What is an “audiophile”?
My definition: someone who listens to music for extended periods of time for that sole purpose, and not as an accompaniment or background to other activities such as dancing, jogging, internet browsing, ironing and housework. They are not just a “music lover”, but someone who over time has built up sensitivity to the quality of sound reproduction, and aspires to the quality of live performance in studio or concert hall: musicians in the room. (bearing in mind there are some musicians you really wouldn’t want to be in your room)
Audiophiles make an investment in home audio equipment. Through active listening and comparison, audiophiles gain an appreciation of the variation in the performance of different audio equipment. This is a fertile breeding ground for both true audiophiles and “equipment snobs” often seen at Hi Fi Shows. Some professed audiophiles appear to have no taste in music, or at least limit it to a test record, often Dark Side Of The Moon, or “something with a woman singing”.
An audiophile will be inclined to spend a significant amount of their limited resources to further improve their listening experience, because listening to music is one of their priorities in life. They will have found that the listening experience can always be improved, and devote yet more resources to gaining that improvement.
It can often be a lifetime journey, as it is often only later in life, after work and family commitments have been met, that one has time money and inclination to pursue their audiophilia.
Some discoveries along the way to becoming an audiophile:
- Zen and the Art of HiFi Maintenance
- CD or Vinyl?
- LJC System – latest configuration updated August 2015
- The HiFi system test record
- Turntable isolation platform
- valves
- Vinyl care and protection
- Record Cleaning
- Home recipe for record cleaning
- Tonearm VTA adjustment
- stylus cleaning
- cone madness
- Radio Gaga – the war against RF
- Mono Stereo
- Lo-cost tweaks
- Mid-price tweaks
- The Law of Diminishing returns, “another unproven Hi Fi maxim”
Hi LJC,
Since you have a clear preference for 1950-60’s vinyls to new vinyls, do you have any thoughts on whether one should get a refurbished 1970-80’s turntable or a new turntable?
Thank you