"Audiophiles" Raise your hand

OuttaTime

Member
New here.......out of curiousity, I would like to think most or all musicians would lean toward hearing best possible reproduction of any music.......I am no musician but I enjoy listening.....doesn't seam to rub off on any of the drummers I've hoarded gear off of.......I play for my self interest alone....but I do not enjoy playing on ZBTs as much as my vintage As. Same goes for listening to a boom box vs dedicated 2 channel audio system.
 
Speaking for myself only...I'm no musician, but I try and pass myself off as one here.

I am listening to the music itself, first, second and third. Just anything concerning the music itself, you name it.

But me personally I'm not discerning the sound quality due in no small part to raging lifelong tinnitus.

I'm trying to de-construct the music, that's where my brainpower is going.

I spent 3 years listening almost exclusively to Robert Johnson. Just to try and understand what was supposed to be so great about this man. His recordings are laughable, audio quality-wise, compared to today. After a while, it didn't matter at all because I tuned it out. It's the music man. Everything else is down the list for me.

If I am mixing something, then I am going for sound quality obviously. But listening to other's stuff, it's pretty much a non-issue for me. I may have opinions, but the music trumps the audio production every day. I'll judge the music every which way before I'll judge the audio quality. That is how this artist wanted it presented. It's nice to have both, great music great audio, but if I had to pick....give me a badass smoking track with less than perfect sound over something perfect sounding that's not as badass.

Cool question. Welcome.
 
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I was an audiophile for years but like Uncle Larry, tinnitus has robbed me of being able to appreciate the extra sweetness that comes with the best gear. Doesn't help that I am bludgeoning my hearing to death with drums 10-12 hours per week, either.

That said, I still care about audio quality and own some decent gear. My favourite records tend to be well recorded, too.
 
I'm a professional audio engineer with the Walt Disney Co. So when you say "audiophile", you're just talking about high-end good sounding home stuff, right? I currently deal in professional audio gear, mostly digital now, where I have all kinds of control.

As much as I like the old analog way of doing things, I no longer listen to vinyl records, or any kind of magnetic tape medium. The convenience of digital .wav files now rule my world. I was there in analog-ville as a child and I can't imagine ever going back. So my audiophile definition is slightly different. My attitude about it also changes for it's intended use. If I just want to hear old favorites at home, bluetoothing mp3 files through the air to a stereo receiver is really all I need. If I'm intending to mix for a show where nothing can go wrong, then the attitude changes along with the gear.
 
After a few EE classes in college, I built my own loudspeakers (Altec-Lansing woofer & mid, EV horn tweeter) and the 3-way crossover using schematics we designed in the class. They are 15”x16”x36” and weigh 75 lbs. each. I still have ‘em and use ‘em. They’ve been re-coned twice

After I finished them (the cabinets were the hardest part) I brought them to the prof’s lab and we ‘scoped them for accuracy. They passed the test with an average deviation that put them in the $800 each category (this was 1978 and I don’t remember the readout values). They cost me about $250 for the pair to build.

Then I went to a hi-fi store and bought a Scott pre-amp (tubes, don’t remember the wattage), a Harmon-Kardon tube power amp, and an AR-1 turntable with a spiffy cartridge.

The first record I played was Powerage. I was in heaven. My neighbors were not.

The setup was the best sounding stereo I’ve ever had but eventually the tubes were difficult to find so I sold the tube gear and bought a Denon receiver and have regretted the decision ever since.
 
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I used to be an amateur audiophile from about 1986 to 2000.

Cerwin Vega D-7 Speakers (I used to blow out matches playing Angel by Jimi Hendrix to amuse my friends)
Proton Integrated Amp (4db of headroom at 500 milliseconds - google it)
NAD Tuner
etc etc etc

My cars were always the same insanity.

Now I'm listening to the Stones through iTunes and 25 dollar HP speakers.

Pete
 
I used to be an amateur audiophile from about 1986 to 2000.

Cerwin Vega D-7 Speakers (I used to blow out matches playing Angel by Jimi Hendrix to amuse my friends)
Proton Integrated Amp (4db of headroom at 500 milliseconds - google it)
NAD Tuner
etc etc etc

My cars were always the same insanity.

Now I'm listening to the Stones through iTunes and 25 dollar HP speakers.

