The secret lives of audiophiles
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- Most people are satisfied with good enough sound, that's a very low bar! Even when they can afford a decent audio system they opt for good enough, and they want the gear to be as unobtrusive as possible. Audiophiles want the system to be the star attraction!
#highendaudio #soundquality
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As a female audiophile in my 40s, it’s been really great seeing the RUclips community blossom over the last few years, and I’m so grateful for the inclusivity and sense of community promoted by channels like this one.
My life as an audiophile was lonely for decades. My girlfriends have never understood why I buy audio gear instead of purses or clothes. Yet I never felt welcomed into the “boys club” scene at audio shows or local Hifi shops either. Of course it didn’t help that my favorite genres are electronic..
In the last few years, things have been changing for the better, and RUclips has been a big part of that change. Thanks for being leader in audiophile inclusivity, Steve!
Sarah Swan Ray Thanks Sarah, great hearing from you!
Happy and glad that you enjoy the true wonderment joy and frustration of what music and hi-fi can bring. But you raise an interesting point in what we human choose to prioritise, purchase and value. Strange old world really
Electronic music has opened up vastly over the last few decades. There's a lot of it out there now to appreciate.
From old school stuff like Kraftwerk and Isao Tomita, to newer composers like Robert Rich and Steve Roach, to innovators like The Boards of Canada.
Well, I suppose you could say that they're all innovators.
If you need to talk about audio maybe we can chat up^.^
Merry Christmas I hope you get some new gear for Christmas.
Hey Steve, I'm in my seventies been an audiophile since my teens and NEVER had a single person in my life who was remotely interested in audio. I can't tell you how grateful I am that I found you.
Welcome! Welcome! One of us!
@@HareDeLune Thank you so much, I love being here, and now I'm not alone in my passion.
@@fredkinneary7829
Having a community of like-minded friends can make a big difference.
Much like yourself, I'm now in my fifties, with only one or two people I can talk to about audio (outside the Internets).
I was fortunate to work in a high-end audio dealership in the mid 1990's where I learned a few things; but although the desire was there from the time I was in my teens, I didn't start to really delve into it until recent years.
Also, the comments section of these videos have gone through some changes. Not everyone gets along. This was especially true in the early days when we had our share of trolls.
Things seem to have calmed down somewhat now, though, and most folk here are respectful if not downright nice.
I don't think you could have picked a better time to climb aboard. : )
I feel like as audiophiles , we don’t just listen to music, we experience it.
hear the sounds. Its so tangible, goosebumps
exactly, & I listen to headphones too , but my live equipment like you're in the headphones, nothing like a room full of live sound, let that music wash over you, you feel it, the vibration.....damn it's good, it is an experience.
Actually we don't enjoy them but we judge them
Audiophiles have a fascination with exceptional engineering, and aesthetically pleasing construction of crafty components, we appreciate and concern ourselves with the quality of products that reproduce true to live sound. Nice segment, Steve.
Sort of tangentially related - A friend of mine has this kid who is in junior high or high school. He's got Asperger's Syndrome pretty bad and doesn't have a lot of friends, feels alienated, etc. Anyway, I met him this past summer. Music is EVERYTHING to him. He likes The Cure, The Smiths, Queen . . . a lot of good stuff that I know his peers probably do NOT listen to. He really badly wanted a turntable for Xmas. My friend is completely lost when it comes to audio gear, so I directed her to a friend of mine's music store and they sold her a second-hand turntable. Tonight, I am dropping off an old Onkyo receiver and some old ESP bookshelf speakers that I have lying around. I'm also going to give the kid a few LPs that I have doubles of. The thing is, I am pretty excited about this. In fact, I'm probably as excited about welcoming this kid to the audio tribe as he will be to receive this stuff! I keep thinking back to when I was his age and the crappy little Realistic stereo stuff we had to listen to. . . I told my friend, "Well, none of the stuff gear he has is going to be brand new, but all of it is WAY better than the stuff I had when I was his age!" I dunno man...sorry for the ramble. I'm just really excited for this kid.
Great story!
Good of you to take that kid under your wing!
