I was originally going to respond to the 24/192 discussion with this but thought it more apt to start a new topic instead of tangential hijacking :-)
I wonder if we've had a good / serious discussion here around the question of what as "audiophiles" we're trying to accomplish with our gear. No need for ridicule, but just a frank discussion of our thoughts around why (some of us) spend so much time on this "obsession" :-) As one more in the objectivist camp, I'm personally striving for "accuracy" with reasonable specs which exceed my hearing capacity so I'm pretty sure I'm "not missing anything" through the electronics. Once I think this is achieved, I'm not really interested in owning the next "upgrade" unless I'm pretty sure it brings something beneficial to the table. Sure I'm interested in what's new and would happily join friends in auditioning gear (even have thoughts of visiting RMAF this year), but unless I really think it makes a difference, there's really no need to own it. Likewise, intellectually if it really makes little sense, I am by nature skeptical. On the software side, I like to obtain the best mastering so enjoy picking up some MoFi, Audio Fidelity, old DCC's, maybe the "first pressing" before remasters killed dynamics. As a point of reference, I don't necessarily consider the "live music" as something I strive to replicate (I listen to live music almost every week). I expect the best I can do is replicate the "mic feed" as best I can in my home which one cannot reasonably expect would sound exactly like the live event (and that's assuming a 'direct-to-disk' recording without fancy EQ and other studio effects). In fact, what I hear at home often is better than my seat at the live event already. Before the widely used term "audiophile", it was "high fidelity" which I think might be a better term for what I'm striving for in playback. On the other hand, I know many audiophiles want a euphonic sound. Tube gear and vinyl lovers I think must follow this philosophy. I'm not sure I understand that philosophy fully and what "point of reference" being used in that situation. Note that I'm not saying anything about one viewpoint being "superior"; rather just wanting to hear the viewpoints. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Archimago's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2207 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=98057 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
