level of musical reproduction that that is as pleasant and close to a live performance as possible. This is accomplished through luxury priced high-end equipment that usually requires a second mortgage on the house.

An audiophile is passionately connected to his or her gear which helps them get more enjoiment from their music.

An impassioned, educated, and dedicated individual who studies the art of sound and music reproduction, for either enjoyment or fidelity.

To me, an audiophile is someone who enjoys a higher level of sound quality than the majority, and who is willing to actively participate to achieve it. That doesn't mean having to spend large sums of money. As you note in recommended components, "...entry level equipment can produce very satisfying results..." or something near that.

Technically, an audiophile is someone who is interested in audio equipment. in practice, this person is also elitist. Being an audiophile and being a music lover are two different things that are not necessarily related. Generally speaking, audiophiles are more concerned about equipment and music lovers are more concerned about the music.

An obession, never satisfied with your current system, always looking for what's out there.

I like listening to recordings and messing around with the junk I use to play them. A lot.

I don't think it CAN be defined, because it's so subjective.

audio phile:awe D OH file,(eng): defined as one who has a passion for music. One who has an obsessive compulsive personnality toward music and equipment on which it is played. A person that tends to be anal about the music playback equipment and sometimes disregards his personnal taste in music. A person that will buy a music selection based upon it srecording quality rather than it's content and reflection or personnal taste. i.e. a fool. See also audiophool, audio enthusiast, audio dealers blessing and boon.

People that love music and accepts reproduction.

A true audiophile is striving for the best sound possible. In real terms, it is with in his/her budget as to how they spend it. One who has an all used system under $1k is just as adamantt about good sound as the one who spends over $100k.

Someone who devotes time and effort (and maybe money) to improve the experience of listening to music. More specifically, to making the sound of music be as good (maybe beautiful, maybe accurate) as it can be.

Someone who cares about the quality of the audio reproduction.

An audiophile is someone who doesn't let equipment get in the way of their music. An audiophool does the same thing, but their system costs more than a house.

Fools like me with misplaced priorities and too much money to throw around. If it wasn't for the beauty of the music and our love for it, we'd be completely profligate.

I think an audiophile is someone who loves music. Sits down and actively listens to music and can be emotionally involving.

One who pursues high-quality music reproduction.

A person with an exceptional concern for quality music reproduction, and is willing to devote significant time and/or resources to that pursuit.

As a rule of thumb, an audiophile is a person who cares about the fidelity of music reproduction and does something about it. And of course, theres's a big segment of audiophiles that are also music lovers, thats' what started the whole thing. Then there's the hardware fetishist audiophiles who are solely into the hardware, they're the ones that keep audiogon going. God bless them.

A person who wants to create a sound presentation in their own living space from recorded media that can't be discerned from reality.