What's your hobby, really?

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#8
Its an article that is always going to create divided views, those that believe in cable sound and such like will loath it, those that use more engineering for a solution and believe only flawed cables would alter the sound will like it....It does reference the more extreme side of being an audiophile, whilst ignoring the large amount of audiophiles who do employ engineering and physics to create their equipment.
The intelligent reply would be to write a responding article defending extreme audiophilia....
 
#10
I don't know, it's certainly not the clearest or most coherent article ever written but I actually think the author is highlighting an important point, namely, that some people get so caught up in the sound of their systems that they get distracted from the music. It's like a person who, when reading, gets so caught up in the qualities of a particular font (or imperfections in a person's handwriting) that they fail to understand the meaning of the sentence or cannot follow the plot of a story. Now I know that sometimes the font itself is meant to be part of the focus of attention, as in something like the Book of Kells, but in the vast majority of cases the marks, pixels, or font is merely a means of conveying some meaning or storyline where the aim is to focus on what the marks or pixels represent (e.g. their semantic content) rather than the qualities of the marks or pixels per se.

I think there is a similar different between sound and music. Sound is the means of conveying music, but music is something more than a mere collection of sounds (just as words and meaning are more than a mere collection of marks or pixels). I think it is possible to become so focused on the qualities of sounds that one can become distracted from the music that the sounds are functioning to convey and represent. Of course, just as really bad handwriting (or pixelation) can make it difficult to get the meaning or follow the storyline being conveyed, so too really bad sound quality can make it very difficult to follow and enjoy the music, but these tend to be extreme cases and most audio equipment today is quite capable of conveying music as well as most commonly used fonts are able to convey meanings and storylines.

In fact, given the relatively high quality of most equipment today, I would suggest that the extent to which some audiophiles become distracted by sound would be analogous to a reader become distracted from the meaning of this sentence because of certain qualities of the font. Maybe some people are more hyper-sensitive to these kinds of distractions than others, but if an extreme sensitivity to the qualities of the font being used here, for example, was getting in the way of a person being able to understand the meaning of sentences being constructed then most of us would likely not see this as a good thing. In effect, the author of the article linked here is saying a similar thing about some audiophiles, namely, that they are so distracted by the qualities of the sounds their system produces that they are unable to attend to and enjoy the music being played, and that this is not necessarily a good thing.
 
#12
If you don't read it you cant really respond. In school and college we had debating sessions where we would debate a subject, often one that was painful or uncomfortable for those involved to defend (you were chosen art random to either defend or refute the subject to be debated), it taught you many things one being to try and understand where someone's viewpoint comes from, and occasionally look at your own beliefs and justify them to yourself.
And he does raise some serious points, that I agree with regarding the where esoteric beliefs regarding audio reproduction do distract from the real issue where audio sound reproduction can be improved.
To dismiss blindly says a lot.
 
#14
jacco vermeulen said:
If you read the entire thing, paragraph by paragraph, each one reads bigot and moron.

(amusing trivia : by the mid/late '80s, Michael Jackson was into FM acoustics gear)
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The lack of a classical education in the meaning of -phile as "unhealthy" love was enough for me. And what's up with the Paypal autopay to help his growing family?

I have the energy and sense of humor of a three-year old, so remember, this is a personal website, and never presented as fact. I enjoy making things up for fun, as does The Onion, and I publish them here — even on this page.
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#15
marce said:
If you don't read it you cant really respond. In school and college we had debating sessions where we would debate a subject, often one that was painful or uncomfortable for those involved to defend (you were chosen art random to either defend or refute the subject to be debated), it taught you many things one being to try and understand where someone's viewpoint comes from, and occasionally look at your own beliefs and justify them to yourself.
And he does raise some serious points, that I agree with regarding the where esoteric beliefs regarding audio reproduction do distract from the real issue where audio sound reproduction can be improved.
To dismiss blindly says a lot.
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But he's saying that it takes a musician to appreciate music. Rubbish. We like to hear to hear good music as much as he does.
 
#16
scott wurcer said:
The lack of a classical education in the meaning of -phile as "unhealthy" love was enough for me.
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Yeah, comments like that and other overblown statements are not credibility enhancing, that's for sure. In fact, the overall demeanor presented there does not suggest that these issues have been given any serious critical thought. Nevertheless, I think the essential point being made, i.e. that some people get so caught up in issues of sound quality that they lose track of the music, is worthy of discussion. Of course the issue has been covered better in other threads on this site (and other sites as well) but the basic point, I think, still stands.
 
#17
I know a few "audiophiles" who clearly don't care much for the music they play as much as the perceived reproduction and 'cost' of the system. They take great pride in that. One dumb fellow with very deep pockets even said that nowadays he only listens for distortions ! 😱
That would indicate that it's time to change to a newer ( more expensive !) system !

It takes all kinds to make the world. 🙂
 
#19
Philosophil said:
I think there is a similar different between sound and music. Sound is the means of conveying music, but music is something more than a mere collection of sounds (just as words and meaning are more than a mere collection of marks or pixels). I think it is possible to become so focused on the qualities of sounds that one can become distracted from the music that the sounds are functioning to convey and represent. Of course, just as really bad handwriting (or pixelation) can make it difficult to get the meaning or follow the storyline being conveyed, so too really bad sound quality can make it very difficult to follow and enjoy the music, but these tend to be extreme cases and most audio equipment today is quite capable of conveying music as well as most commonly used fonts are able to convey meanings and storylines.
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I do that. 😱
 
#20
" I thank God I'm not an audiophile; those weirdos hate music and only love playing with their stereo equipment."

Not an exactly an accurate discription of audiophiles in general is it?

I believe the vast majority of people who accept that they might fall into such a group do not fit the descriptions he applies.

This is indeed a very bigoted attitude and dissuades me from taking anything serious he has to say. Reading the rest of the rant confirms my initial suspicion.
 
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