Hi Steve. I hope you hit that 100,000 mark soon. I live in Minneapolis and I am an audiophile. I'm 62 yo. and have been interested in the hobby since 1976. I also joined the Audio Society of Minnesota, it's an audiophile group that has been around for a long time. I have been a member for 4 or 5 years and now joined the board and actually organized a meeting with a retired JBL executive who opened a great record store in Hopkins Mn. This video of secret lives of audiophiles really hits home with me and I am sure a lot of other like me. In highschool and in college I was very preoccupied with having a powerful stereo. I remember a girlfriend telling me how great my system sounded and how interesting the receiver looked. I made a joke about how I did not care how it sounded I just cared that it had all kinds of lights and plenty of switches. Which was almost true, I really cared how complicated it looked as much as how good it sounded. I think it was a techniques 65wpc receiver that had the strip of LED that lighted up as the volume got louder. On top of it I had a 12 band EQ a dual 510 turntable with a stanton EE cartridge and a cassette deck for making mix tapes. All through college I would upgrade when I could, replaced the pioneer cassette deck with a Tandberg 420A, got into Reel to Reel, built a DIY Klipsch Cornwall kock off set of speakers. By the time 1981 rolled around and I graduated college I had a huge Denon amp with huge power meters, an NAD preamp, a CD player, I had my ultimate system. Then I just stopped reading Stereo Review, and the other 3 or 4 magazines I subscribed to. I had what I thought was my last system. 1983 to 1999 did not change a thing, purchased a Denon 5.1 system for the TV and kinda forgot about the stereo. Along comes 2001 and my now wife who gave me an Ipod classic 160. I put all my cd's on it and listened through my old Koss headphones, love it. One night we are having a bottle of wine and the girlfriend asks what the big speakers are for in my living room. I explained my old hobby and she wanted to hear it. I dusted it off, purchased a 3.5mm to RCA cord and plugged the ipod into the NAD and we started to listen. Sounded very good, I was hearing things in a recording I had never noticed before. I started thinking to myself I bet I could build a better set of speakers, well long story short, I now have a mcintosh c50 preamp, PrimaLuna tube amps, VPI Prime with the 3d arm, ortofon quintet black, a 2nd table DD with a VPI arm, and thanks to you Magnepan .7's. I still have the ipod, but now I have the sony HAP-1ZES when I am too tired to flip vinyl. You really hit the nail on the head with this video, Audiophile's need to be more social and get out and enjoy the hobby with others. Next year I want to put together a Progressive Dinner event where a group of Audiophiles visit 3 or 4 other homes, have some food and listen and see how others have set up their rooms. Keep the video's coming. John
I met my friend talking about stereo systems at the high school lunch table. We would go to the local hifi store every Friday and drool over the high end stuff we couldn’t afford. Forty years later, we just got back from driving 100 miles to the closest hifi store. But now we buy the stuff we couldn’t afford when we were poor kids. The passion is still there. Outside of him I don’t know anyone who really cares about audio.
yes indeed, I'm mostly buying "vintage" stuff these days, stuff I couldn't afford when I was a kid, now when I see it listed on ebay, offer up, hi fi stores, man it dirt cheap, I'm driving everywhere, but I finally have it. That a great story of you & your lifelong friend, good stuff Man ! God Bless !
I do, but I suppose you don't know me. : P
So cool that you have someone to share that passion with! It always makes it better.
I had my first turntable when I was 5. I spent a good part of my 53 years listening, learning, discovering music. That is what makes me an audiophile no matter how much I can spend on a piece of new equipment.
Boy would life be boring if we didn’t have this hobby.
I have many but nothing compares
to this one by far. Lucky I have friends who understand.
Happy Holidays everyone 😎
Good Morning and Happy Holidays I hope you could provide guidance's, some years back I purchased a PSB T6 which is 4 ohm and a XT2 which is 8 ohm I am using a Marantz pm 6005, when I payed CDs the T6 start playing even with the volume at zero? playing both speakers with the same amp could damage the amp? any suggestions? I hope somebody could provide feedback.
You have friends? Not too dedicated then?
@@bettymccantill3609 please give more info . Your question is a bit confusing.
It's not a hobby .... You aren't doing anything
I became a audiophile at 16.I have kept everything for the last 5 decades. Have 4 set-ups . Funny you mentioned listening to static, I also liked it & that led me to CB radio, SW, Ham & scanners. I love anything that receives audio from the air. There's even a nice song by Jim White called Static on the radio!
Good Morning and Happy Holidays I hope you could provide guidance's, some years back I purchased a PSB T6 which is 4 ohm and a XT2 which is 8 ohm I am using a Marantz pm 6005, when I payed CDs the T6 start playing even with the volume at zero? playing both speakers with the same amp could damage the amp? any suggestions? I hope somebody could provide feedback.
I told a work colleague that I had Hi-Fi gear today and she replied what’s Hi-Fi? Most people give me blank stares if I talk about an amp or speakers. The vast majority of people don’t really care about the quality of music reproduction and I feel like a weirdo.
You're one of us!
I would posit the vast majority of people don't KNOW about the quality of music. reproduction...
yes, they either don't listen to music anymore, or they on a bluetooth speaker or ear pods on their phone, it's so SAD.
I get that from people who check out my system, You Paid How Much! I’ve stopped telling people that number. Lol 😂
@@1999zrx1100 LOL !!
My favorite comment from my friends listening to my system is wow it's like the first time hearing this song again
It’s a fine balance between admiring the equipment and enjoying the music!
I agree. Well said.
Being f born ugly and thus no girlfriends, I became an audiophile. My stereo system was my "wife".
Recently met up with an old pal of mine. Wrt my stereo he called me "crazy".
