Being an audiophile also means you can enjoy listening to musicians who died many decades ago and those who’ve never even been to the hemisphere in which one lives.
I’d say an audiophile is someone who cares enough about music to actually sit and listen, without texting, reading, playing games or anything else. Just enjoys listening. And the more you do that, the more you want to do it and the better you want that sound to be.
Does it also imply that a true audiophile wont be able to do anything else (office work etc) while he listens to music? Because thats the problem with me, I cant do anything else if I am listening to music. ha ha!
An audiophile is ALSO someone who appreciates clarity of sound, detail retrieval, etc and an audiophile's brain tends to be wired that way. When i was 8 years old, I heard my filthy rich neighbor's high end pioneer sound system and went and told my dad that i needed something with more clarity and detail. After my dad said "no", I had my tech savvy uncle DIY an awesome pair of speakers that i still have in storage. When i look back, i realize that i was wired that way right from the start because a 8 year old should not have known any better.
This is Brian Kim Keenan. I either completely disagree with you when I see your videos or completely agree. You nailed it again. I have been an audiophile since I was a small child. My uncle owned a small but lucrative tv-radio shop here in Chicago. If I may add to your Spot On description of an Audiophile, I believe it includes people constantly striving to improve their listening environment within the means of their personal financial abilities. I have had budget systems that surpassed some more expensive equipment that my peers purchased for 10 times more money. Knowledge and a good ear have helped. Thanks again, Paul.
One thing I'd like to add to Paul's definition. Being an audiophile does not preclude one from placing the music first. Many people mistakenly believe audiophiles care more about the gear, than the music. While some of these people do exist, the majority care more about the music, but also want to hear it as accurately reproduced as possible.
Great answer Paul, Thank you! I will add if I may... IF you are asking the question then you probably are :) ...and my IF you are tuning into this channel and are willing to put up with Paul, then you definitely are! ;)
@@Tacet137 In many respects that could be true. My step daughter listens all the time to her Alexa Dot, happy as can be. I sit there critiquing how my speakers are placed, the sound of the recording, wondering about a new turn table etc etc.
Sir you have nailed it!!! Am an audiophile with meager resource. there's alot of brands out there that deliver decent sound. One thing I have realized is, the more the drivers with different frequency ranges, a good cross over system, the better the sound. An amp each Chanel is absolute perfection. I obviously stand to be corrected.
I consider my setup to be pretty damn good. My friends girlfriend came in and sat right in the magic seat and she was just paying attention to her phone and other things. I said, you don't hear that? Some people don't know what sounding good is even if they hear it.
You have to be passionate about music. And most people in the world simply are not. Sure, they can enjoy music, at least in some circumstances. But they tend to have an utilitarian relation with music. Or in other words, they use music to achieve a goal. That goal can be dancing, or to celebrate something, or to be entertained, or even just to avoid silence. For me, music is never a mean to achieve a goal. Music is the goal itself.
I miss the days of someone coming over and saying. Hey! Put on the most recent record you got! I want to hear what it sounds like because you have an awesome system. Those days are hard to come by! That’s why I’m an audiophile
Right - most people would be amazed with automatic sensor door opening rather then in what and how system can play. Only what they see moves them - not music. At home they have only small kitchen radios for cooking. I even do not wait their interest. That is why after years I gave up developing sound for anyone except me.
An important definition of audiophilia that I don't think I've heard anyone express(other than me) is: When quality Audio gear allows you to hear something in a piece of music that you haven't heard before and therefore makes the music 'new again'. a previously clearly defined instrument or voice will turn out to be multiple/different voices/instruments that you simply couldn't hear before. Recording and mastering techniques and effects; Especially for stereo that are mindbending and musically transformative but you'll never hear them on a little Bluetooth speaker or even worse on a Klaxon type PA system. Your music experience will literally be transformed to a new one on a quality hifi system(and a worse one on a crap system). However, I honestly don't understand the desire to make recorded music sound as close to a live performance as possible unless it is a live performance of course. Most recorded music is studio produced to such a degree that it'll never resemble a live performance in any way and in many cases that's a good thing. Many great music performances are exactly great because of what happened in the studio console rather than the performer. Daft punk, Led zeppelin are the artist's that spring to my mind with 'Lose yourself to dance' and 'Kashmir' as immidiate examples but there are really, countless examples across many genres of music. Hifi systems are in many ways, musical instruments in their own right.
It's really about the music and enjoying detailed, open sound. Taking time to sit and listen and enjoy the nuances in the recordings. No you don't have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to get good sound. Years ago I used to read Stereo review and audio magazines. The advise they gave was to go and listen to various systems, even ones you know you couldn't afford. Find what qualities you liked and then find a system that could give you as much of that sound as your budget could afford. I've followed that advice for forty plus years and as I've upgraded parts of my system I got closer to what I consider great sound. With this pandemic I've found myself listening for hours at a time and exploring new music. Thank you Paul for another enjoyable video. Other members remember It's about the music and the journey.
We [audiophiles] can help people get the quality of sound in our homes, and not for a lot of money, and you don't have to have fancy brands : you just have to know about setups, have to know what you're looking for... [...] That just takes knowledge, a desire, and a little bit of time !" Damn i love that guy !
Many only care about bass and treble because they never heard of a properly set up speaker before. Once they discovered what soundstage and imagining were all about they will slowly become an audiophile. That's how I started my journey and can't go back.
An audiophile has equipment none of his friends or relatives have ever heard of. Also a person who listens to music, but NOT as background or something to be talked over.
