Columns Retired Columns & Blogs |
Anyone who pays close attention while listening to music.
Is it how much you spend or how you spend it? Is it how you organize your priorities when it comes to audio? Is it only a state of mind? Define the word "audiophile."
An audiophile is someone who appreciates quality. He spends what he can afford on the components and appeciates the value for the money spent. It would be crazy to think you are not an audiophile unless you spend a certain dollar amount.
It is not how much money you spend. Certainly it is not the absolute amount of money that you spend. That said, audiophiles may be more likely to spend *relatively* more of their disposable income on audio equipment, music, concerts, etc. However higher % of discretionary spending on "audio" does not MAKE you an audiophile either.
Most everyone loves music! An audiophile perhaps best describes someone whose enjoyment comes from tuning into each note of each instrument, even the silence between notes, merging their consciousness with the music and tries to get the equipment that will provide that joy.
An audiophile is anyone who believes that live, acoustic music should_ be a reference point, whether they do anything more in practice than merely think that or not. So it's clear that "audiophile" is not necessarily a compliment. More simply, anyone who believes that Bose is not "the best."
Sadly, most audiophiles are audiphools! The hi-fi industry, media, and enthusiasts have shrouded themselves in pseudoscience, selling, perpetrating, and buying the myths as they go. It is sad because audio is an otherwise fascinating mulitidisciplinary subject encompassing physics, biology, neuroscience, and psychology.
I've been and audiophile all my life and I know exactly what it is: An audiophile is a person who has a specific mental illness which is to be or become obsessed with the way recorded music sounds and how it is played and/or processed though electronic equipment. While most sufferers are males, females have also been known to develop symptoms. One common symptom is broad shifts in self-esteem. For example when one first believes they have the perfect kit, then almost immediately feeling their system is completely inadequate. Behavioral manifestations include spending large amounts of money on evermore elaborate and/or expensive audio equipment, constant changing and tweaking of equipment, and constant changing of music tracks to here what the next track sounds like with the new tweak. Some are dillusional, believing a small change in their kit has improved it or given it a quality usually not associated with sound or a listening experience (e.g. having a warm or liquid sound). Effective treatments include bankruptsy and divorce.
An audiophile is a person who enjoys music and values sound quality to the point where he or she will spend a percentage of their disposable income commensurate with the value they place on these attributes. They also attend a reasonable number of live music events.
An audiophile is someone who values sound quality and music enough to spend a commensurate amount of their disposable income on a system to reproduce music to their satisfaction. They also periodically validate their impressions of live music by attending live performances.