Pete

I also have a bluetoothed iPod (an older model) with 64GB of memory, and I've been uploading my entire CD collection to it as lowest setting mp3's. At first I was "sacrilege", but then I'm playing it through a bluetooth speaker I found at Best Buy for $5 on sale. The same iPod goes with me to my truck which also has bluetooth so I have most of my CD collection with me wherever I go. Convenience wins. I don't have to be an audiophile ;)
 
I also have a bluetoothed iPod (an older model) with 64GB of memory, and I've been uploading my entire CD collection to it as lowest setting mp3's. At first I was "sacrilege", but then I'm playing it through a bluetooth speaker I found at Best Buy for $5 on sale. The same iPod goes with me to my truck which also has bluetooth so I have most of my CD collection with me wherever I go. Convenience wins. I don't have to be an audiophile ;)

Yeah, that would have been a sacrilege to me at one time too. I confess that while I got rid of the D-7s after the woofers cracked I did replace them with smaller Klipsch speakers that are no slouch. And, of course, I still have all the other equipment. I just don't listen to it anymore.

My car has 120 albums and 15 or so playlists on a 128gb iPod that's USB plugged in.
 
I became an audiophool :ROFLMAO: in the late 70s and accrued various gear over the next 20 years. I still have it all, but rarely turn it on. There's a lot of snake oil in the audiophile biz.

I was also a live audio engineer for many years, which is probably why I eased out of my Hi-Fi hobby. I still dabble in live sound with my band and offer my services to good friends and their bands, because unused pro audio doesn't make any money.
 
I’ve recently (after much nagging) moved my old hi fi separates system from my parents house to mine. I only “left home” about 25 years ago so I didn’t take too long ;-) It’s not audiophile standard but given that what I’ve got inhabits a middle ground that doesn’t seem to exist anymore (the choices today seem to be small but fairly powerful Bluetooth systems or multi thousand pounds separates) I’m happy with it for nostalgia purposes if nothing else. I don’t get the opportunity to wind it up to take advantage of what it can do and I found myself buying a lot of records purely and simply for the “nostalgia purposes” of holding picture discs and picture sleeves that I wanted but didn’t have back in the day. I even bought some white labels that I doubt I’ll even play. But they’re all there if I want to which is the point I suppose.
After a hotel stay in which the room had a Bose Bluetooth speaker that impressed me, I went out and bought a £15 House Party Speaker for my office and was equally impressed by that. Is it as good? I genuinely don’t know but it’s about a tenth of the price so I’m not complaining. Earlier this year I bought a Marshall branded speaker that to my surprise my wife liked the visual aesthetics of and it sits in our living room. The party we had a few months back has passed into legend thanks in part to the amount of good quality air that speaker shifted plus the £20 of party lights that I use in my bands and set up in the living room that night. For years I’ve had my CD collection on a USB stick in the car, I’ve recently been in a couple of loan vehicles after an accident in my car and have heard elements of music that I haven’t heard for years from the system in the Skoda Octavia, The audiophile champion in a three way competition between that, a BMW and an Infiniti.

I probably used to like to think of myself as being a bit discerning, but as has been said already in this thread it’s more important to listen to the music and enjoy it rather than getting bent out of shape chasing the perfect sound. I’m happy to do either, there’s genuine oomph and clarity from CDs played on my old Technics system that I don’t get from MP3s in the car or over headphones, but a good tune is a good tune so if I can hear one while I’m on a car journey or sitting in the sun on holiday through my copycat Bose noise reducing headphones then that will also do for me.
 
Audiophile, not really. Musicphile, definitely. I just checked the properties on my PC. My main music player has 6,563 mp3s inside 812 folders. My secondary player has another 35 bands with multiple albums, so maybe another 150 albums worth. I also have stacks of CDs, and a busstub full of cassettes (100+). Both my wife's and my car have working cassette players. I also have a Sony mp3 player with like another 4gig or so of music on it. Plus I listen to Pandora on my phone when I'm not at home or in the car.

As for playback, I'm with Uncle Larry. I'd rather hear music on a crap system than not hear it at all. That being said, my PC was purchased with the sole intention of being a music player, so it has a 6 speaker surround sound setup. All headphones and earbuds I buy are Sony. Yes, I like Sony.

My collection is a bit of everything. Rock, rap, metal, disco, classical, electronic, jazz, soul, funk, techno, Latin, country, blues, soundtracks, blah blah blah. Music is my drug, and if I don't hear it everyday I don't feel right.
 
