Good topic. It always helps to hear how others perceive the world. There's probably a whole spectrum of opinion on music and the quality of its reproduction. I suspect I might be towards the "Audiophile" end of it.

As I said earlier, if the sound produced isn't throughly enjoyable, then I'm not interested in hearing music. Unpleasant sound is "noise" to me, and is essentially no different to sirens, buzzers, annoying voices, traffic etc. I also want music to stimulate me. "Pipe and slippers" kit just isn't for me because the music doesn't move me.

I don't want to hear music distorted through a mobile phone or a small transistor radio. I don't want to hear it through a bar or shop PA system either. I'm also not interested in standing amongst drunks making fools of themselves and hearing a live performance in a bad acoustic through a poor PA system.

In comfortable surroundings, with company and music programme I choose, through hifi items that please me is the only way I want to hear music. There's also a part of me that loves and appreciates the design and build of the hifi. Its hard for me to imagine using only my hearing to appreciate anything. I'm therefore only interested in owning and using kit that pleases me in these areas. Computer audio or things like Cambridge Audio or Chinese T amps  are pointless to me because their presence displeases me and would render listening pointless. I'd regard them as a stain on the overall experience.

I should add that I don't regard where anyone sits on this spectrum as "right" or "wrong". Whatever feels good for you is all that matters. I don't feel that my likes and dislikes are any more or any less valid than anyone else's. If anyone thinks I'm not a "true" music lover, it doesn't bother me in the slightest. As long as I do what makes me happy, why would I care?

I have read Tim's post on the fuse thread and thought I would comment here.


I think Tim is on to something there. It is all too easy to be constantly listening for changes after something has been tweaked. People are guilty of homing in on one aspect of the sound and commenting on that rather than the whole picture. There are some people and I would class them as audiophiles who crave the next "difference". They more often than not write using magazine reviewer speak with no mention of the music.


I have been guilty of the above myself but I am slowly training myself to stop doing it, with great success I might add.  When I think back to my youth when I was just getting in to music seriously I did not care about the replay equipment yet I still got those hair on the back of the neck moments and was in awe of what I was hearing. The system was very cheap and ordinary. I remember discovering new bands for the first time - Led Zep, Pink Floyd, The Doors. I liked the music because of the effect it had on me not what I was listening to it through. I appreciated the musicians as the best I had ever heard and it made me want to become better at the instrument I played. We enthused about the music not the sound quality.


Where it all went wrong was when the replay equipment started to be thought about and I had more money. The obsessional feelings soon started to mount, I upgraded the equipment (or so I thought) and ended up in a constant upgrade / tweaking frenzy. This effected how I listened to the music. I started listening to things in isolation - bass, mid range, high frequencies. I should have been listening to the whole, the interplay between musicians and how it was making me feel. 


I now concentrate on how that band or artist are making me feel. I want to be in that room with them, know how many takes it took to record it, were they all in a room together or separated, were the band still interested in the songs not just going through the motions, did the drummer have a squeaky stool, had they just had an argument before recording it.


It has to be said that simplifying my diy efforts has brought me to a wonderful new place. Removing over complications and unneeded components has brought me closer to the music - the emotional feelings I have and the irresistible urge to dance with my 4 year old daughter on a cheap system . I did not realise the effect some things have on musical enjoyment e.g phase changing components, wiring looms, capacitive coupling. I have gone back to recordings that I used to think were boring and lacking dynamics with mediocre musicians. I was wrong in a lot of those thoughts.

CAUTION! Gross oversimplification follows in 3...2...1...

In his (or her) prime listening space -

The music lover can accept that the music is wonderful, even though there might be improvements to be made to his or her system. He can enjoy his music on a system which the audiophile would spend hours trying to "help" the music lover "improve".

The audiophile can accept that the music is wonderful, but can't stop thinking about how to tweak his system and how much more wonderful he could make it. The music lover could enjoy the music played on the audiophile's system without feeling the need to "help" the audiophile, except in his choice of music, obviously.

Me, I'm just a lawnmower. You can tell me by the way I walk.

[EDIT - for something that just occurred to me]

It could, perhaps, be the difference between hearing with one's head, or one's heart.

I agree with Dave C that the definition of an Audiophile doesn't necessarily mean someone always chopping and changing. I also think Stu makes some interesting points about constant evaluation. I've been to the "place" he describes and the best way out of there was to forget A-B comparisons. They led me astray more often than not and only fuelled dissatisfaction. I just live with something now and if it makes me happy, it stays in situ.

I listen to music for hours every day.
Love it, won't do without it.

My listening enjoyment has increased considerably in the past few years as I upgraded boxes and accessories.
If you listen to music on any system and you enjoy it then fine.
Want to enjoy it more ?
Open ears and eyes, dispense with ego and see what you can do.
Often for not a lot.

Talk of interplay (karatestu) brings up a related topic. I listen for interplay but find that it often doesn't exist the way it used to. Bands who record as individual musicians and worse still manipulate the sound later prevent interplay. It's one of my bugbears with modern recording methods....of course this doesn't always apply, classical and jazz being more whole band oriented.

I believe I'm both an audiofile and music lover but not at the same time. Different mindsets depending on my mood.

That's a really interesting thought, Clive. There have been times in my life when I've been the person Cagey describes as an Audiophile. Always looking or something else. Having a few days of happiness at any improvement before something about the sound began to niggle.

Others where I've been very happy and couldn't be bothered to try anything different even if it was served to me on a plate. The difference maker has been my level of satisfaction with the way the system entertains me. Usually the only thing that has set me wanting to change a great system has been a house move, of which I've had too many. Had I not moved, I can think of at least 4 systems that I would not have changed. There has also been the odd time when I've bought something more expensive and beautifully built just because I coveted it and this has upset a balanced system.

Others will be different and they will find the motivation to experiment. For me, it's almost always been due to something not being right with my current system. When I'm really happy, I tend not to swap. My current main system hasn't changed in a year and probably won't unless it fails to please in a new home.

Edit: I should add that I don't t own any test discs and never have. I don't understand what purpose they serve. A system built to play music is "tested" when you play your records and CDs on it. If you like it, then it's passed the test. 

The best I can do: an audiophile is a music lover who wants to listen at the highest possible sound quality.