@Wilderness Music My first one was a Realistic receiver and Mach I's. I bought a used turntable off a friend. First album was Blizzard of Oz. I had heard a pair of Klipschorns and was forever hooked and started chasing the dragon. This was after having a Montgomery Wards all in one POS.
I have trouble with the definition 'audiophile' IF I come across something on Utube and stop, just sit back, turn down the lights maybe, and listen for an hour. with cheap ' computer speakers' - say 2 - 3 inch in a 'tuned box' ? so is that 'audiophile-- or 'musician' even if not playing a note ? or... what ? try this prob. won't work > th-cam.com/video/m1_BKpgUG4I/w-d-xo.html shocked - seems to work. came across this totally by accident, some 8 months ago, changed my listening choices.
Yes. But the problem with many audiophiles is that they become so obsessed with the equipments, they forget that the music is the final goal. If you ask them about their favorite bands, or favorite albuns, or favorite shows they went to, they don´t have an answear to give you. They just test equipments with a half dozen of audiophile recordings, and don´t have the passion and curiosity to know more bands, more musicians, more albuns, go to live shows, etc. I think that´s just sad.
@@mindtraveller100 I'm still fine with my 35 year old equipment, no equipment obsession here. I'm also a drummer so the only thing I obsess over is music.
Some great thoughts there Paul. Until watching this video, I really hadn't considered myself an audiophile; I had the view that to be an audiophile you had to have a certain taste in music and own a 5/6 figure setup... It's great to be reminded that I ain't always right. :) I've had a love of music since childhood brought on by my parents who also love music; for the record, my children love music too. My 6 Year old son often asks me to play Neil Young's Harvest, with the song "Old Man" being his favourite. Circling back to the original point; I started my own company last year providing event sound. My reason for doing so being; I was sick and tired of attending events where the sound is terrible, and the people at the desk clearly didn't give a damn. From the point of view that I could do better, I decided to give my own business a shot. I'm not new to live sound, but never considered myself to be good enough to do it professionally having worked sound voluntarily for many years. Oh boy, was I wrong...I've had countless complements on what I do, and had many events booked for this year by recommendations and repeat custom. I don't for one moment believe everyone who has complemented my work is an audiophile too, and knowing that I've made a difference to people who are, and people who aren't; it's a great feeling...and I'm not running a £100K setup either...all told it's probably cost me about 6 grand...
I think it’s about the journey of trying to achieve the best from what you know what’s available in the audio world. Once achieved, you either expand or help others reach that goal.
I was thinking to myself towards the end of the video, Yeah, I guess I'm sort of an audiophile, and then it was as if Paul actually hear me and said "I'm guessing if you're watching this channel, you're probably an audiophile!"
I haven't meet anyone else that appreciates the time and effort it takes to setup a system or sit in a room with just speakers and feel complete. I've never meet another "audiophile." It warms my heart knowing there are others out there and that there are people questioning weather they are or not. If you question it, it's often to late lol welcome to the club!
Some wonderful comments here...from people who really appreciate, and really listen to, music...and through experience(s) also recognize and appreciate good quality reproduction of it. Hello, Audiophiles!
@Larry Niles My current system has cost me less than the price of a cup of coffee per week amortised over the 20 years I have owned it. And that’s _not_ second-hand gear, or DIY as it was in the 1970s and 80s.
Im a audiophile but im also a scratch dj and im a dancer and i produce music.so im not just a listener.i just love to express music in everyway im able to do so through my mind and body.
I think you're audiophile when you choose your equipment by how they sound. When you have two products, perhaps even same price, you select based wich one sounds better. And If you don't hear any difference between any systems you aren't audiophile, at least not yet...
We can define the word audiophile however we like. The most straightforward way is literally - someone who is attracted to sound. But that definition isn't very meaningful or accurate. We can define it the way we'd like it to be seen - someone interested in sound quality, especially as it relates to reproduction. That's probably closer to what we think of when we consider ourselves. But the rest of the world, the openly and obviously non-audiophile world has a much simpler definition and it's not ambiguous. To them an audiophile is someone who is interested in audio equipment. Plain and simple, the clear and overwhelming definition of the word for the vast majority of English speakers in the world, and practically any other language's version of the word, means "someone who is interested in home audio equipment as a hobby." It's clearly not the same as a music lover. It's not a person who's interested in the science of sound or the engineering of it's reproduction. It's not someone who cares about sound quality specifically. Back in the 70s and 80s when hifi was in its peak of mainstream popularity, many people had very nice audio systems that were relatively much nicer than what they would have today and yet would not have been considered audiophiles because they went to a stereo shop, bought something, set it up and then just used it. They didn't mess with the setup. They didn't upgrade. They just used the system. They weren't audiophiles to the mainstream mind because once they had a system, they stopped shopping. Audiophiles never stop looking/shopping, and that is what the average person thinks of as an audiophile. Yes I know that audiophiles can also be music lovers and interested in audio physics and technology, but the factor that gets us the audiophile label is the fascination with equipment.
THIS is why I LOVE these Audiophile TH-camrs (Gutt, Darko, Paul, Andrew, etc). It's that I'm not being talked down to, like in the Audiophile mags. I still skim through the mags, but I don't really identify with hardly any of the writers. For 30 years it's been beaten into us that tone controls are bad. I disagree. I think LOTs of us disagree!! But as Andrew Robinson always says.... The only person that needs to be happy with the sound of your system is YOU! And if you do care about the sound..... THEN you are an audiophile.
