Vintage Asylum Classic gear from yesteryear; vintage audio standing the test of time.

---

[ Follow Ups ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Vintage Asylum ]

---

[ Alert Moderator ]

---

Hi-Fi Fetishism Posts

Posted by Tancred (A) on February 22, 2007 at 09:02:06

A hearty thanks to all of you who responded to my Hi-Fi-Fetishism post! Amazing range of opinions; some I expected, others I didn't. It made me think about so many things.

For some, the term "audiophile" was problematic, and (to them) connoted an elitism based more on image than on substance. I can see that. But like most stereotypes (pardon the pun) they exhibit a range (again, sorry)of attributes, some of which I think we all have.

One thing I noticed is that much of the comments focused on the relationship of the audiophile to his/her equipment rather than the relationship to music. This is the "Vintage" site, so that may explain a lot of it.

But for me, it was music, and wanting to hear it better than the Close-and-Play of my youth, that made me improve my "rig" over time. I have an audio restoration friend (osirisstudio.com) that has helped me understand that you really don't need to spend tons of money for decent sound. In fact, I get a lot of musical pleasure just from recording my vinyl albums to a MiniDisc recorder and then listen to them with little earbuds; sounds pretty good to me. What's most important is the music, and how the music makes me feel, and how I can listen again and hear new things I had not heard before. Jazz, mostly. Jazz seems to provide the most interesting manifestation of music for me.

That said, I can attest to the lure of equipment, the tinkering that can go with it, and fun of building and re-building sound "systems." I'm actually glad I posted my post to you "vintage" folks because not only do I collect vintage material culture (telephones, radios, drink mixers, etc) I am an historian by trade. My life revolves around understanding the "vintage" of everything.

Thanks again for some excellent insights!!

If any of you are interested in the gender/audio thing, I suggest the below article; it is at least amusing:

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue3/deoro.htm

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Sonic Craft

---

[ Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]

---

[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]

---