Audiophiles don't multitask while listening to music. You are listening to music or not...
I listen to my headphones while lying on my bed with eyes closed. I do nothing. And it's pretty quite at my place.
In the car I listen to music but not really...I am driving. In the kitchen I don't really listen to the music playing.
Besides audio...I like the movie theaters...I go concerts...I drink Belgian beer...whisky...I smoke cigars...I play videogames...etc.
Yet I have always been particular about sound.
Audiophiles are never satisfied...always chasing truth...or always looking for new flavours of sound...I want to taste everything.
I'm the rare Audiophile that actually can't sit still and listen...Never liked sitting still. ;)
Audiophiles are never satisfied.....reviewers know this about us. Twenty years ago the magic description was “organic”. The cables sound very “organic”, or the tube amp sounds very “organic”
Now the magic description is “you can stop critiquing the system and just enjoy the music” or “a system that you can stop looking”.
Yeah true. Im not multitasking. I put CD in my player and just listen, look at artwork
I want To Wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, “May God Bless all of you.”
Is god an AUDIOPHILE ?
@ Garry Hall, And a Happy Hanukkah to you too , buddy! חַג שָׂמֵחַ
zorglub shiva God gave us the intelligence to build sophisticated equipment.
Mada Nielk Thank you happy Hanukkah to you God bless
@Garry Hall
Thank you very much; and likewise to you as well. : )
Hello, my name is _______, and I am an audiophile.
Ha!
Thank you for letting me know I am not the only person who has kept EVERY piece of stereo gear I have ever purchased. I used to think I was a hoarder. Now I know I am just an audiophile. 😇
LOL If I had the room, I would have about 5 different systems. One would be tubes with horns, one would be electrostatic speaks, etc.
they do call us hoarders, they just don't understand, it's SAD for them:)).
The biggest and best compliment I have received about my audiophile life is this -- "I wish I was as insane as you" 🤗🤗🤗
Thanks for bringing this topic up. Unfortunately, I don't have any close friends who are audiophiles (on the other hand, there is only one sweet spot!). Like Steve, I've always been obsessed with sounds, eg, the tone made by clicking a wine glass. I love great music and I love great music that sounds really, really good.
I don't care if people think owning high end gear is ridiculous - it's my thing and I fully assume it. However now that I live in an apartment I've had to compromise between ultimate good sound and the neighbor/wife friendly unobtrusiveness thing. But other than that, as you say Steve, I'm not afraid to let my freak flag fly. One difference I have with the typical audiophile stereotype is that I'm really into music (all kinds) and can't stand going into an audio shop and being forced into the sweet spot and fed the typical audiophile drivel when demoing gear. I like sounds but I also like beat, rhythm, melody, harmony and a good hook once in a while. That being said I also can't stand thin sounding badly compressed recordings and gear that exacerbates them. Those who are behind that need to be fazed out of their respective industries FAST.
My girlfriend is just as happy tuning in to her favorite FM radio station on her cheap Sony mini ''LO-FI'' system dancing around the kitchen carefree to pop tunes.
I love "quality" audio so much I am learning to build my own loudspeakers!
I will build the perfect system for my needs...
Being an audiophile isn’t about the music. It’s the search for the space between the music, beauty, purity. It takes you to a different, a better place than the one we live.
Thank you. The light came on - sound or music. I have a friend who sells equipment. One set of components sell for $78 thousand. When he plays it for me the sound is so loud that I want to run from the room. When I plead with him to turn it down he say he doesn’t want to because then I would not have a true lasting experience. Recently I attended a concert of Emanuel Ax in one of the foremost small concert halls in the country. Mr. Ax spoke to the audience without any amplification, and the music was beautifully preformed. Loudness was not part of the performance. I ask my friend if lovers of music purchased this high-end equipment? He answered no and that the only question that he receives before a purchase is does it play really loud! I have another friend who has an entire wall of the highest-end equipment. He told me that when he turns up the volume he can move the furniture in his listing room. Music is never discussed. Thank you again for the clarification between sound and music.
Audiophiles living spaces are arranged to maximize reproduction of sound and music, placement of furniture is determined by that one precept. Audiophiles will not move into a new place that does not have the acoustic potential to support music reproduction. Audiophilia does not mean "expensive gear", it means a well set up room and system. Audiophilia is more than a hobby, it is a passion.
Yep👍
It is a passion for a lot of people, and they're considered weird or crazy, I have learned that this hobby is not restricted by living spaces or size of room or placement of furniture, for example in Japan, audiophiles dont have the luxury of having large spaces like we do here in the States, one guy I saw on RUclips his speakers take almost half of his living space and to open the door of his refrigerator he has to move his couch, now that's passion and love for gear and sound amplification dont you think?