Now many of them are admitting that tone controls are not so bad. I think they are essential. They also admit that total accuracy is elusive at any price. Just have fun and enjoy. Don't chase rainbows.
You listen to every bandwidth of every melody of every song all the time from the mids the Lows, the highs no matter if you’re listening to hip-hop classic rock, whatever it’s not just the melody of the song and the jam and feeling you get out it’s the euphoria hearing every note Every melody, everything taken apart and put back together again by the crossover before it comes through the amps and goes to the speakers I could spend hours tuning my Soundsystem The key to it is whether I’m listening to Chicago’s 25 or 6 to 4 or Nicki Minaj’s hey mama, if the Soundsystem is tuned perfectly, the tune will not need to be tweaked at all whatsoever That is perfection my friends Not even the subwoofer leave the gain of the subwoofer alone If the system is built well and has competition quality components, you will never need to worry about the gain on the subwoofer turn the amp up halfway, so you’re not over, stressing it and level out the gain on the digital display, of the tuner If the song was meant to have a lot of bass, it would’ve had a lot of bass in the track. No need to put things into a song that weren’t intended by the artist.
I don't have expensive audio gear but I guess I must be audiophile as I watch loads of PS Audio videos. I tend to like to get what I have to sound as best as I can.
I am definitely an audiophile as well as electronic technician and I have been repairing stereo equipment for years. I hear more things within the music then most people. I absolute enjoy a perfectly working system but once I have heard perfection there is no going back to just a normal system. As my equipment ages it gets harder and harder to get the quality back. With newer equipment standards dropping due to catering to the casual listener. The way back to perfection is fraught with expensive trials since there are no shops in my area that cater to audiophiles they will not allow you to open boxes of new equipment. I keep looking for the gems in the used equipment market and tweeting what I have on a limited budget.
I love the music first, but..... ....I also love the equipment that makes it. A bit like, a violinist loves his violin. That, I think, makes me a 'music lover' as well as, an 'audiophile'.
I really never considered audio engineers as audiophiles before. Most of the commercial gear is mass produced to high technical specifications and not from small shops. Names like Peavy, Sound Craft, Allen Heath, Yamaha, Mackie, Electro Voice, Shure, etc are not small brands. It is absolutely true they care deeply about the sound quality. However they are more practical in the equipment. Mic cables are more purchased on robust and good handling with solid connectors. You won't find any Monster Cable or Kimber Kable at a concert. It is more likely to find a digital console with a stage box connected with a CAT 5 Ethernet cable using Ethercon connectors. Audiophiles are not buying Electrovoice, KLH, and Mackie speakers for the home system.
I’ve been striving to get the best from my music with the best equipment I can afford for well over 40 years. So I guess I’m an audiophile. But I hate the term ‘audiophile’. To pigeon hole or categorise will only allow ‘non-audiophiles’ to view our passion as being from the lunatic fringe. This will then just become an alienating term if adopted. So from my point of view, I’m just someone who just loves listening to music but cares deeply about the quality of music reproduction. 🎶🎵🔊🎙❤️😊
I think a useful, practical litmus test is whether you own (or at least want) a component stereo system, any kind of component system. Your average person who doesn't think about sound quality will never go through the whole process of shopping and assembling a component system. They'll listen to their phone with earbuds, or maybe they play LPs on a Crosley suitcase record player, or maybe they stream Spotify over their TV (with built-in speakers or *maybe* a soundbar). And if you try to tell them about your component system, they don't get it. "But I can play the same music on my TV with Spotify. Same albums, same singers, everything." And you can try to tell them about better sound quality, but they dismiss it because they think you're talking about something super-subtle that they couldn't even perceive and only a loony geek would care about. Until they hear it. Then the light bulb comes on, and you've got a new audiophile.
a part of me thinks it would be a wonderful experience to visit PS Audio and listen to their stuff, but another part knows it would be the biggest mistake of my life... it's best I don't know what is possible to achieve and be satisfied with my down to earth sound system at home
It's funny. About a decade ago, I got into a discussion on the wiki entry for "Audiophile". It listed two camps - one for "purists" trying to recreate the sound exactly as it was recorded, and the "live" trying to recreate the live concert experience. But then I come along and mention the "control" audiophile, who wants absolute control over every aspect of the music - being able to recreate both experiences while avoiding an undue S/N ratio. Not only was I attacked by some gatekeeper who thought he owned the wiki, but others were making the most ridiculous claims - like claiming his computer CD player played commercial audio CDs from 0Hz to 100KHz purely because the label on the CD player says so. The wiki page was gate kept and run by people who had nothing but contempt for actual audiophiles. An audiophile is simply someone willing to go to extraordinary lengths for the best sound (in his/her own opinion) he/she can afford. It's really all in your head. It's an attitude. I cringe when my adult daughter takes her phone to the bathroom and listens to it while showering. A half hour of fingernails on chalkboard. I die a little inside every time. I might have to put a decent system in the bathroom for her to use just for my own sanity. Yeah, I'm an audiophile.
There’s people who seek out and pay attention to better sound than what is readily available in the large majority of offerings, and there are others who say they “want something to play music on”, and buy an all-in-one solution that is chosen by how much money they’re personally convinced is all they have to spend, with no effort to discern the sound quality of such solution. Any time I hear someone say “..but I don’t want a lot of bells and whistles” “..but I don’t want to spend a lot of money” for whatever hobby they’re looking to get into, I know immediately that they’re looking for the cheapest thing they can find.
