phdbob
13th September 2002, 11:47
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For a few years I was a pretty hard-core audiophile. Â*I stopped when I started living off-campus. Â*I have more important things to spend money on.
More importantly, at this point there is no way I could appreciate any improvements in my system because of the ambient noise levels in my apartment.
I have this homunculus jumping up and down in my head right now saying "of course your average K5er is anti-audiophile. Â*They do all their music listening in a room where there are three computers, all with 7 cooling fans in them. Â*They couldn't possibly appreciate decent quality equipment." Â*Same goes for the people who say there's no difference between CD audio and 192Mbps MP3s. Â*But then I realize such a comment would be more appropriate for /. and /.ers.
As someone who spent their formative years doing very little with their free time other than classical music endeavors, let me say that I can tell major differences between cheap crappy systems and good expensive ones, as well as between crappy expensive ones and good mid-prices ones, thank you very much. Â*I know what live classical music is supposed to sound like. Â*I know that most recordings don't come close to recreating that. Â*I know that some come much closer than most.
I've never played with digital separates, so I have no personal experience with whether digital cables have any effect on sound quality. Â*I personally think that one of two scenarios would come into play: either they would have no effect, or the effect would be so subtle that it wouldn't be worth plonking that kind of cash into cables, vs. better speakers etc.
Let's be clear on one thing - most people who say that they can't tell the difference between a $100 CD player and a $5000 one aren't lying. Â*They just aren't listening in a quiet enough room. Â*Since the majority of people, audiophiles included, can't dedicate the space, time or money to have a dedicated, custom designed, soundproofed and acoustically-treated listening room, they ARE stupid for spending more than the bare minimum on a stereo.
I used to think that every day I didn't wake up and gargle a few rounds from a revolver was a victory, but it's moments like these that make me wonder, "a victory for whom?" - ---
For a few years I was a pretty hard-core audiophile. Â*I stopped when I started living off-campus. Â*I have more important things to spend money on.
More importantly, at this point there is no way I could appreciate any improvements in my system because of the ambient noise levels in my apartment.
I have this homunculus jumping up and down in my head right now saying "of course your average K5er is anti-audiophile. Â*They do all their music listening in a room where there are three computers, all with 7 cooling fans in them. Â*They couldn't possibly appreciate decent quality equipment." Â*Same goes for the people who say there's no difference between CD audio and 192Mbps MP3s. Â*But then I realize such a comment would be more appropriate for /. and /.ers.
As someone who spent their formative years doing very little with their free time other than classical music endeavors, let me say that I can tell major differences between cheap crappy systems and good expensive ones, as well as between crappy expensive ones and good mid-prices ones, thank you very much. Â*I know what live classical music is supposed to sound like. Â*I know that most recordings don't come close to recreating that. Â*I know that some come much closer than most.
I've never played with digital separates, so I have no personal experience with whether digital cables have any effect on sound quality. Â*I personally think that one of two scenarios would come into play: either they would have no effect, or the effect would be so subtle that it wouldn't be worth plonking that kind of cash into cables, vs. better speakers etc.
Let's be clear on one thing - most people who say that they can't tell the difference between a $100 CD player and a $5000 one aren't lying. Â*They just aren't listening in a quiet enough room. Â*Since the majority of people, audiophiles included, can't dedicate the space, time or money to have a dedicated, custom designed, soundproofed and acoustically-treated listening room, they ARE stupid for spending more than the bare minimum on a stereo.
I used to think that every day I didn't wake up and gargle a few rounds from a revolver was a victory, but it's moments like these that make me wonder, "a victory for whom?" - ---