Steve, I have zero audiophile friends and I have been an audiophile since my mid teens, which was fifty years ago. In my 20's, I was the guy with the cool stereo and I do take credit for turning one friend back then into high end audio. He bought a pair of the same speakers I had back then, a pair of Klipsch LaScalas. He also purchased a Crown D-150 amp and a Dual turntable. We have since been separated by all these years and thus today, I have no audiophile friends other than watching RUclips channels such as your channel Steve. Thank goodness for the audiophile channels and the audio shows such as Axpona (attended 5 times) and RMAF, that my wife and I hope to attend for the first time this Fall 2020, for they help me understand that I'm not crazy with my fascination with high-end audio gear and music. Music has been the central theme of what defines me as a person in this crazy world we live in. Steve, I honestly appreciate and look forward to your videos daily as it allows me to feel like I belong to something bigger than myself. If all I could afford was a $1000 system, I would still be an audiophile and would dream of upgrading my gear and how my favorite music might sound with better gear......
Yes, I am an audiophile! Having multiple systems and engaging with the pieces of gear I have is therapy for me. There’s nothing more soothing in watching a record spin on a turntable or watching reels spin on a tape machine. Some folks will never get how music and sounds moves us audiophiles. You’re engaging in the interaction and experience of both music and gear.
I love guns, poker & stereo systems, along with home theater, movies motorcycles, cars, food, & good liquor. I need to win the lottery. I'm not rich, literally; not rich.
I hear you brother. Numerous expensive hobbies and not enough coin!
Your the incarnation of Dr. Gizmo.
Guns - now that can get expensive if you're a regular shooter.
And try adding aviation into the mix. Hopeless.
I also had a transistor radio back when I was about 10 years old - I made it from a kit that my parents bought me - and I loved listening to it. I also enjoyed piecing the parts together, the whole process. That, plus listening to my father play his Sinatra and Dean Martin, etc. records on the big, clunky wooden console is what got me hooked in the first place. Out of 7 kids, I'm the only one who gravitated towards, aspired to being an audiophile. The others, even to this day, are perfectly happy listening to a boombox or a clock radio. They think a smart speaker is state of the art! Different strokes for different folks as they say. The majority of the population just has no interest whatsoever in quality audio, or quality in general. Whatever is cheap and barely gets the job done is good enough.Then there is the misconception that all decent audio gear costs a fortune; if only they listened to you, Steve, and your coverage of all the amazing audio bargains that exist these days. That ain't gonna happen. Listening to music on a quality system is more than a hobby for me - it's a form of therapy without which I would probably be way more stressed in this totally insane world we live in. I could make the case that there are genuine heath benefits to be derived by listening to music played on a good system. How people can not love great music played on great equipment is the question that bewilders me. I try my best to live outside the junk culture, which probably explains why I like something that most people ignore totally.
I'm 71 years old and had many systems on my Journey working in 20 countries I was always able to interests other people to go into Audio and in Bali were i retired I have an old friend which followed my hobby and we have some session sometimes with a couple of beers and enjoy the Music and life.This hobby is a neverending journey and never ever boring.
My stereo system is for ME, not my friends. I do not give a rat's ass what others think of my hobby.
Ive been an audiophile since 1958, including vinyl, tape recording, speaker building, digital playback, Blu Ray video, and some AM/FM tuning. But it does not control my life. Being a vital, contributory community member is life. Enjoying those audio/video machines is secondary.
Thank-you Steve for doing what you do. Very much appreciated by yours truly.
Love your channel, Steve. Music and quality of sound has always played a big role in my life in the past. Your opening statements, that’s it exactly. Sound, music not just as an ‚inoffensive‘ background color but right there at the center of one‘s comfort zone. When I come home from work, the best way for me to really chill down... a great joy ( yeah sorry, one of those guys here ) is to flip open a CD case, turn on my line.. and enjoy great sound. You can feel it. Feel how it carries you away, yet at the same time it puts the pieces back together again. Focuses you. Away from the hectic everyday chores and obligations. A glass of red wine maybe? Works just as fine without it, though and you can delve down deep into your passion. That, to me, is quality of life. Not just consume music and sound but to let it pass through you and allow it to change you.
Your channel has become a constant in my daily life. Thank you for creating all this awesome content.
Thank you. Many good points, close to home, as it were. Sad when you make an epic achievement in sound and want to share it and nobody around you gets it (I live far from civilization, it seems). Times like these one must buck up and soldier on and spin another side.
I hope my pursuit of great recordings and gears can bring me closer to the performances, such that they are more lifelike, more emotional, and more visceral. Steve, thank you!
Good points Steve. I fit in there, too. When both kids moved out, I wanted the family room to myself. My wife gets the livingroom and the other spare rooms. But, I had to scale down my equipment, to the stuff I use (and some spares). SO, I kept 4 receivers (2 are spares), 4 TT's (2 daily drivers, 1 for PC to digitize my records and 1 for the living room. And 2 sets of speakers. To balance out my hours listening to music, I am a avid road cyclist (with 7 bikes), also kept in my listening room. I listen alone, but get lots of socializing , from my cycling buddies. Life is balanced. Oh, I was into photography and had (and still do) 20 cameras, but my daughter is a photographer, and passing off stuff to her. KB.