Sir a small question. Sampling at 44.1Khz should mean that only 2 samples are actually at 20KHz. Am I right to think that? And I always look forward to seeing all your videos. Cheers
I was very sensitive to sound and sound quality as a kid and I didn't know anything about it. I could get really irritated if I heard noise or unrelated bits. we had a very cheap stereo system and I remember like it was yesterday. one day my Dad brought home a 2n3055 kit home. later on made a pair of speakers and we bought a sony deck cassette player. the moment of truth, OMG! then we had a record player etc etc. I didn't really know theres a term for it back then. audiophile! haha .
Dang he sounds wonderful in this video. I'm wondering how much of it is post production editing and how much of it is the lavi mic he used. I'm pretty sure he added lufs or loudness normalizations to the mix. I've really come to appreciate good audio quality on TH-cam videos. I can listen to this guy talk about anything!
You're very kind. There's zero post anything on these. I make a point of keeping them as "live" as possible. The lav microphone is all there is. It sounds really good because we're outside and haven't any extraneous noise (and it's a good lav microphone).
An audiophile listens to music with eyes closed, and tries to achieve the best sound from limited equipments, and chooses equipments that sounds good to his/her ear rather than blindly buying brands raved by others.
I didn't know about audiophile after years . When I found out on TH-cam music about "24bit" audio which i heard a little different over TH-cam And i been doing my researches. I know there was alot more than that. I found out the problem. Man speakers will literally disappear and bring the artist to life
I 1st heard a high end stereo at 12yrs old I was hooked but I can't afford the highest of ends but I've had high end audio guys comment pleasantly after a home demo. And under $2.5k
I didn't know I was an audiophile at all. Back in the mid 70's, I bought my first stereo system. I just wanted something so I could crank up Zep, The Who, Stones, Pink Floyd or whoever loud enough to piss off my parents! Then I heard a friends system that was MUCH better than mine. That's when sound quality started to matter to me. I've never looked back.....I guess I'm an audiophile!
Everyone is an audiophile to some extent as long as they hear. Every sense organ has industries dedicated to maximising appreciation for the joys of that sensory experience. Taste has chefs, vision has graphic art, smell has essential oils and febreeze (jk), for touch it's probably sex but also massage. Anything that pleasures our senses is going to be desirable.
If an audiophile really is someone who listens to music, not as background, and cares about the sound quality. Then I am Ok with being one. I worked in a stereo store years ago, and I always thought an audiophile was someone who just cared about sound reproduction, not music. I really don't care if people think vinyl or Super HD audio files give better sound. If the music I want to listen to is not available in those formats, I will stick with my streaming services, several DACs I own and my Grado cans
Being audiophile also means you can actually enjoy Paul talking in his garden about topics of audio.
Being an audiophile also means you can enjoy listening to musicians who died many decades ago and those who’ve never even been to the hemisphere in which one lives.
This is also by far the cheapest way to be an audiophile ;)
I’d say an audiophile is someone who cares enough about music to actually sit and listen, without texting, reading, playing games or anything else. Just enjoys listening. And the more you do that, the more you want to do it and the better you want that sound to be.
Does it also imply that a true audiophile wont be able to do anything else (office work etc) while he listens to music? Because thats the problem with me, I cant do anything else if I am listening to music. ha ha!
G Guest -That’s a great way of looking at it
Yes, agree with that.
An audiophile is ALSO someone who appreciates clarity of sound, detail retrieval, etc and an audiophile's brain tends to be wired that way. When i was 8 years old, I heard my filthy rich neighbor's high end pioneer sound system and went and told my dad that i needed something with more clarity and detail. After my dad said "no", I had my tech savvy uncle DIY an awesome pair of speakers that i still have in storage. When i look back, i realize that i was wired that way right from the start because a 8 year old should not have known any better.
I've been an audiophile since I was a kid, long before I could afford a decent stereo system.
This is Brian Kim Keenan. I either completely disagree with you when I see your videos or completely agree. You nailed it again. I have been an audiophile since I was a small child. My uncle owned a small but lucrative tv-radio shop here in Chicago. If I may add to your Spot On description of an Audiophile, I believe it includes people constantly striving to improve their listening environment within the means of their personal financial abilities. I have had budget systems that surpassed some more expensive equipment that my peers purchased for 10 times more money. Knowledge and a good ear have helped. Thanks again, Paul.
One thing I'd like to add to Paul's definition.
Being an audiophile does not preclude one from placing the music first. Many people mistakenly believe audiophiles care more about the gear, than the music. While some of these people do exist, the majority care more about the music, but also want to hear it as accurately reproduced as possible.
Great answer Paul, Thank you! I will add if I may... IF you are asking the question then you probably are :) ...and my IF you are tuning into this channel and are willing to put up with Paul, then you definitely are! ;)
Opposite to an audiofile?
Someone listening to compressed audio through mobile phone speakers, with the volume cranked to maximum.
Probably still enjoys music more than avarge audiophile
@Larry Niles please elaborate
It’s always MAXIMUM! It’s distorting to death and it doesn’t drive them insane haha. If that was me I would save a lot of money.
@@Tacet137
In many respects that could be true. My step daughter listens all the time to her Alexa Dot, happy as can be. I sit there critiquing how my speakers are placed, the sound of the recording, wondering about a new turn table etc etc.
Sounds like the average millenial 😅
Sir you have nailed it!!! Am an audiophile with meager resource. there's alot of brands out there that deliver decent sound. One thing I have realized is, the more the drivers with different frequency ranges, a good cross over system, the better the sound. An amp each Chanel is absolute perfection. I obviously stand to be corrected.