Been an audiophile for decades, but no budget for new toys. I still have my NHT speakers from the 90s, though my Onkyo Integra stuff is long dead. Still have a fairly stout older Onkyo receiver and an old sub that can shake the house to pieces, but can’t really crank it often enough. By today’s standards, the sub is way too old school, but i’ll still put the NHT mains, center and rears against most things 10x their price. They have held their own for decades. Smooth, clear and voices sound like voices, instead of the processed tunneled crap manufacturers are pushing off as speakers. If they break, it’ll be a truly sad day. As for music, most of my library is ripped to highest quality, which has always been a challenge for storage, but I can hear the difference, so it’s something I live with.
Up to just a few weeks ago, I still had my Orion car amps and AudioSource crossovers, hoping to return them to duty after repairing them, but finally gave up on that. Too many digital conversations and I just don’t get to drive by myself enough to make it worth the pursuit and investment. Too many things attached to automotive infotainment systems anymore to make any worthwhile upgrades remotely cost effective.

Sorry to hear so many have to deal with tinnitus and can’t enjoy your music as before.
 
I am a closet audiophile....

...but I really actually spend any money that would go towards that kind of stuff on higher end gear to make the recordings with...

if it is between $5000 for a piece of audio equipment, or for drum or bass guitar stuff, it is going towards the drums or guitar stuff right now. I am sort of "mobile" in my living situation right now, so I also don't have a solid place to get a set up going. I do 99% of my listening in my car between work and gigs

one of my students dad's has an unbelievable system at his place...McIntosh power amp that is beautiful, Some German speakers (Klipsch I think?) that are like butter...I scratch the itch by going over there every once in a while...

I wish I could get a tube bass amp as pretty as that McIntosh!!! But I would not want to use it live
 
It's becoming more and more expensive. As a drummer, I put as much work into hearing and having things sound as good as possible. I have a good set of UE Iems for live playing. 3 sets of studio monitors for recording/mixing. A decent set of mics, and "OK" room, but with enough time I can have my stuff sound good.

I spend a ton of time tuning as well.

My cars used to be over the top with the systems I'd load them with, but I grew out of that and they just become a target. My home Theater is pretty tip top as well.

I'm not more of a bang for your buck guy. TBH spending 200 VS 2000 on a snare mic is going to make much less difference than people think after you add Gates, compressors, reverb, and tuning that head for an extra 10 minutes would serve most better.

For live sound though, or just solo playing my cymbals DO make a huge difference. I play solo very often. I play in 2 bands but I almost prefer solo drumming. Just me, being creative. When I do this there is no guitar to drown out the drums. I get to play with dynamics and the sound of my snare, toms, kick, cymbals REALLY matter to me. I want those babys to sing.
 
I would say I'm more of a musicphile as well. But, I still have my mediocre Kenwood stereo equipment, Cerwin Vega speakers, and a set of nice studio monitor type speakers I found 25 years ago. Once the iPod came out, I started gearing up with digital and the best earbuds I could find. I DJ'd for SO many years and lost enough hearing, I like good quality sound in smaller packages nowadays for my own listening pleasure. Although I did recently purchase an ION speaker--looks like a small amp. Really nice sounding, but no stereo. Really powerful, I never crank it. I'll spend more on a great set of earbuds or phones before I'll try and update a serious stereo system. It would be nice if I could plug my iPod into the Kenwood equipment. They don't get along. I need a converter, etc etc. Nah

Yes, the tinnitus. HATE IT

For Tinnitus, HEAVY massaging on the back of the skull, hold and squeeze. Hold and squeeze. It will help relieve the pressure.
 
Hmm, Today I realized what I miss about my old high end audio equipment. I revisited some of my older, less friendly music on the way to work. It is, shall we say, forceful. Without the headroom in the amp, you just can't "feel" the music.

Pete
 
I like a good sound system. I found out how good an amp sounds when I bought a Denon 60 watt amp. My friend worked at a "hifi" store and convinced me to return that little 60 watt amp and he would sell me a Yamaha 120 watt amp at a great deal. I did it and found out the Denon sounded so much better. Oh well.
My brother is a serious audiophile to the point we all think he's nuts.
He wanted to change the power in his house to hospital-grade circuits so his power would be "clean" but his wife said nyet.
He had to have a preamp with British linear pots.
He bought huge electrostatic speakers that his wife vetoed for smaller ones.
He stopped listening to anything but classical and it had to be recorded by Telarc.
There was only one good listening spot on his couch because the soundstage was only good at that seat.
Totally nuts.
 
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