The music is the star attraction!
the Audiophile " lifestyle" involves making music part of everyday life. Sitting and paying attention to the music without distraction. Too many are distracted by the equipment itself, which is a shame: dimming the lights helps immensely.
Although I am kind of thrilled by the 3D FM stereo static image recreated by my system ;-)
Steve .... I’ve been following you for a couple of years now.... first time comment on here though... you certainly are speaking the language here on behalf of all that feel the exact same way!! I was smiling to my self after every sentence of your commentary.... coz it was like you were speaking my mind 😊.... I’m 50 this month and have been bitten by this bug coming on three years now.... I know I’m probably late to the party but had a real hectic life prior.... but hey better late than never....... Anyways.....Sound is on my mind 24/7.... i keep experimenting with gear ..... mostly reading stuff though..... recently realised that perhaps I was turning looney.... but Dr Gutenberg just confirms that I’m good..... much respect from Mumbai/ India Steve....You’re the man 🍻🍻🍻..... Damn those Shirts Dude👍👍👍
Great video, Steve. Thank you for putting it all in perspective to what makes Audiophiles tick. I have always been a fan of your articles for decades in the magazines I subscribed to in the past. Yes, this RUclips medium is perfect and is indeed a way to connect with others around the globe that share this audio passion. Previously, this has been a lonely passage. Also, thank you for bringing us these videos to allow newcomers to get into the fold!
The biggest reaction I get is always, 'how loud will it go'.
For me, what defines an Audiophile lifestyle is that it revolves around the enjoyment of listening to music. Characterized by investing in quality gear and recordings. Hopefully with frequent support and attendance of live musical events.
Thanks Steve. Another interesting topic discussed in a way that only you can, where your vast knowledge and experience comes through loud and clear.
Cheers to audiophiles so true. People spend so much on minuscule items that are just that a memory. If we get the right gear there's something to have on hand for the long run. A memory we can relive again and again.
I have 4 integrated amps, 3 preamps, 3 CD transports, 2 CD players, 2 dacs, headphone amps, 3 turntables, 10 sets of speakers, various subwoofers, 7 headphones, hundreds of records,hundreds of cds, 3 hard drives with thousands of mp3s and flac and wav files, etc, spotify, and other online streaming services, yes, I have to admit I AM AN AUDIOPHILE without a doubt.
Labels f- things up for everybody else...I'm proud to be a music lover, and a background listener. My dedicated listening room is also my living room, TV room, and for the next few months, my sons bedroom (yeah for higher education!). My experience with audio growing up was a KLH Model 11 - that I looked that up makes me an audiophile!,
Today, I'd bet the best sound system most people are exposed to is in their car, or the speakers that came with their desktop, or their earbuds.
My daughter initially rejected the Kanto speakers I bought her. So I said we have 30 days, just use them and then I'll send them back. It took 2-3 hours, but then I heard classic rock thumping out of her room. Winner! Never would have got there if I had used a bunch audiophile words.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays!
great vid!
I've been into it since my teens but I never buy anything new anymore unless its a super good deal. So much good used stuff out there.
My first stereo in the 80's was a Sherwood lol... I'm excited about the gear I have yet to play around with. Thanks Steve
I recently went into a sewing shop to get some sewing machine oil. I told the shop owner I was using it for a turntable. He said "So you have a turntable." I told him I have four. I was using the oil for a Pioneer PL-12 turntable I bought in 1976. I guess I qualify as an audiophile with the caveat that the equipment must always serve the music. That is why, for example, I believe that timbral accuracy is more important than imaging. A dealer I dealt with a while back always used to say that no one comes back from a concert and says "great imaging at that concert." Nonetheless, the whole point of the hobby is to create an experience that engages you with the music.
I was fascinated by your beginning comments about static. I hated it because it was just NOISE. I can get irritating noise a lot of places. For me, being an audiophile is simply the love of good music, good lyrics, good voices and good musicians.
I know that many fans loved music with dis-harmony. Not me. It was always the marvelous blend of everything into something transcendent that held me. So the audiophile part of that is finding good enough equipment to experience that transcendence. Unfortunately for me, I have never quite had sufficient funds to acquire a certain level, but I have been able to find affordable equipment allowing me to enjoy it.
Brilliant post Steve, sums up so well what an audiophile is. Thank you.
I was a collector all my life, the biggest thing where tobacco pipes until i quit smoking. Now I am into audio and vinyl and again I am collecting something I can use daily. I will never understand a stamp collector, just looking but not using it. But we all have different interests.
Steve, that's exactly what we need to hear (pun intended).