“How to know if you’re not an audiophile” should be the question 😅
You've either had that "HOLY SHIT" moment or you haven't!
You're one if you pick AUDIO over video 😄
I consider my setup to be pretty damn good. My friends girlfriend came in and sat right in the magic seat and she was just paying attention to her phone and other things. I said, you don't hear that? Some people don't know what sounding good is even if they hear it.
You have to be passionate about music. And most people in the world simply are not. Sure, they can enjoy music, at least in some circumstances. But they tend to have an utilitarian relation with music. Or in other words, they use music to achieve a goal. That goal can be dancing, or to celebrate something, or to be entertained, or even just to avoid silence. For me, music is never a mean to achieve a goal. Music is the goal itself.
I miss the days of someone coming over and saying. Hey! Put on the most recent record you got! I want to hear what it sounds like because you have an awesome system. Those days are hard to come by! That’s why I’m an audiophile
Right - most people would be amazed with automatic sensor door opening rather then in what and how system can play. Only what they see moves them - not music. At home they have only small kitchen radios for cooking. I even do not wait their interest. That is why after years I gave up developing sound for anyone except me.
An important definition of audiophilia that I don't think I've heard anyone express(other than me) is: When quality Audio gear allows you to hear something in a piece of music that you haven't heard before and therefore makes the music 'new again'. a previously clearly defined instrument or voice will turn out to be multiple/different voices/instruments that you simply couldn't hear before. Recording and mastering techniques and effects; Especially for stereo that are mindbending and musically transformative but you'll never hear them on a little Bluetooth speaker or even worse on a Klaxon type PA system. Your music experience will literally be transformed to a new one
on a quality hifi system(and a worse one on a crap system).
However, I honestly don't understand the desire to make recorded music sound as close to a live performance as possible unless it is a live performance of course. Most recorded music is studio produced to such a degree that it'll never resemble a live performance in any way and in many cases that's a good thing. Many great music performances are exactly great because of what happened in the studio console rather than the performer. Daft punk, Led zeppelin are the artist's that spring to my mind with 'Lose yourself to dance' and 'Kashmir' as immidiate examples but there are really, countless examples across many genres of music. Hifi systems are in many ways, musical instruments in their own right.
It's really about the music and enjoying detailed, open sound. Taking time to sit and listen and enjoy the nuances in the recordings. No you don't have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to get good sound. Years ago I used to read Stereo review and audio magazines. The advise they gave was to go and listen to various systems, even ones you know you couldn't afford. Find what qualities you liked and then find a system that could give you as much of that sound as your budget could afford. I've followed that advice for forty plus years and as I've upgraded parts of my system I got closer to what I consider great sound. With this pandemic I've found myself listening for hours at a time and exploring new music. Thank you Paul for another enjoyable video. Other members remember It's about the music and the journey.
Have an upvote...
This made me smile thank you! 😆 Good to be reassured that I'm an audiophile here and there
...when you discover the power of equalization and you cant live without it.
We [audiophiles] can help people get the quality of sound in our homes, and not for a lot of money, and you don't have to have fancy brands : you just have to know about setups, have to know what you're looking for...
[...] That just takes knowledge, a desire, and a little bit of time !"
Damn i love that guy !
When you tell your wife the price of your system is only the fraction the actual price.
Many only care about bass and treble because they never heard of a properly set up speaker before. Once they discovered what soundstage and imagining were all about they will slowly become an audiophile. That's how I started my journey and can't go back.
Don't forget texture! Very important.
also dynamics
Yes I rarely hear about sound stage any more and this is important as well dynamics, distortion and flat frequency response on all components.
An audiophile has equipment none of his friends or relatives have ever heard of. Also a person who listens to music, but NOT as background or something to be talked over.
@Wilderness Music ...very close to my first system... those were great times back then...
@Wilderness Music
My first one was a Realistic receiver and Mach I's. I bought a used turntable off a friend. First album was Blizzard of Oz. I had heard a pair of Klipschorns and was forever hooked and started chasing the dragon. This was after having a Montgomery Wards all in one POS.
Philia - Love, friendship.
Audio - Sound
Audiophile - Someone who can enjoy and love good sound.
It's based on desire. A drive of finding the perfect sound. And even when we find the perfect sound, one continues to look for more.
I have trouble with the definition 'audiophile' IF I come across something on Utube and stop, just sit back, turn down the lights maybe, and listen for an hour. with cheap ' computer speakers' - say 2 - 3 inch in a 'tuned box' ? so is that 'audiophile-- or 'musician' even if not playing a note ? or... what ?
try this prob. won't work > th-cam.com/video/m1_BKpgUG4I/w-d-xo.html
shocked - seems to work. came across this totally by accident, some 8 months ago, changed my listening choices.
Beautiful sound of music and gorgeous garden flowers makes for an Audiophile!
great video once again paul, the difference is between hearing and listening,
If you enjoy music and you care about the sound quality, then you're an audiophile.
Yes.
But the problem with many audiophiles is that they become so obsessed with the equipments, they forget that the music is the final goal. If you ask them about their favorite bands, or favorite albuns, or favorite shows they went to, they don´t have an answear to give you. They just test equipments with a half dozen of audiophile recordings, and don´t have the passion and curiosity to know more bands, more musicians, more albuns, go to live shows, etc. I think that´s just sad.
