jvr
Well-known
kevin m said:
Yes, I know my questions are a bit "rough". But I wanted to keep it simple (maybe I simplified too much), this way we get more discussion (people tend to write something when options are not exactly what they think should be) and, most of all, I think it's not easy to draw the line and you have to do it for more elaborated options.
BTW, on the CD vs LP stuff, the bad news is that my Orbe/SME/Sumiko confortably outperforms my Reimyo, although the Reimyo is much more expensive... But I have lots of CDs on top of the LPs (that I keep buying!)...
eric mac
Established
I used to follow the whole audiophile thing. Unfortunately too many concerts and not really having a dedicated area has taken its toll. My last and current setup is the "New" AR turntable with a Shure V15 cartridge, a Van Alstine diy rework of a Dynaco PAS 3, a Hafler power amp pushing a couple of the small Maggie speakers. I have a Sony generic cd player, but I pull the vinyl out when I really want to relax. I started getting in the whole cable thing, but couldn't hear the difference in the different interconnects. There is a Dynaco 70 amp waiting to have a new driver board installed and the PAS 3 needs a new selector switch. This system when it is setup right can really open up the sound of vinyl and cut the shrillness of cds. OF course there is a lot of poorly recorded albums on both vinyl and cd and no amount of equipment can help these.
Just like camera stuff there is always the battle between latest and greatest vs. the classics, but we always go back to the classics.
Eric
Just like camera stuff there is always the battle between latest and greatest vs. the classics, but we always go back to the classics.
Eric
jvr
Well-known
mllanos1111 said:
Strangely enough, the trend has been audio down, cameras up, in terms of interest. That's why I say I am recovering as an audiophile (now I listen to a ton of music, both at home, ipod and car and I don't remember changing a component or even try one in more than one year!). My fear is that my "addiction" is moving to camera gear!
On the other hand (you see, rationalizing!), lenses don't loose a lot of value, especially when you buy them SH. Now CD players, on the other hand...
BTW, I love SOTA. What do you have?
jvr
Well-known
eric mac said:
A bit like digital vs film?
Just kidding, we don't want to start a fight... But this would be an unfair comparison: CD specs were created a long time ago and good vynil (of course there is also bad vynil) sounds better. But if you listen to a good SACD recording on a good SACD player on a good system, you are in for a treat.Digital photography has evolved incredibly, today is easir to get good quality from digital than film. If only digital audio has evolved on the same pace...
Pakmanpdx
Member
I'm a poor audiophile! Currently I have an Advent Model 300 hooked up to my ever-present Tannoy PBM 6.5's. I was a working musician/hobbyist as well as an engineer for many years and am very comfortable with the way my speakers sound, and know a great mix when I hear it. I get excited by production and still chase a few producers and will listen to most everything they put out because I really appreciate a good mix. I am of the notion that Pro-Tools and MP3's have somewhat ruined the quality of alot of music, and feel if i had the room, dollars and inclination I would have a serious audiophile system. It's a good thing I don't!
jvr
Well-known
dpetrzelka said:
Never went down the DYI way, I know there is no turning back...
In the past I also had a Audio Innovations First Audio with 2A3 tubes (7.5W) into a pair of small Triangle speakers on a very small room. Sound was marvellous but one of the 2A3 developed a crack (chinese, I was told) and the amp started fuming. It went to repair and never came back, I was refunded... I had several tube amps since but I still remember the sound of the 2A3s...
foto_fool
Well-known
As in photography, I recognize that the gear can make a difference in the results obtained, and understand the whys and hows. For this reason I would call myself an audiophile - not because I have simply spent exorbitant sums on the latest and greatest gear hyped in TAS or Stereophile.
Like kevin m (who is also an audiophile - whether he will admit it ot not) I consider my system modest. But it is bi-amped, parts of it burn vintage tubes, and parts of it I designed and built. And although my ears are aging about as well as my eyes, I can still hear the difference between LPs and CDs on this system, and some crappy low bitrate MP3 played through $200 earbuds.
Truth be told, I am better founded in sonics than in optics, and have probably spent my hobbyist budget on audio gear to better effect than I have on my photo gear.
- John
Like kevin m (who is also an audiophile - whether he will admit it ot not
) I consider my system modest. But it is bi-amped, parts of it burn vintage tubes, and parts of it I designed and built. And although my ears are aging about as well as my eyes, I can still hear the difference between LPs and CDs on this system, and some crappy low bitrate MP3 played through $200 earbuds. Truth be told, I am better founded in sonics than in optics, and have probably spent my hobbyist budget on audio gear to better effect than I have on my photo gear
.- John
erikhaugsby
killer of threads
I like to consider myself appreciative of the technical aspects of music, if that's what your asking.
