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To get chicks, of course!

A great experience.

Depression sets in when I don't listen to music. Therefore, it is my way of excaping from the real world and a form of relaxation for me. Is that complex or what? I get the same kind of lift after riding my bicycle 50 miles.

Just filling up with all the great sounds out there. With what we think is the best way we can. I think thats all there is in life.

A few years back, I read an article or book excerpt by Roger Ebert. He was writing about how movies should be viewed on the best possible system and with the best possible fidelity to fully understand what it is that the finished product is meant to convey. I, as an audiophile, wish to do the same with music. Listening to music through the best possible system is an attempt to get at what the composers/musicians/recording engineers have tried to convey. If I'm really, really lucky, I'll get what they want me to get out of it. That's my goal as an audiophile.

Who doesn't want the best to be had?

I'm hoping i can create the most realistic duplication of a particular piece of music as I can. What else? Something like what I hear at my local high-end store.

It is just a hobby. For it to have a purpose or accomplish something, if that is the case, then why bother?

Listen to music.

Supreme relaxation from enjoyment of the most complex of all art forms.

I want my music to sound like...music.

It's not simple, but it's not anything to brag about. Audiophilia is an obsession. A grisly, dark obsession that can sap one's time and energy should one let it. If you have the time and money to spare, you're one up. Anyone who says "the general public doesn't know what good sound does" doesn't understand one important fact about the general public: they're poor. If you're poor, you're less likely to give in to such an expensive (and for all intents and purposes, useless) hobby. They'll just play music themselves on a $50 guitar from Wal-Mart, and have just as good a time as one would listening to Mahler for an hour; by themselves; in a sealed room with the only other objects in the room a pair of towering speakers and glowing tubes. What the hell is wrong with us, anyway? Get some friends.

Yep, nothing much!

I have two; since I'm in the industry, one is to make a living. The other is own a audio system I can be proud of and gives me satisfaction when I play the music I like. If there's more to it then that, I'm missing something.

Self-gratification and escape from reality.

I am out to impress women with my mammoth sound system (and to impress women with the fortune that I spent on said sound system). I don't think I am over-compensating.

I get an absolute thrill at live performances. And recreating that vibe at home is worth all the trouble and expense of hi-fi. However, after 20 years and what must be well over $100K in kit (are you reading this Mr ARC), I still haven't perfected the reproduction of a single instrument (I've come very close though). A 2.2m Stewart and Sons grand, with a pile of lessons would be a much better option.

I'm just curious about how anything works: cars, audio gear, the law, pretty much anything. I don't pretend to understand all things equally well (I'm an historian, not an electrical engineer, physicist or lawyer) but I do try to understand as many things as possible. As for why "audio reproduction"? Beyond my curiosity about how things work, I love music. I always have and I enjoy exploring music from many angles, including high-fidelity reproduction.

I may not own and enjoy looking at a Picasso, but I can look very clearly at many original million dollar recordings in close to their best "light."

Duh! Musical bliss. Duh.

Some facmisile of the real thing when the recording and the site so allow, otherwise just good sound quality of a recording. That's the audiophile in me, the music lover can put up even with Bose.

The most sound for the least outlay.

Hearing more of the music. Is there any other reason?

Reproducing music. That reaches me. Conform Mr. Walker from Quad. The closest approach ......

Of course I have a longing for a "realistic" sound with all its parameters. But in the end I find that for me it's about going through a proces of being able to tune in to my own emotions. I want my inner, deepest and strongest emotions reflected, "enlarged" and/or "channeled" by having private musical experiences at home! Having said that, it can be extremely rewarding to experience those moments when everything sound "right," in synergetic sort of manner.

More connection with the music.

I don't think the mind of an audiophile is any deeper or complex than an ordinary citizen. In fact, they may be simpler minded. The goal is to parallel live sound, which isn't going to happen, but if you can put together a system that is musically involving and emotionally gratifying, you may walk around with a smile more often than not!

Perfect sound is a means to an end. The end is my health and well being. Music conveys emotions that resonate within the listener's heart....joy, sadness, excitement, tranquility. When you connect with music and experience these emotions, your brain pumps out chemicals that replenish, relax and fortify you against the stress of everyday existence. The better the sound reproduction, the more intense the emotional experience. The mental and physical health benefits are worth the expenditure of my time and discretionary funds.

If I listen my favourite music without hiss and harmonic distortion and if it sounds good to me during my very limited private listening times, I am a happy man. I just don't like surprises and problems. I just like the damn thing to be reliable, durable and well performing. If I need to wipe the dust once a month, it is OK. But no more!

I love music, and I hope to experience a great breadth of it. Time and availability prevents me from hearing it live but an audio system opens up the world to me. Even after retiring three years age in the New York City area, I could never hear what are stored in my cllection of LPs and CDs. The closer I get to real, the better.