If I didn't care about the quality of the music I would not care about the quality of the equipment. I got into equipment listening to music.
@@mindtraveller100 I'm still fine with my 35 year old equipment, no equipment obsession here. I'm also a drummer so the only thing I obsess over is music.
@@musicman8270 As a drummer I was into music first and of course sound quality came right after that.
Absolutely correct.
Some great thoughts there Paul. Until watching this video, I really hadn't considered myself an audiophile; I had the view that to be an audiophile you had to have a certain taste in music and own a 5/6 figure setup... It's great to be reminded that I ain't always right. :) I've had a love of music since childhood brought on by my parents who also love music; for the record, my children love music too. My 6 Year old son often asks me to play Neil Young's Harvest, with the song "Old Man" being his favourite. Circling back to the original point; I started my own company last year providing event sound. My reason for doing so being; I was sick and tired of attending events where the sound is terrible, and the people at the desk clearly didn't give a damn. From the point of view that I could do better, I decided to give my own business a shot. I'm not new to live sound, but never considered myself to be good enough to do it professionally having worked sound voluntarily for many years. Oh boy, was I wrong...I've had countless complements on what I do, and had many events booked for this year by recommendations and repeat custom. I don't for one moment believe everyone who has complemented my work is an audiophile too, and knowing that I've made a difference to people who are, and people who aren't; it's a great feeling...and I'm not running a £100K setup either...all told it's probably cost me about 6 grand...
I think it’s about the journey of trying to achieve the best from what you know what’s available in the audio world.
Once achieved, you either expand or help others reach that goal.
Very refreshing to have videos like this with such great sound production ! :)
I was thinking to myself towards the end of the video, Yeah, I guess I'm sort of an audiophile, and then it was as if Paul actually hear me and said "I'm guessing if you're watching this channel, you're probably an audiophile!"
I haven't meet anyone else that appreciates the time and effort it takes to setup a system or sit in a room with just speakers and feel complete. I've never meet another "audiophile." It warms my heart knowing there are others out there and that there are people questioning weather they are or not. If you question it, it's often to late lol welcome to the club!
I just do that . awesome.
That’s a great neutral answer. Josef Hi-Fi is not an audio file but an enthusiast and it’s the passion of the community.
Some wonderful comments here...from people who really appreciate, and really listen to, music...and through experience(s) also recognize and appreciate good quality reproduction of it. Hello, Audiophiles!
Just give your credit card/bank statement to someone to examine. If you get shock and outrage with your purchases, audiophile confirmed. 👌
@Larry Niles My current system has cost me less than the price of a cup of coffee per week amortised over the 20 years I have owned it. And that’s _not_ second-hand gear, or DIY as it was in the 1970s and 80s.
Well said Paul. Fantastic definition of an audiophile!
Im a audiophile but im also a scratch dj and im a dancer and i produce music.so im not just a listener.i just love to express music in everyway im able to do so through my mind and body.
Critical listening
I think you're audiophile when you choose your equipment by how they sound. When you have two products, perhaps even same price, you select based wich one sounds better. And If you don't hear any difference between any systems you aren't audiophile, at least not yet...
Im close to hopping a train to Colorado to figure out if Im ready for an integrated amp or yet another pre amp to replace my Krell.
The definition of an audiophile is "a hi-fi enthusiast."
That is very good point. Hi Fi is by definition enough to highest listener requirements. By misleading it became in 70ties only tech data
We can define the word audiophile however we like. The most straightforward way is literally - someone who is attracted to sound. But that definition isn't very meaningful or accurate. We can define it the way we'd like it to be seen - someone interested in sound quality, especially as it relates to reproduction. That's probably closer to what we think of when we consider ourselves. But the rest of the world, the openly and obviously non-audiophile world has a much simpler definition and it's not ambiguous. To them an audiophile is someone who is interested in audio equipment. Plain and simple, the clear and overwhelming definition of the word for the vast majority of English speakers in the world, and practically any other language's version of the word, means "someone who is interested in home audio equipment as a hobby." It's clearly not the same as a music lover. It's not a person who's interested in the science of sound or the engineering of it's reproduction. It's not someone who cares about sound quality specifically. Back in the 70s and 80s when hifi was in its peak of mainstream popularity, many people had very nice audio systems that were relatively much nicer than what they would have today and yet would not have been considered audiophiles because they went to a stereo shop, bought something, set it up and then just used it. They didn't mess with the setup. They didn't upgrade. They just used the system. They weren't audiophiles to the mainstream mind because once they had a system, they stopped shopping. Audiophiles never stop looking/shopping, and that is what the average person thinks of as an audiophile. Yes I know that audiophiles can also be music lovers and interested in audio physics and technology, but the factor that gets us the audiophile label is the fascination with equipment.
“We can define the word audiophile however we like.” Of course then nobody knows what the fuck you’re talking about. Buy a dictionary FFS...
@@jonathansturm4163 or it really won't match the widely accepted definition. That was the point of the comment.
THIS is why I LOVE these Audiophile TH-camrs (Gutt, Darko, Paul, Andrew, etc). It's that I'm not being talked down to, like in the Audiophile mags. I still skim through the mags, but I don't really identify with hardly any of the writers. For 30 years it's been beaten into us that tone controls are bad. I disagree. I think LOTs of us disagree!! But as Andrew Robinson always says.... The only person that needs to be happy with the sound of your system is YOU! And if you do care about the sound..... THEN you are an audiophile.
