Vote

It's my recipe for relaxation and the soundtrack for my life—not much more than that. Love the music, especially when it sounds good.

I thought these things were manufactured—and now I hear about audio reproduction! Is there a web site?

Just enjoyment. When it stops being fun, I'll move on to something else.

Relief of daily anxiety and a greater appreciation of various cultures and genres. Music is the great healer.

Pure, physical, sensory delight. Greater emotional depth in the music I listen to.

As a dedicated purist, I always have at least one decent sound system in play. (Blackouts excepted ;)

I just want it to sound better. The better it is the more it "does" for me. Peace, inspiration, angst, giving me that swing.

I want to be at a session: live! Beinga home-bound quad. the reproduction of music is as real as it's going to get!

Keep my psyche awake.

Getting as much as I (reasonably) can out of my recordings, of whatever type. I like good tools.

The acquisitive trip carries little value now, so it must get down to the joys to be had. Right now I'm juggling tubes to find the optimal mix for a newly acquired amp, and I'm asking myself not only if/when I will stop tube rolling but if this is actually really and truly the amp that will be here fifteen years from now, so I would guess my goal is to put together a system that doesn't beg such a question. When the time comes I don't want a proper funeral, but I do want to compile the playlist and provide the system its played on.

It's a hobby. The model railroader is always looking out for that special painting technique; the cyclist (human-powered variety) looks to lose another ounce, or that frame that has just the right combination of flex and stiffness in the right places. Even real (I sometimes wonder if we're the wannabe) musicians look for that "something," whether it's in their chops or their instrument that takes it just a bit further. Face it, once you're hooked, that's it. Whatever "it" is. Maybe we just want to be inventors, or to have something "unique." As a woodworker, there's the pride of saying "I made that."

A Led Zeppelin concert hall in my newly built home studio.

World domination! Actually just to have fun.

Screwy question. It's all about the music.

In a world where quality and craftsmanship don't stand for much, an entire hobby based around the pursuit of perfection. That's gotta be something....

It's very simple, just enjoy good music.

The audio system is the doorway, and nothing more. You would like the door to open wide and be free from splinters. In the end, however, its job is merely to let you pass. It is the means to that greater passage into the world of music itself, and thus a means to leave behind the fettered, ordinary, tangible, and circumscribed life.

Judging by the list of favorites from the previous Vote, it would seem audiophiles are mainly middle-aged Caucasian men using expensive gear to try to recapture the intensity of music they listened to 30-40 years ago. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

To forget myself, to find myself, to become more than myself. Not everyone cares to decorate the walls. There are those of us concerned more with the air and the light.

Great question. I guess I enjoy being entertained, whether alone or with others. The best compliment ever given to my ability to compile an audio system is when others have come following the sound into the room expecting to see a live band or live quartet performing.

My only goal is to listen to music with high fidelity to the original sound. However, I know that most audiophiles are more interested in the technology than the music.

Simply the enjoyment of music in a home environment. Nothing lofty.

To get more involved with the music I buy. A good hobby, altough very egocentric, when at home.

To be uplifted, inspired, to change my mood as seen fit, to change my mood unexpectedly, to smile, to laugh, to cry, to groove, to feel something - experience something, to be moved, to share with my wife & friends, to swing, to dance (of course), to tinker with, and to celebrate our human experience through the joys of audio reproduction and playback.

My sole purpose is to enjoy the music and find escape into my own little concert hall/venue in my head! The equipment need only be appropriately built to the level to achieve what I'm looking for and be reliable. If I have to fool with it or service it regularly, it is junk, to me.

Appreciating the excitement and pleasure of the music as the artist intended when it was recorded. It is all about the music.

Enjoying the intersection of art and technology. Getting to know a range of music far beyond what I can experience live. Enjoying the march of technology that brings me closer to the absolute sound of live music.

The sheer enjoyment of listening to the greatest music ever written!

It's not deep at all. It's about enjoying the music more.