What it is to be an audiophile...

Very funny and very, very true!!



Regards,
Michel

Substitute xxxxxxphile they are all the same. Get the latest lenses , tyres, lures etc etc.

A very blunt description of the harsh truth

The link is so very funny for being so very true!

And it clearly applies to followers of all brands of Hifi including Naim.

I actually find that the better the replay, the less easy it is to suspend disbelief in the recorded medium. All recordings are not quite perfect, and some great music making is presented in less than stellar recording techniques, and quality. But a great performance of valued music will appeal to a music lover in spite of a less than splendid recording. All a great replay set does is remind you how terrible the recording quality is!

Some of the most musically acute replay is rather inexpensive: Think Nait One, Two or 5i onto Kans and you realise that to improve enough to really hear a musically significant difference you need Quad ESLs or DBLs driven actively ...

And then it not hugely significant ...

So I have a great musical library with plays through iTunes, an Aune [£105] DAC, and a Tivoli Model One Radio!

Strangely I found that the high end is less satisfactory, because it only emphasises the artificial nature of the recording process. A very basic but focused and clear replay set lets you concentrate on the music whilst suspending disbelief in the actual sonic quality in the same way that monochrome TV is more enjoyable than HD Technicolor!

If you know the quality is not pretending to be natural, then you listen through the limitations, rather than hope for your living toom to be a great venue or concert hall, which common sense suggest that it never could be ...

ATB from George

Well I'm quite happy with my set-up and have no intention of changing anything except for my cartridge which is nearly worn out and possibly getting a MacBook Air with SD memory chips and no moving parts (a holy grail of mine) to play music from SD cards and possibly looking at some S400s if I can put them closish to the wall and of course upgrading the hiFace to the EVO or something similar and getting a second NAP200 to go active .... but apart from that nothing really planned as an upgrade.

Really enjoying some music I missed out on over the years that I've recently acquired as well as some new music in the folk tradition and waiting and waiting for my 19CD set from one of the three finest singer/songwriters ever to grace the planet - Sandy (Shirley and Annie are the other two).

There is no right or wrong in this and no best .... we all have our own foibles and I do my best to support the UK hi-fi industry by buying the odd bit of kit every now and then ........

I don't consider myself an audiophile, but I do believe that my system manages to make some pretty ropey recording sound highly listenable ... so it works for me. I don't often go to live music because it so often disappoints as I'm expecting it to sound as good as the Naim hi-fi ....

Dear ROTF,

I have clear memories of taking a fairly unmusical friend to a proper concert, and he was surprised how much less loud than expected it was - having been conditioned by over-loud gramophone listening!

The result was that he was disappointed the music did not assault his ears, diagphram [etc] in the way the same music did when played too loud at home!

People should try to go to more concerts and then they will find that the modest approach to replay is actually more closely aligned to real concert going than might otherwise be suspected ...

ATB from George

If your system lets you hear everything you see in the score, is convincing in its reproduction of instrumental color and dynamics small and large, and has an undistorted articulation, some would say you were done.

Many different systems achieve this level of performance, each a reflection of personal taste and situation.

At that point, it makes sense to focus more attention on the music you listen to.

This is analogous to the relationship between a player and his instrument, a listener and her system. Just as the musician must accept the instrument being played and give his message to the rest of us in the context the instrument's particular sound, so does the listener in relation to the system.

At least for some of us.

Mike,

Once again you have the raised the bar - I can't imagine anyone ever being more pompous than that.

Nothing wrong with changing or upgrading your kit every once in a while. Just as long as you can afford it, and you don't obsess over it.

Who doesn't like going back and re-listening to old favorites after getting a new box or cable or accessory?

It is just as bad to be desperately seeking new tunes. Might mean you are bored with your system's sound, and are hoping that some new band or genre will somehow wake it up and make it sing right.

Mom always used to say that most things are fine, as long as they are done in moderation. Audio, I think, is one of those things.

Hook

quote:

Originally posted by George Johnson:
Dear ROTF,

I have clear memories of taking a fairly unmusical friend to a proper concert, and he was surprised how much less loud than expected it was - having been conditioned by over-loud gramophone listening!

The result was that he was disappointed the music did not assault his ears, diagphram [etc] in the way the same music did when played too loud at home!

People should try to go to more concerts and then they will find that the modest approach to replay is actually more closely aligned to real concert going than might otherwise be suspected ...

ATB from George

Dear George

I much prefer classical and folk music to rock music concerts, but still at times find the volume too loud for me. A reason for my choice of system was its ability to play music at low volumes and still let me hear the words and melody inherent in the songs.

You could say I'm lazy, but driving to the nearest concert venue, finding somewhere to park, just doesn't appeal as much as plonking some vinyl on the old LP12 and just listening or selecting an album from my iTunes library for playing back through the Naim DAC. It is probably true to say going to concert for myself and Mrs R would cost up near £100 so it has to be a very special concert - Gilbert and Sullivan or a Janáček opera or Christy Moore would be special enough, but opportunities to hear such are not frequent. Mrs R likes musicals so we do go to a few of those.