I don't have too much in the way of gear, just an old Sony turntable (with a pretty nice Stanton cartridge, though), a Yamaha 2020 amp, and a pair of my dad's Bose 301s.
I love my headphones, too (a pair of Grado SR80s. Best headphones ever, short of a few $500+ pairs). They just make music more enjoyable, allowing little nuances that other cans can't render to be heard.
I don't have too much in the way of gear, just an old Sony turntable (with a pretty nice Stanton cartridge, though), a Yamaha 2020 amp, and a pair of my dad's Bose 301s.
I love my headphones, too (a pair of Grado SR80s. Best headphones ever, short of a few $500+ pairs). They just make music more enjoyable, allowing little nuances that other cans can't render to be heard.
BigSteveG
Well-known
I was a record collector since the age of 12 yrs old. I have a passable (by my standards anyway, sound system). It's all off the shelf stuff. Yamaha, old (they're about 20 years old and have been re-coned) RSL speakers w/ 16 in woofers. The EQ stopped working years ago so I never replaced it. I'm now in the process of getting the records together for sale/trade. Will probably put the money into photo/darkroom stuff. I may hang on to some of the bootlegs just for old time's sake. Everything else can be had on CD now. Cd's are nice, but all the re-issues have taken the fun out of record collecting. The only thing I collect seriously now are photographic prints. Comparing specs of either camera gear or audio equip doesn't interest me. I use what I like and listen what sounds good. After a certain point, I can't tell the difference.
BigSteveG
Well-known
p.s. I do like the sound of LP's, but the convenience and robustness of Cd's are irresistable. I've not been completely swayed by Digital phtography.
jvr
Well-known
foto_fool said:As in photography, I recognize that the gear can make a difference in the results obtained, and understand the whys and hows. For this reason I would call myself an audiophile - not because I have simply spent exorbitant sums on the latest and greatest gear hyped in TAS or Stereophile.
Like kevin m (who is also an audiophile - whether he will admit it ot not
Truth be told, I am better founded in sonics than in optics, and have probably spent my hobbyist budget on audio gear to better effect than I have on my photo gear
- John
I think your point is well taken (not that I wanted to imply otherwise on the poll!): I don't consider someone a "audiophile" just because s/he spends a huge amout of money on a audio system (BTW, I know a few of those, they are the dream of audio dealers, auto dealers or whatever-dealers: "Hey, I want the best there is, so just give me the most expensive stuff you have there. Here's the credit card. Hey, speakers have to be blue, to match my living room!")
As the word suggests
, an "audiophile" is someone who likes or enjoys (ok, probably, maybe in a just-a-little-tiny-bit-over-the-normal way... ) "audio". That has much more to do with attitude (including when listening to music) than the moeny we spend on it.Of course, to be considered a full-fledge audiophile _nut_ (but that's another poll...
) you will have to spend a significant part of your free money on audio AND have problems with your wife/husband because of the gear on the living room... I think you audiophiles out there know exactly what I'm talking about, even the ones that are a bit too shy to come out and assume...
kevin m
Veteran
OK, if being an audiophile means "I like good sound," then I'm an audiophile. I just don't want to spend an evening yakking about "oxygen free speaker cable" that's all.
Just like the "film v. digital" debate, there are times when well-recorded CD's are better than LP's, too. I think classical music benefits from the lack of background noise CD's provide, but, again, you have to pay a bit of money to get a CD player that sounds.... I don't know, "musical." For rock music, LP's are the way to go. So much cheap, good sounding used vinyl is out there, much of it unavailable on CD's or badly transferred, and so many new pressings!
This: http://www.musicdirect.com/ is where I usually order my new vinyl, and I've been shocked at how good the quality of new, clean vinyl can be.
Nando
Well-known
I love music. I appreciate good audio gear but nowhere close to the same level as I appreciate good photography gear. I'm holding off a bit before purchasing some nice audio gear but when I do I probably won't spend a fortune on it. I'm leaning toward a basic system with an Almarro A318B integrated tubed amp and Almarro M3A speakers. At the moment, I listen to music right off my computer using an M-Audio Firewire Audiophile and Grado SR80 headphones. Very low priced but sounds great. I also bought HiVi/Swans T120 speaker system for the computer. They sound amazing for computer speakers and better than any other computer speaker systems I've ever heard however I still prefer listening with the Grados. 50% of my listening is Portuguese Fado and Spanish Flamenco music. The other 50% is pretty much a mix of everything.
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jvr
Well-known
erikhaugsby said:
Nope, "technical aspects of music" makes you a "musicophile", not an audiophile, sorry!