In my experience, non audiophiles are either completely indifferent/uninterested in my setup, or they’re totally blown away, there’s little in between... more people get it than don’t, but then a large majority of my friends are musical people... a couple over the years have become audiophiles off the back of hearing my system.
I am beginning my journey in audiophiliac world and I really like your content. Thank you for doing this :)
That’s so true! You’re the best! Inspiration and good tips! Here in my country I don’t have Audiophile friends :( no one :( Guatemala
I like your message. I found we have a number of similarities within this realm of audio. Unfortunately I was never able to run with it to the level you have. I remember always wanting more from basic audio equipment as a kid in the 80’s Making mixed tapes at my girlfriends place as her parents had nice equipment. I remember going to the neighborhood stereo store staring and browsing at all the latest equipment but never being able to afford anything leaving disappointed. My first real job and paycheque, first thing I bought was a complete pioneer component system with a CD player with 2 CD’ (Back in Black & Rush, Moving pictures). Messed around for hours and days on end to get the best possible sound out of it for for Pink Floyd the wall. Lost touch and sold my stereo as I was just scraping by when I bought my first place. Had one of those mini systems that was awful plus never had the space. Got into computers and then realized the joy of digital music and the space it saved while having access to so much music. Discovering audiophile quality digital music by learning what all the different codecs were and file formats. Something a simple as a high end sound card and a headphones on my computer that I still use today. Music now streaming from my Sonos all the time but totally understanding the convince and the fit for my family. Would I love my very own listening room? Absolutely! But can’t afford that. Just recently took your advise and purchased the Tin T2 pros and absolutely love them with high bitrate music. There are ways to get ones fix on a budget but it can take some creativity.
Well done, Steve. One of your best videos ever. Can't wait to listen to the Kid. Cheers.
Merlin and Rygar are Dear audiophile friends. We go to Axpona every year as if it were the Superbowl. We always look for you there Steve... In fact if we see you this year we'll get you one of those killer Burritos!
The scene from back to the future shows the emergence of guitar feedback as a new sound and the birth of rock and roll. I used to modulate static with my hand on the antenna!
I don't consider myself an audiophile, because I don't know all the terms, am no "expert" and don't like classical music. I know that's a narrow definition, but how I feel.
What I am is a HUGE music fan. I am 59 and have transitioned to apartment living. I have never owned so much great music in my life. I no longer have hundreds of crappy albums/CD's containing one or two good songs. In the digital age I only buy the music I like. Sometimes that means whole albums, but mostly it is just a few songs from each album. My collection is 6,400 songs and growing. And I love every single song. No more filler!
And audio forums are awesome for learning about gear and discovering new music. I have gone nuts on headphone gear due to e-commerce.
I have never owned more music, never had more access to more kinds of music and Never had nicer and more varied gear. It is a great time to be a music lover! You might have to dig a bit, but there is a TON of great music out there.
I want to thank you for recommending different types of recordings because I have added quite a few to my playlists but after listening to a half dozen random tracks from Kid Koala I have come to the conclusion that I don't recall ever hearing anything more annoying. We will never know what we really like until we give everything a chance. Keep up the good work.
thank you for making the gab about sound so much fun! thumbs up.
Hendrix took the idea of using distortion & feedback from Pete Townsend of The Who.
Thanks, great video Steve! In Australia we have StereoNet which is a great place for audiophiles to hang out. Local get togethers are a great way to meet other like minded audiophiles. Cheers VHFL
Steve, you right, I have hi fi equipment dating back to 1977 and of course some newer stuff. I have owned 3 turntables, one is no more, one is in my garage ( needs servicing) and the third one is my gem 💎 (really an 1980s AR), love that 3 point sprung suspension and its highly modifiable.
It is a strange thing that from a teenager I met some great people who became friends and we were all into music, hi-fi, motorbikes, weed and W. Although some of them have continued to upgrade regularly and others accepted the compromises that family life can bring. I realised that although I have always kept up with what's happening in the audio world and always enjoyed listening to new and vintage technology - I personally have only ever had 2 systems?! The first bought back in the 80's was just for LP's and the second was put together 5 years ago for purely for streaming. Although generally I have got great pleasure from both I realised as a hobbiest guitarist that just like playing in different rooms and environment hi-fi really was always going of accepting different flavours and or compromises. As recordings and production have a huge impact and can elevate music or potentially even ruin things. The thing I am waiting for is technology that gives the user to be producers to fiddle, play and manipulate recordings in the home home. I don't mean eq'ing frequencies but being able to adjust and move things spacially. Now that would be something else.
I have three set ups , pre-amp 6499.00, preamp 5000.00, Pre -amp 3000.00 they all sound different just like the amps I have they all sound different that’s what it’s all about fun fun fun thanks Steve and I hope you have a very merry Christmas
Have a great holiday Steve,love your stuff thx
Thank you Steve.
