Vote

Having worked in the industry, I am a bit cynical; however I know what I am hearing, what I could be hearing (if I could afford it) and what I am willing to suffer(impossibly silly designs and tweaks), above all it is still fun - the Music!.

Give mike more analog room he should look at the SME 30 its great

I'm a serious audiophile, not because I like to buy "new and improved" gear all the time, but because each time I upgrade, I'm closer to that elusive "you are there" sound. I have friends who are fanatic audiophiles -- you know the type -- those who hear an audible difference in soundstage and focus when they place a quarter on their speaker baffles. I just take them with a grain of salt. Me? I'm interested in reproducing sound to the best of my ability without dabbling in the audio occult or breaking the bank. Isn't that what it's all about?

would be more serious if time and money allowed

Long Live Sam!

What's normal? I want good sound and I spend most of my leasure time listening to music? I don't upgrade all the time -- some equipment is 20 years old. Some is on order. What's Normal?

Surely we wouldn't be reading Stereophile if we weren't at least serious about hi-fi.

I knew my priorities back in 1970: The living room in my first apartment was empty except for two inflatable chairs and a $700 stereo . . .

I'm first and foremost a MUSIC lover, audio is an interesting accesory, granted, but not essential.

I have worked in the car audio field as an installer for seven years now and have developed an ear for the way things should sound. Year by year I get more discerning between my car and my house, I have components from Dynaudio, Energy, Yamaha, Monster Cable, Pioneer, Alpine, Rockford Fosgate, Clarion, Cerwin Vega, and others. I have searched far and wide for the best gear that I could get and it is slowly paying off.

I just don't have the funds to back up my dreams.

a friend of mine always talked to me about stereo equipment i heard his dynaco amp and i was impressed he helped me get started . i used to have a integrated amp, it was nice but i wanted better now i have a carver tfm 55 amp and a hafler pre amp with a pair of klipsch quartets such a wonderful sound . two channel is here to stay !

I listen to music at least 5 hours a day.

Serious yes, but the format wars have been frustrating, the audiophile equivalent of "The Day The Earth Stood Still."

I really have no clue what the question means! It is like asking "Are you an man or a woman today?"

I probably think and act like a normal-serious A-PHILE but because of time,space, and money constraints(three young kids), I am more in the casual-normal category. I dream high-end but buy demo equipment so that I can afford better sounding stuff.

approximately 74K invsted in present system only

Ok, I'm a reformed Fanatic . . . . I got hooked in the late 60's when I first heard a KLH "bookshelf" system at a neighbor's house. For the life of me, my budding engineering interests could not figure out why that little system could run rings around my Dad's Philco, a monolithic, wood-trimmed monster in the living room! I just had to know what quality of electrons ran up and down those wires and, to this day, I'm still looking -- and listening. BTW, the fanatic part of my past was from my days of working at a local stereo shop throughout the 70s designing, installing, and repairing almost everything from Atwater Kent radios (what I wouldn't give for that old box of 300B tubes we used to shoot BB's at!) to McIntosh, JBL and Klipsch. For about 10 years, I lived audio on a daily basis. Its already been a wonderful life!

I love music so badly but okay, I admit I'm also a equipment lover too.

I need a daily fix of music through my system. Not only does my wife at times show contempt for my hobby (actually she is very proud of our system), but our cat gives me the evil eye on occasions. However, he does seem to enjoy live Zappa!

I'm always wishing I had more time to just sit and listen.

For everything I buy, I try to compare it to what I could buy for my seesteem. (Including food, excluding booze.)

I am serious about bettering my system but am too poor to be fanatic about it right now.

At this point in time, I actually feel contemptuous over another format battle no one expected. After the video format war, everyone knew this type of thing would never happen again. Surely everyone learned from mistakes during that time. It's simple enough to develop a chip to handle SACD as well as DVD-A, but no, the manufacturers are only supporting their own format. With limited CDs available, costing $29.00 each, the consumer has no incentive to buy into this new technology. In the time it takes to declare a format winner, we could be tired of the battle, and stay with our HDCD recordings.

Currently, I think that I am not an audiophile. I'd rather prefere to listen music than equipment.

My interest in audio has been very serious for some time. However, over the past year and a half, it's been extreme since I improved the power delivery system in my rig with several innovative products from PS Audio. Those products include a couple of Power Plant P600s, a hand full of Lab Cable Power Cords, and a couple of their Ultimate Outlets. With the introduction of these products to my system, my interest, pleasure, and enjoyment in audio has advanced to another level. As a fifty-one year old baby bummer who has been actively involved in home audio for more then 30 years, I can honestly say that I'm having more fun with audio then ever. This truly is a wonderful hobby and there are some terrific companies out there producing great products.

I concentrate on listening music. Every 10 years I upgrade my system. 2001 is such a year. Living presently in Greece, I am having fun experiencing the European philosophy of high-end listening to European gear. I am pleasantly surprised, especially with German manufacturrers.

I am one of those individuals who loves the art of reproduction as much as the music. I study audio electronics, music and repoduction almost daily. I design and build my own gear and improve on purchased gear. Other than spending time with my family, there is nothing more rewarding. What a great pastime.

Audiophile. Aud-ja-file, dude. The word conjures thoughts of people rolling their eyes and saying derisively "Oh, one of those..." under their breath. I can't say that I qualify as an audiophile or a even a tweaker. I enjoy listening to music. While I would prefer to listen to sounds through thoughtfully designed and well crafted equipment, I could listen to good music through soup cans and string if those were the available sources. Live performances would be my preferred source of music, but the mind numbing realities of maintaining employment and raising a family have reduced my previously frequent attendance to live concerts. Besides with cell phones chirping and audience participants discussing their supposedly personal issues at seemingly bullhorn level, live shows seem to possess an alarming number of distractions. Don't ask me to repeat some of the personal issues. Okay, marital infidelity and impotence conversations have been overheard at concerts by my ears more than I would ever care to know. Even polyps were mentioned. I like to listen to most genres of music such as Rock, Jazz (not that formulaic "Lite" Jazz one hears on the so-called hip radio station aimed at others in my age group), Chamber, and Orchestral; however, I will pass on Country. That is not to say I purchase the hottest shelf components receiving the most frequently visited web e-tailers Five and a half star approval rating at the best prices in the universe. I do have a credible analog setup (VPI/PLC/SAMA/SME) through a Monolithic Sound PS-1/NAD/B&K onto Vandersteen 2Ci. As this rig does not qualify as the ultimate audiophile setup to some, the sound produced from good vinyl is musically satisfying. Maybe if I put those soup cans thorough an anhydrous cryogenic freeze-thaw cycle and subject the string to adiabatic demagnetization, the sound would improve.

It's a hobby and I believe it should be above all fun. I try not to get too hung up on the equipment (though I enjoy it) because when I do, I loose site of the music.