The musicophile v. the audiophile

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risabet

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Maybe this has been asked here before but all of the equipment threads, i.e. second system threads, begs the question, are you more into the gear than the "hear."

My definition of the musicophile is the person who owns the equipment in order to reproduce the music. This person owns a lot of source material either cd, lp, or hi-res formats and continually buys more. They may tweak but generally they are happy with their systems for up to 5 years, maybe more.

The gearophile is into the gear. They are never happy with their sound, they are always looking for the next gear fix. 2 years would be a lifetime between upgrades.

Which are you?
 
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I'm definitely more musicphile. Satisfied with the current setup, and the things I want to improve are more HT-related.

However, I do want a second system dedicated to music though!

But I don't have any LP's, does that still count?

Or is there a whole entire different category such as music enthusiast haha!
 
I am tolerant listening to great music on any system of any quality for the most part. But I also enjoy a high end system! I like the gear and all the little things that go into creating a beautiful audio system. But the drive behind it is still the music. If there wasnt much music I absolutely liked, I wouldnt have any interest in having an audio system to play it back at its best....:)
 
I dont know where to put myself. Half of me loves the gear and the hunt. The other half loves the music.

I guess for me, I can't have one without the other.

BUT, this doesnt mean I cant enjoy a good song through car speakers. :D
 
I believe I'm a musicophile. Although I love improving the gear, I'll typically only only go through major upgrades about every 3-5 years. I'll then get everything set up the way I like it, and then essentially leave it alone for years and just listen. (And watch. I treat my video gear essentially the same way.)

This is why I like high-end gear so much, by the way. You not only get good audio and video, but if you spend enough time (and, yes, money) setting it up correctly, you can leave it alone for years and just enjoy it.
 
I would have to say I am more into the music and view my system as a means to an end-enjoying the music. I buy at least 5 Cd's/SACDs/DVDAs a week. I also still buy records whenever I stumble on to a CD I particularly like or which has killer sonics, even tho I am seduced by the ease (not the sound) of digital. I tend to keep my equipment several years tho I occasionally screw up and buy something after a brief audition that turns out to be different rather than better. Those components of course do not last long in my system. Although my Summits are new, my video MLs (Logos, Aeons, Scenarios, Descent) are several years old. I am running into storage issues with both CDs and records and at some point I am going to have to consider some sort of archival system at least for digital.
 
I would have to say I am more into the music and view my system as a means to an end-enjoying the music. I buy at least 5 Cd's/SACDs/DVDAs a week. I also still buy records whenever I stumble on to a CD I particularly like or which has killer sonics, even tho I am seduced by the ease (not the sound) of digital. I tend to keep my equipment several years tho I occasionally screw up and buy something after a brief audition that turns out to be different rather than better. Those components of course do not last long in my system. Although my Summits are new, my video MLs (Logos, Aeons, Scenarios, Descent) are several years old. I am running into storage issues with both CDs and records and at some point I am going to have to consider some sort of archival system at least for digital.

I am not sure if this is the right dichotomy. Obviously it's about the music, other wise we would be discussing cars or philosophy.

However, because of limited resources, developing tastes, desire to experiment, and evolving technology, this hobby also has other dimensions. These are the hunt for the ingredients and then mixing the ingredients to get that right flavor.

I guess we all enjoy the music ultimately. Some of us also like to imagine and dream about how various components would sound like in our system, then hunt them down and mix them together. Then dream some more. I think just imagining something new in their system and imagining how it would feel is a rush for some folks.

Some of us are happy with what we got. Works both ways for me.
 
I think I see what you're trying to segregate here, but I don't think it's that simple. Mainly because I think I'm in the middle. :)

My amp is, oh.... pretty close to 20 years old now, and I haven't bought *new* speakers since 1990 or '91. I have bought cables, a CD player or two, and a preamp or two (used) since I got my first "real" audiophile system together. (It might be low-end on the "audiophile" scale, whatever that is, especially compared to what some people here run but I think it's "audiophile" grade.) I'd been very happy with my simple system and I only ever thought about upgrading when I would come across some huge planar speakers at a customer's house and give them a listen. Since anything a lot better than what I had would be hugely expensive it wasn't worth consideration until I recently found the Sequels, which has started another burst of upgrades. But the MLs need better amplification and source material, there are definite gains to be had. But I don't think I'd be a gear hog.

I really don't collect that much music, though. Not compared to most, anyway. My LPs still fit in a single milk crate and I have way less than 200 CDs. Probably not a musicophile, then.

Taking away budget constraints, I'd probably have more stuff than music, though.
 
I dont know where to put myself. Half of me loves the gear and the hunt. The other half loves the music.

I guess for me, I can't have one without the other.

BUT, this doesnt mean I cant enjoy a good song through car speakers. :D

Ditto. To the word.

Being the DIY nut I am...I've DOWNgraded my system in terms of overall retail value, from close to $10k to closer to $5k...and what I've paid is less that that...but building things to improve upon perceived shortages gives me joy, both from the building aspect, and from the aspect that music is then more enjoyable (if I'm successful).

My last speakers, I feel...made me concentrate more on the gear than the music. The current ones let me relax and enjoy much much more.
 