Merry Christmas and God bless. : )
I love stereo equipment and music. I love the simple yet solid Audio Research SP6 look so that's what I have.
really enjoy your video's & know where you are coming from.. i love my Hi Fi & everything that goes with it.. but since watching RUclips to the lines that i'm doing now is just mind blowing & it gives you the knowledge that you would not have looked into before RUclips.. but now you can listen to experts like yourself & also give your own idea's on what you think will work.. so Steve keep up the great work & have a Happy Xmas & great New Year.. Paul
I don’t listen to my music system. I listen to the music it faithfully recreates!
I have not got my components displayed in such a fashion that they create a wow factor when someone walks in the room. They are carefully blended in cabin cabinates which blend seemlessly with the rooms furniture. Ok, the Q Acoustic Concept 500 are a touch difficult to hide, but, besides being outstanding speakers they are beautiful peace’s of furniture which complement my decor.
I always believed that if the music source was high vis, then the illusion was ruined. I built up my system for my own listening pleasure which others could experience and share if so desired, not to wow and impress!
There many definitions of audiophile out there and so many different types of audiophile. If an audiophile is someone who listens to music for nothing more than the pleasure of the music? Then that’s me! You don’t need to spend thousands upon thousands upon thousands of ‘high end” audio equipment to be my type of audiophile!
Thanks and have a wonderful holiday for you and your family.
I just noticed. If you were to go bold, you would look like Patrick Stewart.
Great video, happy holidays from norway!
It would have been nice if they incorporated audioohiles into the show. Picard, "Engineering, I need more power for these electrostatics!"
For Steve to go boldly, you mean? Where no audiophile has gone before...
Naw, I think he's saying that shaving your head is a bold thing to do, especially in Norway. COLD!!!
Ah, sorry. Yes, BALD thats the word
Always have enjoyed music, started getting into audiophile gear, but never have thought my music tastes have lined up with 'audiophile' music tastes. When you said kid koala I freaked. Maybe some one will appreciate my music tastes some day!
I thought the same about my tastes. I like 80s new wave. Synth pop, industrial as well as groups like The Cure and others that use real instruments. As well as some techno. Then I came across John Darko. He loves techno and compressed music. He is big into streaming. All things I never thought audiophiles listened to. However, as always, I will never refer to myself as an audiophile.
I love how some of these segments gets us to think back. Although I have always loved music since I was a child even. I think the first non music sound that stunned me was the first time My two best friends and I walked into a ten pin bowling alley one day. We were in junior high (no middle school yet). The sound of those big balls hitting those big pins was like THUNDER! We were hooked from that moment. No more duckpin for us. We went on to become good bowlers, tennis players, and audiophiles. My friend Mike still had his KLH 12 speakers when he died several years ago. I still have my DQ 10’s and have been getting back into serious listening lately. We were the most serious, but I think my friend Ed still has hi Ohm’s. I’ll have to call and ask him. Sports, hobbies, other interests, even wives, come and go, but the music remains. Fortunately, I have a great wife who remains and I will be opening Christmas presents of Sennheiser HD 599 headphones, and a Schiit Modi 3 in a few hours. I can’t wait to see how many times I can get away with saying things like “You gave me this Schiit for Christmas?” Or, “I love this Schiit!” , before she laughs or gets mad. Merry Christmas audiophiles!
My home is full of sound systems and lot of speakers, i´m 31 and i was like this hole my life,love music and love speakers amps and all things :)) thx Steve for your lovely videos . , ;)
It is nice when you put on a record and your system does sing!
Do like it when the tubes of my amp start to glow.
i remember modulating between stations on short wave radio. on RUclips there is a completely insane Link Wray performance of Rumble from 1974 at Winterland that sounds like Link channeling Sonny Sharrock while playing sludge metal...VERY fun to blast looooud and repeat.
LINK WRAY!!! Yes, Link Wray is like my Anti-Depressant drug. ‘Jack the Ripper’ is a favorite of mine. Buddy Holly, Sister Rosa Thorpe, Huddie Leadbetter. I just saw a notification on my google screen that said there’s a NEW RELEASE from the CARTER FAMILY! I love this present chapter of history where this here internet not only serves to remind us that we aren’t the only person being ridiculed or criticized just for being ourselves, but we aren’t alone in our tendencies or preferences either. I have to feel a connection, and when I can’t get that directly from another living human being, I try to go back in time. Sometimes not long, sometimes many years. I’ll pull up a recording of someone who I’ve never heard, playing a sort of music that I haven’t heard much before. Then I’ll stay there and find something new that makes me smile and I’ll stay put there for awhile. To me, it’s not the quality of the sound (although I’ll get under the hood of an amplifying mixer and replace capacitors for days, or I’ll build a preamp and then try my hands at twirling some crossover coils from copper wire) and I say that because I don’t whip out the acoustics and physics texts and start doing calculus or worse with the great info in those books. Unless I can look at a formula and actually make sense of it from the start, it will fail to captivate my attention. Maybe I ought to make it my life’s endeavor to make sense of those formulas, but I am just not that interested, not even when I hear the differences between a monitoring setup done the right way versus my epic backyard bodge heap. What captivates me is when I go to swap out a potentiometer and a little irritating interference goes away. That’s why I try to improve on things. I’ll settle for what I have While I’ll try to improve it of my own ability. I think that doesn’t really put me in the audiophile league, however I’d definitely accept my reality as an obsessed audio gear handyman. THANK YOU FOR SHARING, VERY GOOD CHANNEL!
