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You Might Be An Audiophile If :

76.241.142.23

Posted on June 8, 2017 at 02:17:13
JURB
Audiophile

Posts: 2056
Location: North Ohio
Joined: May 29, 2016
If your phono preamp cost more than most cars.

If there is more gold in your speaker system than your wedding ring.

Wedding ring matters not because she left as soon as she saw your setup.

You have been to jail for a loud stereo, PLAYING BACH.

Your stylus scale is directly traceable to the NBS.

You have a dedicated circuit for 120 volts 30 amps for your five WPC SET setup, but your deep freeze is running off of a nineteen cent drugstore extension cord.

Your speaker wires cost more than the fence around your backyard.

Your turntable weighs more than your refrigerator.


Your CD player has tubes.
(yes the ADC counts on this)

You have no idea what is in that box in the trunk of your car,
but you are sure it needs to be auditioned.

You have changed your cartridge load setting more than twice in the last year. (both resistance and capacitance for extra points)
_

Feel free to add your own.


 

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RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 8, 2017 at 06:32:05
My speaker cables do cost more than my backyard fence. Oh god what have I done to myself. :)

 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 8, 2017 at 06:59:51
Thanks!!

You brightened up my morning, which started with the neighbor's psychotic dog yipping at the air at 6:30, and spiraled downward with the incessant "news" yammering on and on about Trump and Comey, and the "beep, beep, beep" of some industrial vehicle backing up in an area where there aren't other people.

But, speaking of audiophiles, my speaker cables are plain ol' Belden 12 gauge jacketed twisted pair.

I guess I'm not an audiophile, just a regular Joe. (Not that I have anything against guys or girls or conflicted people named Joe or Jo, or such.)

:)

 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 8, 2017 at 07:10:23
Mr Peabody
Audiophile

Posts: 1109
Location: St. Louis, MO, USA
Joined: August 14, 2010
LOL.

I'll try but those are pretty good.

If your system has a dedicated room but your kids share a bedroom.
If you rationalize a reason to put together a system in nearly every room of the home.
If you wish to remain married and your wife designated your listening area to the lower level of the home.
If you've ever told your wife, "no, that's not new, it's always been here".
If you have the original recording of a certain piece of music along with other multiple remasters of the same title.
If your audio or media storage rack costed mor than other pieces of furniture in the home.

 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 8, 2017 at 11:09:49
Todd Krieger
Audiophile

Posts: 37308
Location: SW United States
Joined: November 2, 2000
"Your CD player has tubes."

Your computer system uses a SET amp and high-efficiency speakers......

Oh man.... I'm guilty on both charges.... [-;

 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 8, 2017 at 11:42:30
G Squared
Audiophile

Posts: 8436
Location: Washington, DC Metro Area
Joined: November 16, 2004
Contributor
  Since:
May 23, 2023
You have a computer dedicated to music playback
Gsquared

 

"If your system has a dedicated room but your kids share a bedroom."..., posted on June 8, 2017 at 12:26:15
musetap
Audiophile

Posts: 31819
Location: San Francisco
Joined: July 8, 2003
Contributor
  Since:
January 28, 2004
Lots of good ones in this thread but THAT is PRIMO!

"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination"-Michael McClure



 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 8, 2017 at 14:35:30
fstein
Audiophile

Posts: 2989
Location: fstein
Joined: May 18, 2006
You will kill someone over a frequency imbalance of < 1Db

 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 8, 2017 at 14:36:36
fstein
Audiophile

Posts: 2989
Location: fstein
Joined: May 18, 2006
You are white, over 60, partly deaf, and haven't had a good bowel movement in this century.

 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 8, 2017 at 14:51:48
Todd Krieger
Audiophile

Posts: 37308
Location: SW United States
Joined: November 2, 2000
You unplug the refrigerator for cleaner power for that late night listening session..... But the next morning, your wife wakes you screaming about the warm food in the refrigerator and melted ice cream dripping out the freezer........