In a year I spend as much on music as I do on gear. in the last 6 months I have spent over $1,500.00 on music and only $900.00 on gear. To me you can not have one without the other.

It is like buying a car. Everyone mods the engine or whatever but without tires you are not going anyplace. You have to have both.
 
I too must put myself in the 'middle of the road' as well, yes I do enjoy chasing the "Holy Grail" of music reproduction, yet on the other hand I am well aware of the 'value' of my music collection, for replacing it would be FAR more difficult than any of my equipment.

One of the things that has always intrigued me about equipment changes, room acoustical tweaks , etc, is that each change affords us another opportunity to 're-discover' our music collection all over again !! Hopefully for the better !
 
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I used to be a musicophile, when I could go to the bars and hear great music first hand. Nothing beats live!

Now that I have a wife and child, I'm forced to strike a balance between audiophile and musicophile, to recreate that great music in the comfort of my own home! (after the wife and child go to bed)
 
Not even close. Musicophile all the way. Typical visit at a classical (or perhaps jazz) record store lasts anywhere between 3-6 hours, a couple of occasions, longer. I listened to most of these on a pair of Realistic (Radio Shack) bookshelves for 15 years before my Summits. I guess I am a bit different as a trained musician. My high school dream was to be close enough, and have enough money, to have season tickets to major concert halls. Never happened. I was the type of kid who would go see free afternoon rehearsals at Carnegie and Lincoln Center when in NY, in order to hear what the goals off the ensemble were, besides being free for me. I've given up music as a profession (taught in France for two years as well), and have started a small business in the medical field. So, I recently blew a ton of money to spoil myself, precisely for the music's sake, and to refill the "inspiration tank" for a while, before I may start on another program or project.

I do get irked on a few occasions by some pretentious gear-heads, DIY-ers, EE's, who think they know music because they can recite an overtone series from a book. But, this is generally pretty rare. In my opinion, it shouldn't be any other way- its always about the music.

However, I understand some people may enjoy working on a custom car more than driving it. Does anyone enjoy calibrating a tv more than enjoying their favorite movie? Maybe some people enjoy recording music more than performing it, though I have never met such a person. Some instrument makers cannot play what they make, but those that do still enjoy playing more than building- always, no exceptions in my experience.

Last night, I listened for a good stretch of time at my friend's place. We listened mostly to Dylan and Baez. He composes a lot of music, anything from folk songs, to common-practice period vocal works, to acerbic atonal chamber music. He also plays guitar, piano, voice, banjo, lap steel, jaw harp, wash tub bass, tri-cones/single-cone, mandolin, harmonica, you-name-it, all at least at a good level, some at a great level. Well, I told him he could vastly improve his piece-of-crap speakers' imaging and response by pulling the speakers out, raising them to ear level (or getting stands), or moving them apart some more. He could not have cared any less. Not necessary that the gearophiles have it right- well, I doubt they could discern the modulations and/or key changes, thematic metamorphoses, and any other musical device as well as he could. Something to chew on. Perhaps not a fair comparison.

Don't get my wrong, though. I still love my speakers. They just happen to be a means to an end. Just not the end in of itself.
 
I listened to most of these on a pair of Realistic (Radio Shack) bookshelves for 15 years before my Summits.


jk, good response , and I agree, but then again, your one sentence which I quoted above also speaks "volumes" with respect to everything else !
 
jk, good response , and I agree, but then again, your one sentence which I quoted above also speaks "volumes" with respect to everything else !

Thanks twich54. Im not I understand the latter point though. That music was always more important than the gear?
 
I am both. You definitely can't have one without the other. I am more Musicphile though - music comes first, whether it is on a good system or not. I still enjoy the gear though.
 
Musicophile = getting it ; audiophile = getting it right; gearophile = getting it better than all the suckers out there.

"it" = music.

Very true Lugano - although I'd take it slightly different:

Musicophile: "Getting it"; poor sods love music but have no appreciation of how it should sound on a great system.

Audiophile: "Getting it right"; That's me!! Has an understanding and love of BOTH the music and the gear.

Gearophile: "Spending" more than all the suckers out there - but the poor sod has no idea why he has spent that much, no appreciation for what he has put together. ie. More money than sense. Quite often these systems sound nowhere near as good as systems costing less than half, but carefully matched by someone with some sort of musical knowledge!
 
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One of the things that has always intrigued me about equipment changes, room acoustical tweaks , etc, is that each change affords us another opportunity to 're-discover' our music collection all over again !! Hopefully for the better !

Dave,
Well said. I would definatley consider myself a music person first.
Since aquiring my Logan's it has been fun rediscovering some of the music I've listened to for decades.
For me it's always been the love of music:music: , I would much rather discuss and listen to music than discuss gear.

Music can take you back to a place and time in your life, remind you of a lost love, make you cry, mellow you out, pump you up, or just make you feel euphoric. For me it's about the feelings and emotions that the music stirs within you. Regaurdless of the system music makes me feel.
Of course those emotions are brought up easier on a nicer system.

Can you imagine movies without music? The images in a movie if done right are much more moving with the proper music.

I've said it once and I'll say it again.
Life without music is like sex without the orgasm.:D
 
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