My new fav episode, and insightful as always
I'm so fortunate to live out in the country where I have no neighbors to bother and I can change and improve my system and my room acoustics and just enjoy. So much music to discover I go from one genre to the other to the other to the other... Now playing female vocal Jazz.
Steve! Speaking of background audio, I stumbled into a Vinyl and CD store in the King of Prussia Mall today, and they were using a late 80's / early 90's Pioneer receiver driving some seriously vintage Bose 501's to blast the album being played on the turntable. Yes, a real record store using your "dirty secret" to bring in the customers in what is supposed to be one of the largest malls on the East Coast, let alone Pennsylvania.
Have a great holiday!
An audiophile contribution to the marriage of music and noise: 1) ''Insen'' Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto (2010.); 2) ''Byetonsymeta'' Olaf Bender (2011.); 3) ''1/1'' Nils Peter Molvaer + Moritz von Oswald (2013.).
👍👍👍 great video Steve. Evolution made me an audiophile. Thank you very much.
Two out of three aint bad.
I like your videos, you speak no nonsense, direct to the topic. Why don't you interview audiophile addicts? It is fun to listen. Make sure the ones who are really SICK!
I don't think I classify myself as an audiophile. I love music, I love all sorts of gear, I get excited talking about my vinyl...oh hell maybe I am!
thanks steve
new to your channel steve but glade i found you .love from england.
A little bit of audiophile comfort in these turbulent times. Thanks, Steve
Really interesting, Steve 👍
Very good "Speech". I totally agree with you!
Static! yes, absolutely. Same with "snowy" reception on analog televisions. These are nearly extinct species. Grady Martin (studio guitarist on early Johnny Burnette Trio recordings), is another incidental overdrive pioneer. Tube trouble during his guitar break when recording Mary Robbins' "Don't Worry" 1961. Lot of others before Wray and Martin, though. Especially electric blues recorded in small-label studios. Eddie Kirkland and pretty much everybody on Detroit's Fortune records sounded pretty coarse. Lightning Hopkins' recordings for Herald Records. No list like this should be without Johnny Guitar Watson.
How many of us look for the unknown / or old originals to try to discover what "could be?"
For example, a pair of speakers I WILL NOT give up are the ADC 404 set that I ended up with at a local charity sale years ago at a grand total of $4. These little gems put many a newer / larger speaker to shame. Not bad for a 5" 2-way that was last produce in either 1969 or 1970.
Another unknown is the Claricon Quad Receiver that needs just a little attention. Cannot find any info on this unit other than a sale circular from a "railroad car buyout" in 1976..
I think it was F Scott Fitzgerald who once said: "Audiophiles are all like boats against the tide, borne ceaselessly into the past." Currently this audiophile has been on a quest for hdcd players to play his 200 or so hdcds on. And they sound pretty good better than their redbook version. Tonight I enjoyed the hdcd version of Lucinda Williams' Car Wheels on a Gravel Road and it never sounded better thru the new to me dvd hdcd player I found online. Discogs may have the best hdcd reference list on the net that I know of. Just search 'hdcd' on discogs. And yes, my friends think I am crazy, but I enjoy my quixotic quest for good sound.
Audiophile has a mega system and drives a clunker
Steve, I've been having fun following you various posts. Although I believe I'm a few years older than you are we go back to some of the same components through the years. Although I'm in Magnolia Texas now I grew up in Orange County, CA and was no stranger to many of the audio stores of the 70's - 90's. Absolute Audio where I bought my first set of Maggies, model 3 I believe. Henry Radio in Anaheim which was Audio in one section and Ham radio on the other side. Havens and Hardesty and the list goes on. My first real "hifi" was a Heathkit AR15 FM receiver which I built, Radio Shack Solo 2 speakers an a Benjamin Miracord changer. Not bad for a lad of 15 at the time I suppose. Flash forward through many different speakers and amps, etc. and the current system centers around Focal Aria 936, a Prima Luna Dialog Premium HP amp, an Audio Research SP16 preamp, a VPI Scout , Music Hall CD player, Musical Fidelity phono amp. It sounds good to my ringing old ears. Future upgrades will probably be a Prima Luna preamp. Thanks for all the hard work and posts. BTW I got the bug when I was about 10 from a great uncle of mine who built all Heathkit equipment and built his own speaker enclosures with some huge JBL drivers. He tought me what "loud meant".
Jim B.