 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 8, 2017 at 14:57:00
kentaja
Manufacturer

Posts: 4611
Joined: March 26, 2001
You are an audiophile if you answer yes to at least two of the questions.

Do you have less than 150 records/discs/files?

Do you worry more about the frequency extremes than the midrange?

Do you spend more time tweaking than listening to music?

 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 8, 2017 at 20:41:29
Mr Peabody
Audiophile

Posts: 1109
Location: St. Louis, MO, USA
Joined: August 14, 2010
"You are white, over 60, partly deaf, and haven't had a good bowel movement in this century."

LOLOL, that's harsh dude.

If you are listening to an album because of the sound quality when you wouldn't ordinarily be caught dead listening to it.

 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 9, 2017 at 03:04:31
tweakmenow
Audiophile

Posts: 245
Location: East Coast USA
Joined: March 26, 2012
You've gone outside to water the grounding rod...

 

you give your computer screen the middle finger, posted on June 9, 2017 at 04:38:38
Green Lantern
Audiophile

Posts: 16952
Location: San Diego, Ca
Joined: November 12, 2002
Contributor
  Since:
June 17, 2003
whenever someone is selling an item you want -but refuses to ship-


Audioasylum is on your speed dial (favorites bar) and is pressed at least 15 times daily-










 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 9, 2017 at 06:10:59
E-Stat
Audiophile

Posts: 37470
Joined: May 12, 2000
Contributor
  Since:
April 5, 2002
Do you have less than 150 records/discs/files?

I've told the story before, but when I worked part time at a hi-fi store in college, we had one customer we called "Al Gear" which was very close to his real name.

Al ended up alternately buying and selling a couple of pair of MG-IIs and DQ-10s from us before settling down with his third pair of the latter. One day, he invited the guys at the shop over to hear his system and I went along. Nice room, Audio Research electronics and - about four inches of albums. Many of which were Sheffield or Crystal Clear DTD.

 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 9, 2017 at 06:15:02
E-Stat
Audiophile

Posts: 37470
Joined: May 12, 2000
Contributor
  Since:
April 5, 2002
You turn part of your home's structure into a horn loaded driver!

 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 9, 2017 at 07:03:01
BigguyinATL
Manufacturer

Posts: 3475
Joined: April 10, 2002
"If you are listening to an album because of the sound quality when you wouldn't ordinarily be caught dead listening to it."

Anything from Dolly Parton fits into this.... 4cd's that I have to explain to others...
"The hardest thing of all is to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is no cat" - Confucius

 

Never thought about that one but will now - nt, posted on June 9, 2017 at 07:20:57
jedrider
Audiophile

Posts: 15154
Location: No. California
Joined: December 26, 2003

 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 9, 2017 at 08:09:54
LOL - that's funny.

I used to work at a little hi-fi shop where Dr. Richard Greiner (AES Fellow, and Professor of Electrical Engineering at UW-Madison) would come in pretty regularly. So, we got to know each other. He invited me over to his house, where he had probably two or three thousand records. I don't remember the electronics, but he had these huge refrigerator-size custom speakers. A line of JBL slot tweeters (maybe the 077), a line of JBL 4-5" mids next to them, and four 12" or 15" JBL woofers next to the mids. Maybe something else also in there (don't remember if it was a 3-way or 4-way system - it's been a long time). Those puppies could crank. And, they sounded good, if you didn't move. But if you moved, the comb-filtering was clearly audible. I mentioned this to him.

A few months later, the cabinets were sitting at the curb, sans drivers. I don't remember what new speakers he bought. He sure was a fun guy, and taught me some stuff, too - especially about cables and loudspeakers.

:)

 

You have a backyard?, posted on June 9, 2017 at 09:03:43
Larry I
Audiophile

Posts: 2229
Location: No. Va.
Joined: June 28, 2000
Why would an audiophile need a back yard, unless the system utilizes straight horns that extend fifteen feet out of the back of the house like in the pictures I've seen of crazy Japanese setups?