Now many of them are admitting that tone controls are not so bad. I think they are essential. They also admit that total accuracy is elusive at any price. Just have fun and enjoy. Don't chase rainbows.
You listen to every bandwidth of every melody of every song all the time from the mids the Lows, the highs no matter if you’re listening to hip-hop classic rock, whatever it’s not just the melody of the song and the jam and feeling you get out it’s the euphoria hearing every note Every melody, everything taken apart and put back together again by the crossover before it comes through the amps and goes to the speakers
I could spend hours tuning my Soundsystem
The key to it is whether I’m listening to Chicago’s 25 or 6 to 4 or Nicki Minaj’s hey mama, if the Soundsystem is tuned perfectly, the tune will not need to be tweaked at all whatsoever
That is perfection my friends
Not even the subwoofer leave the gain of the subwoofer alone
If the system is built well and has competition quality components, you will never need to worry about the gain on the subwoofer turn the amp up halfway, so you’re not over, stressing it and level out the gain on the digital display, of the tuner
If the song was meant to have a lot of bass, it would’ve had a lot of bass in the track. No need to put things into a song that weren’t intended by the artist.
I enjoy heavy bass at moderate volume with warm vocals and moderate to high treble but not to the point that it gets crispy ;)
If you get out of your way or sacrifice comfort for sound quality. Like if you switch from wireless earbuds to a dap, just to get better sound quality
So clean so relaxing
I don't have expensive audio gear but I guess I must be audiophile as I watch loads of PS Audio videos. I tend to like to get what I have to sound as best as I can.
Where can I find the book in India sir..Huge respect
I am definitely an audiophile as well as electronic technician and I have been repairing stereo equipment for years. I hear more things within the music then most people. I absolute enjoy a perfectly working system but once I have heard perfection there is no going back to just a normal system. As my equipment ages it gets harder and harder to get the quality back. With newer equipment standards dropping due to catering to the casual listener. The way back to perfection is fraught with expensive trials since there are no shops in my area that cater to audiophiles they will not allow you to open boxes of new equipment. I keep looking for the gems in the used equipment market and tweeting what I have on a limited budget.
Wow! Can’t wait to get my hands on the book! When will it be out?
I am hoping for September.
Great! Hope there’ll be a digital edition too. It takes a while for printed editions to reach India - where I live :-)
I love the music first, but.....
....I also love the equipment that makes it. A bit like, a violinist loves his violin.
That, I think, makes me a 'music lover' as well as, an 'audiophile'.
I really never considered audio engineers as audiophiles before. Most of the commercial gear is mass produced to high technical specifications and not from small shops. Names like Peavy, Sound Craft, Allen Heath, Yamaha, Mackie, Electro Voice, Shure, etc are not small brands. It is absolutely true they care deeply about the sound quality. However they are more practical in the equipment. Mic cables are more purchased on robust and good handling with solid connectors. You won't find any Monster Cable or Kimber Kable at a concert. It is more likely to find a digital console with a stage box connected with a CAT 5 Ethernet cable using Ethercon connectors. Audiophiles are not buying Electrovoice, KLH, and Mackie speakers for the home system.
I’ve been striving to get the best from my music with the best equipment I can afford for well over 40 years. So I guess I’m an audiophile. But I hate the term ‘audiophile’. To pigeon hole or categorise will only allow ‘non-audiophiles’ to view our passion as being from the lunatic fringe. This will then just become an alienating term if adopted. So from my point of view, I’m just someone who just loves listening to music but cares deeply about the quality of music reproduction. 🎶🎵🔊🎙❤️😊
You're my 'normal' in a mad world, Paul ... Thanks for the 'audiophile' definition 👍
I think a useful, practical litmus test is whether you own (or at least want) a component stereo system, any kind of component system. Your average person who doesn't think about sound quality will never go through the whole process of shopping and assembling a component system. They'll listen to their phone with earbuds, or maybe they play LPs on a Crosley suitcase record player, or maybe they stream Spotify over their TV (with built-in speakers or *maybe* a soundbar). And if you try to tell them about your component system, they don't get it. "But I can play the same music on my TV with Spotify. Same albums, same singers, everything."
And you can try to tell them about better sound quality, but they dismiss it because they think you're talking about something super-subtle that they couldn't even perceive and only a loony geek would care about. Until they hear it. Then the light bulb comes on, and you've got a new audiophile.
a part of me thinks it would be a wonderful experience to visit PS Audio and listen to their stuff, but another part knows it would be the biggest mistake of my life... it's best I don't know what is possible to achieve and be satisfied with my down to earth sound system at home
Its all about the music and the quality of sound
So by your definition, someone with a better system is more of an audiophile? I don't agree. It's more simple than that.
@@TheMirolab Not even close to what I said.
It's funny. About a decade ago, I got into a discussion on the wiki entry for "Audiophile". It listed two camps - one for "purists" trying to recreate the sound exactly as it was recorded, and the "live" trying to recreate the live concert experience. But then I come along and mention the "control" audiophile, who wants absolute control over every aspect of the music - being able to recreate both experiences while avoiding an undue S/N ratio. Not only was I attacked by some gatekeeper who thought he owned the wiki, but others were making the most ridiculous claims - like claiming his computer CD player played commercial audio CDs from 0Hz to 100KHz purely because the label on the CD player says so. The wiki page was gate kept and run by people who had nothing but contempt for actual audiophiles.
An audiophile is simply someone willing to go to extraordinary lengths for the best sound (in his/her own opinion) he/she can afford. It's really all in your head. It's an attitude.