I guess when you talk about "technical aspects of music" you mean interpretation, players technique or emotion, etc.A "real" audiophile would fret about transparency, soundstage, dynamics, extension, tonal colors, effortlessness, etc (well, a good sign of cure is that I'm out of audiophile expressions!). It does not have to be music, garage sounds, dogs barking or just a good stereo recording of children playing in the park will do.
I think there is no analog term for people who (just) worry about sharpness, global and local contrast, focusing, correct exposure, monitor calibrations, absolute hue and tint, MTF graphs, lens diagrams, etc. I would use "image-o-phile" as an opposite of "photophile".
We can be both, of course, and a bit of each is needed to make good music / photos: if the medium is not "correct", the message will not get through.
I may be wrong (or don't have sampled enough photographers) but I suspect "audiophila extremis" is much more common than "image-o-philia extremis". At least I know some guys (and they are really "guys", no gal...
) who have wonderful equipment but only own 3 or 4 CDs and they are all demo stuff... Again, this is a different attitude from the collector. I also know a few audo collectors but it's a very expensive and very space-robbing collectionism...
jvr
Well-known
kevin m said:OK, if being an audiophile means "I like good sound," then I'm an audiophile. I just don't want to spend an evening yakking about "oxygen free speaker cable" that's all.
Just like the "film v. digital" debate, there are times when well-recorded CD's are better than LP's, too. I think classical music benefits from the lack of background noise CD's provide, but, again, you have to pay a bit of money to get a CD player that sounds.... I don't know, "musical." For rock music, LP's are the way to go. So much cheap, good sounding used vinyl is out there, much of it unavailable on CD's or badly transferred, and so many new pressings!
This: http://www.musicdirect.com/ is where I usually order my new vinyl, and I've been shocked at how good the quality of new, clean vinyl can be.
If you like "good sound", then you are an audiophile...
If you don't like the "oxygen free" hype, you are an intelligent person... That makes you an "intelligent audiophile", the species audio dealers most fear... If you have good earing, they'll probably hate you, espcially when you come up in the middle of a demo and say "Hey, this sounds like crap!" Rgd LPs, sometimes I feel happy it became a "purist" medium: most new pressings are really good, they don't have to cut corners anymore AND they know we will pay for it...
kevin m
Veteran
Which is exactly the argument I was making about the future of film in the "film is dead" thread, to no avail.
nrb
Nuno Borges
I love classical, jazz and female voice.
But my gear doesn't qualify me as an audiophile in the sense defined above.
Just old stuff: Audiolab 8000, Onkyo Integra CD player, Mission speakers and proper cables.
But my gear doesn't qualify me as an audiophile in the sense defined above.
Just old stuff: Audiolab 8000, Onkyo Integra CD player, Mission speakers and proper cables.
Alexander
Member
Like vintage camera's I enjoy vintage sound staging as well...there is something about the tactile rituals of both manually focus an image and preparing some vintage vinyl for playback on a classic sound system. I like the gear to look at but it is really about the listening experience.
Yamaha CR-1020
Tannoy Micro TM44DD Turntable with Shure M97xE cart
Polk Monitor 7B's speakers
Teac CX650R Cassette Deck
Toshiba 1700 CDP/DVD
Pioneer RT-1071 Reel to Reel
Yamaha CR-1020
Tannoy Micro TM44DD Turntable with Shure M97xE cart
Polk Monitor 7B's speakers
Teac CX650R Cassette Deck
Toshiba 1700 CDP/DVD
Pioneer RT-1071 Reel to Reel
literiter
Well-known
dpetrzelka said:
Back in my old days of audio there was Heathkit. You could pay an exorbitant amount of money to build it yourself. Franky, I loved it.
I think that you are saying you built your equipment from scratch, like, with soldering iron, wire cutters, and hole punch. If you are, then you have much to be proud of indeed. This is where the idea of building your own system really takes off. (my opinion)
In the past I worked on tube equipment a fair amount. More recently I've considered building my own stuff from scratch but the time, expense and high plate voltages always makes me reconsider.
jvr
Well-known
kevin m said:Which is exactly the argument I was making about the future of film in the "film is dead" thread, to no avail.
Well, I missed the thread but I agree with you! And with the Web, customers and producers will easily find each other, if you are prepared to pay the price. LPs have been getting more and more expensive. And I don't mean ratities or collectibles...
I still have, at least, a ratio of 1:3 rgd CD/LP. On photos, digital/film ratio is going to digital at an alarming rate, even when including all my slides, B&W and color films (and they are a lot! I'm now in the middle of scanning almost 200 rolls of color negs, after more than 10k slides and 200+ rolls of B&W and I'm getting tired!).