 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 9, 2017 at 10:53:38
E-Stat
Audiophile

Posts: 37470
Joined: May 12, 2000
Contributor
  Since:
April 5, 2002
It was at that same shop I met a number of mentors who proved to be highly influential to this scrawny teenager. The owner had a huge classical collection and introduced me to an entirely new world of products from companies like Magnepan and Audio Research. Another regular was a Cuban lighting architect who was very much into jazz and latin music who had a fun system.

And it was there I met Dr. John Cooledge who was a prominent TAS reviewer at the time. He invited the four of us from the shop over to listen to his system - where I heard his Dayton-Wrights and was immediately transformed into my moniker. I discovered my hyper-sensitivity to coherency back then. And through JWC, I met his long term friend HP. Over a period of decades, both of them taught me invaluable lessons about music and the critical observational listening experience - even though my preferences were different than each of theirs. As a member of the ASO board, JWC got me a small role in one of their Telarc recordings. And introduced me to more than one conductor and performer.

I simply cannot imagine what my interest in audio and music would have been without having those formative experiences and mentors. :)

 

RE: You have a backyard?, posted on June 9, 2017 at 11:15:16
JURB
Audiophile

Posts: 2056
Location: North Ohio
Joined: May 29, 2016
"Why would an audiophile need a back yard, unless the system utilizes straight horns that extend fifteen feet out of the back of the house like in the pictures I've seen of crazy Japanese setups? "

Yours don't ? Get with the program Man !

 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 9, 2017 at 11:42:34
JURB
Audiophile

Posts: 2056
Location: North Ohio
Joined: May 29, 2016
"I simply cannot imagine what my interest in audio and music would have been without having those formative experiences and mentors. :) "

Actually I was blessed by a couple of good sounding floor models.

One was an RCA TV/stereo combo that had some quite smooth low end response, in fact decent overall. It had an RC-1227C radio chassis that was OTL and solid state, gut had a driver transformer running pairs of PNP germaniums in TO-3 cases.

This thing had oval woofers, 15X9s. Topped off with 4X6 mids and 3½" tweeters. The Fm was so strong with the igh level of AFC you could not get to a place on the dial with no station, I shit you not, it just kinda flopped to the next station even if it was 2 MHz away. It also had an Astatic 353D self weighted cartridge (about 2g) that was the best sounding ceramic cartridge I ever heard. It was SESAPP but cap coupled to the speakers. Supply voltage was about 35 volts or so, so I guess it was around 20 WPC or so.

I remember reveling in the low bass of Herb Alpert - Magic Trumpet. Used to have a Buddy Holly collection, and one album which was a part of a set titled "CKLW" after the famous radio station in Detroit, Michigan. We also used to listen to their station, but it was AM and thus not in stereo. They did some out with CKLW FM for a time but that didn't last, plus we didn't really get all that good reception, AM actually sounded better. Actually, the AM wasn't all that bad, you know it can do damnear 10 KHz.

Then there was The Fisher. Toobes, I think 6V6s. Records only, no radio section. Mono, had three 10" or maybe 8" in series, one in the back. Terrific bass. This thing was so old it had "AES" and RIAA and all that on the selector for phono EQ.

Not to be outdone of course was the Columbia that preceeded all of this. Actual srereo, and I think it had a variablee reluctance cartridge These need a preamp of course like any magnetic, but this thing was hot chassis. No power transformer, which means no real feedback loop either. The instructions say to never touch the arm, to let the changer puit on your records, as it will do it more efficiently or whatever of course.

And then you would also not discover that the cartridge was a shock hazard. It also had one speaker removable, you could slide it on out for stereo realism when needed. But the speaker wires were adequately insulated from the mains. I do get the impression though that if the UL had a look at that unit today they would suffer cardiac arrest.