I cringe when my adult daughter takes her phone to the bathroom and listens to it while showering. A half hour of fingernails on chalkboard. I die a little inside every time. I might have to put a decent system in the bathroom for her to use just for my own sanity. Yeah, I'm an audiophile.
There’s people who seek out and pay attention to better sound than what is readily available in the large majority of offerings, and there are others who say they “want something to play music on”, and buy an all-in-one solution that is chosen by how much money they’re personally convinced is all they have to spend, with no effort to discern the sound quality of such solution. Any time I hear someone say “..but I don’t want a lot of bells and whistles” “..but I don’t want to spend a lot of money” for whatever hobby they’re looking to get into, I know immediately that they’re looking for the cheapest thing they can find.
Sir a small question. Sampling at 44.1Khz should mean that only 2 samples are actually at 20KHz. Am I right to think that? And I always look forward to seeing all your videos. Cheers
OK. I stand corrected. I guess that I'm part of the audiophile community.
I wish I had audiophile friends so I could go to their places and listen to my music on their audio equipment.
I was very sensitive to sound and sound quality as a kid and I didn't know anything about it. I could get really irritated if I heard noise or unrelated bits. we had a very cheap stereo system and I remember like it was yesterday. one day my Dad brought home a 2n3055 kit home. later on made a pair of speakers and we bought a sony deck cassette player. the moment of truth, OMG! then we had a record player etc etc. I didn't really know theres a term for it back then. audiophile! haha .
Dang he sounds wonderful in this video. I'm wondering how much of it is post production editing and how much of it is the lavi mic he used. I'm pretty sure he added lufs or loudness normalizations to the mix. I've really come to appreciate good audio quality on TH-cam videos. I can listen to this guy talk about anything!
You're very kind. There's zero post anything on these. I make a point of keeping them as "live" as possible. The lav microphone is all there is. It sounds really good because we're outside and haven't any extraneous noise (and it's a good lav microphone).
@@Paulmcgowanpsaudio incredible!
“Not many people like bad sound”. Well there’s that guy who hated the way your equipment made his speakers disappear 😂.
An audiophile listens to music with eyes closed, and tries to achieve the best sound from limited equipments, and chooses equipments that sounds good to his/her ear rather than blindly buying brands raved by others.
I didn't know about audiophile after years . When I found out on TH-cam music about "24bit" audio which i heard a little different over TH-cam And i been doing my researches. I know there was alot more than that. I found out the problem. Man speakers will literally disappear and bring the artist to life
Divorce threats-that pretty much settles it.
I, some guy in his basement, arguing with Paul Mcgowan, a audio guru, over what sounds good......ya..... I'm a audiophile.
Good explanation
YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT!! @If you're watching this channel you're probably an audiophile..
I'm an audiophile😀
An audiophile is somebody you can bored you to death by talking about the gear and cables
I 1st heard a high end stereo at 12yrs old I was hooked but I can't afford the highest of ends but I've had high end audio guys comment pleasantly after a home demo. And under $2.5k
Good one Paul
The only thing better than being an audiophile is converting someone else into one!
I didn't know I was an audiophile at all. Back in the mid 70's, I bought my first stereo system. I just wanted something so I could crank up Zep, The Who, Stones, Pink Floyd or whoever loud enough to piss off my parents! Then I heard a friends system that was MUCH better than mine. That's when sound quality started to matter to me. I've never looked back.....I guess I'm an audiophile!
I'm offended by audible distortion!!!!! Turn the "bass" (or "bass boost") down! :D
Ah..Paul reporting from the back 40....
Everything sounds good to me me. I am a musicphile.
Felt so relatable.
Everyone is an audiophile to some extent as long as they hear. Every sense organ has industries dedicated to maximising appreciation for the joys of that sensory experience. Taste has chefs, vision has graphic art, smell has essential oils and febreeze (jk), for touch it's probably sex but also massage. Anything that pleasures our senses is going to be desirable.
It’s the experience!
Despite being an Audiophile in one sense,I can listen to music I like uncritically on my laptop ,or mobile! Music definitely comes first.
Simple if you keep changing gears and keep AB your system with the same damn track.
Hi, my name is Miro and I'm an audiophile. I bought my last piece of gear 2 months ago and.........
Jeff Foxworthy If your watch PS Paul "You just might be an audiophile"
My maxed credit cards & overdraft balance tell me I'm an audiophile.
I am audiophile because I can hear specific tune frequency.
0:46 "blah, blah, woof, woof"??
i know it was included in the info paragraph,,,as a joke...
but the majority of people *i know* who are audiophiles...have _gray_ hair
It's simple you're an audiophile if nothing ever sounds good enough
If you know more audio brands than bands/musicians, then you´re an audiophile. :)
Audiophiles know who they are for sure. If you're in a doubt, you are not an audiophile.
If an audiophile really is someone who listens to music, not as background, and cares about the sound quality. Then I am Ok with being one. I worked in a stereo store years ago, and I always thought an audiophile was someone who just cared about sound reproduction, not music. I really don't care if people think vinyl or Super HD audio files give better sound. If the music I want to listen to is not available in those formats, I will stick with my streaming services, several DACs I own and my Grado cans
A what a-phile!? Anyone watched the Goosebumps movie?
If you are watching this video, you are an audiophile or... a troll😂
My friends call me an "audio nerd"
Just figured out i am one..
If ya like watching Paul...Well.....yep im an audiophile
Audiophile is when people spend most time in youtube looking for a perfect sound equipment