With things like progressive rock music I would still maintain the recordings are superior to the live event, added to which my favourite bands have long since disbanded and I'm not one for cover versions.

ATB Rotf

One of the best feature on all Hi-Fi systems (or TVs) is the "Off" button.

This is a huge advantage over any live concert or performance.

Anyone is free to walk out of a live concert. I did once when S Rattle was making a frightful hash of some Schoenberg with the CBSO.

It was brutish enough for my exit to go un-noticed ...

Dear ROTF,

Many concert halls are unsuited to the task, and where this is the case, recordings are preferable, even ignoring the cost difference.

But a great concert in a great hall, of great music, is an unparalleled experience, and no replay really does begin to replicate this well. Not least because there are few recordings that are both natural and clear ...

To my mind it should go without saying that any adequate replay works as well quietly as it does loudly. SBLs are very good at this - same with the Tivoli Radio Model One.

All IMO of course ...

ATB from George

quote:

Originally posted by Sniper:
Mike,

Once again you have the raised the bar - I can't imagine anyone ever being more pompous than that.

Sniper, I'm beginning to like you.

But Mike is right. Fine players adjust thier technique to the instrument - be it a Strad or a Guaneri [or even a Skylark], and any practiced listener will soon adjust to clear and focussed replay, if they are more interested in music than hifi sonics, even if the replay has some [inevitable] flaws.

Not pompous at all - just profoundly true.

ATB from George

quote:

Originally posted by mikeeschman:
If your system lets you hear everything you see in the score, is convincing in its reproduction of instrumental color and dynamics small and large, and has an undistorted articulation, some would say you were done.

Many different systems achieve this level of performance, each a reflection of personal taste and situation.

At that point, it makes sense to focus more attention on the music you listen to.

This is analogous to the relationship between a player and his instrument, a listener and her system. Just as the musician must accept the instrument being played and give his message to the rest of us in the context the instrument's particular sound, so does the listener in relation to the system.

At least for some of us.

Mike-
I think you are very close to what I believe is the truth.

I agree with George. Turn it down.

Pompous-not.

Marc

You're right Marc. Those of us who don't listen to music with reference to a score should refrain from commenting on the pomposity or otherwise of those who do, and then write about the unparalleled insight and enjoyment that it brings. After all, the rest of us couldn't possibly understand.

Sarcastic comments perhaps; but Mike's analysis just makes my whole listening experience seem somehow inferior. I try not to read his stuff. I really do.

quote:

Originally posted by winkyincanada:
You're right Marc. Those of us who don't listen to music with reference to a score should refrain from commenting on the pomposity or otherwise of those who do, and then write about the unparalleled insight and enjoyment that it brings. After all, the rest of us couldn't possibly understand.

Sarcastic comments perhaps; but Mike's analysis just makes my whole listening experience seem somehow inferior. I try not to read his stuff. I really do.

Does not matter if you're reading a/the score. Mike was saying if your system was giving you everything that's on the score. Mike ,as I read it,never pointed to anyone. He stated,"Some may say you are done".

Yours and my hifi are inferior(to the real thing).

Experience(s)lead us to our own reality. Don't let anyone else bring you down. He has an opinion that I happen to understand and can appreciate


Regards,
Marc

That article is hilarious. Also judging by the comments on this thread has hit nail completely on the head

You don't have to follow a score to hear a piece of music.

On the other hand, it doesn't hurt, and is no crime.

Finally a thread where Mike L learns to tone it down. Excellently expressed but still little to do with the original post. Still, you can't have everything. I mean, he's retired from here what, twice now, and several are on his ignore list, me included. Anyone else suspect he just Googles "audiophile", "classical" and "score" all day long?

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Hughes:
Finally a thread where Mike L learns to tone it down. Excellently expressed but still little to do with the original post. Still, you can't have everything. I mean, he's retired from here what, twice now, and several are on his ignore list, me included. Anyone else suspect he just Googles "audiophile", "classical" and "score" all day long?

It is my expression of what it means to be an audiophile.

I write when a thought comes to me.

I don't google all day, in fact hardly ever.

The real question is, why can't you leave me to myself, if it is so objectionable?

quote:

Originally posted by mikeeschman:

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Hughes:
Finally a thread where Mike L learns to tone it down. Excellently expressed but still little to do with the original post. Still, you can't have everything. I mean, he's retired from here what, twice now, and several are on his ignore list, me included. Anyone else suspect he just Googles "audiophile", "classical" and "score" all day long?

It is my expression of what it means to be an audiophile.

I write when a thought comes to me.

I don't google all day, in fact hardly ever.

The real question is, why can't you leave me to myself, if it is so objectionable?

The stronger the opinion the stronger the response. Don't worry about what others think! You will drive yourself nuts if you do. Stay focused on your goals and meet them. Enjoy!.

Marc

Hey Mike Hughes, you need to get in touch with Social Strata, that 'ignore list' function's not working for you.

Cheers Derry for the link to the v funny article.

Chris

I know I must be the most read person on an ignore list ever.

Love the way he asks why I can't leave him alone when, having resigned twice, and then come back, it does rather beg the question in reverse.

Mike