So beware of those elcheapo units like the flipdowns that some old people might like. Many of them are hot chassis which makes the cart hot. Sometimes you see like a nylon insulator, and there might be a sticker like "THIS PART IS PART OF THE SAFETY OF..." or some such, but not always.

And you might be an audiophile if you have one of those in your silverware drawer

 

You need a vacation from your "hobby", posted on June 9, 2017 at 11:59:17
longtimequadowner
Audiophile

Posts: 1040
Location: Vancouver BC
Joined: April 25, 2003
nt

 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 9, 2017 at 13:34:38
Pat D
Audiophile

Posts: 12506
Location: Fredericton NB
Joined: June 20, 2000
I had a brother who modified some Heathkit speakers, build his own amplifier, had a top Ortofon cartridge, and it all sounded quite good. He didn't have all that many records, though.

I have no desire to be an audiophile. Listening to posters here for a decade and a half has not motivated me to become an audiophile. Looking at your background, I would hardly consider you an average Joe in audio or music.

I have an excellent system for my purposes, and I emphasize my recorded music collection rather than my playback equipment.
-----
"A fool and his money are soon parted." --- Thomas Tusser

 

Confession..., posted on June 9, 2017 at 14:58:50
E-Stat
Audiophile

Posts: 37470
Joined: May 12, 2000
Contributor
  Since:
April 5, 2002
I have 96/24 copy of Dolly Parton's Here You Come Again. :)

 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 9, 2017 at 20:33:12
91derlust
Audiophile

Posts: 1101
Joined: December 25, 2014
You engage in in non-audio discussions on audio-related forums. Central anyone? :)

Cheers,
91.

"Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems to characterise our age." Albert Einstein

 

RE: You Might Be An Audiophile If :, posted on June 10, 2017 at 10:26:31
JURB
Audiophile

Posts: 2056
Location: North Ohio
Joined: May 29, 2016
"Looking at your background, I would hardly consider you an average Joe in audio or music."

Me, no I guess I am not. Designed and built, and cobbled together some systems that really did sound good. And yes I can get flat response out of the speakers if I want it.

Where I actually made some money was in projection TVs, mainly three tube jobs. It is a somewhat complex field dealing with convergence, dynamic focus and all that, but toward the end of their heyday they did produce good pictures.

Nowadays, if I don't find bad caps right away the thing is scrap. I charge twenty bucks to see if it MIGHT be worth fixing. Sorry but I didn't design it, I didn't build it, I didn't sell it and I certainly didn't buy it. So this is the best way. Some places charge alot more than twenty bucks.

But yes, I am not a casual observer of the field, to say the least.

 

All your friends think you are insane for buying a new stereo instead of a car., posted on June 10, 2017 at 10:33:27
This happened to me.
I retired and got a lump sum.
So NATURALLY I bought all new stereo stuff with the money.
I did need a new car, but knew the stereo was MORE IMPORTANT.

Naturally my friends just 'tisk tisked' thinking I was insane.
Nope. easy to buy a car on credit. hard to go get a bank loan at 0.9% for 'miscellaneous stereo bits', but loan me $35,000 for it anyway..
Car? no problem, zero down.
So, when I really wanted a new car, I just schlepped down to the dealer and they gave me one, zero down.
Cars and stereo are different. They may cost the same for an audiophile, but banks are really wary about handing out big bucks for a stereo.

 

If you think you are. -nt, posted on June 10, 2017 at 16:22:52
soulfood
Audiophile

Posts: 3725
Joined: August 9, 2001
nt

 

You spend more time on audio discussion forums than listening to music, posted on June 11, 2017 at 08:11:14
marc g.
Audiophile

Posts: 3329
Location: New Orleans
Joined: October 14, 1999
.
voolston - audiophile by day, music lover by night!

 

...you read this thread. (nt), posted on June 11, 2017 at 15:16:46
reelsmith.
Audiophile

Posts: 13112
Location: CT
Joined: June 7, 2005
Contributor
  Since:
January 19, 2010
.


reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.


 

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