I guess I'll never be a "true" audiophile

[noob0804]

I'm not even sure this is remotely interesting for the Audioholic community, but here it goes:
In the past couple of years I put together a budget conscious 2.0 system for my home office (roughly 13'x14' with 9'-8" ceiling. I have doors in 2 corners and a wall with floor to ceiling windows.
The system is composed of a Yamaha S-202 basic stereo receiver, an Oppo 980H DVD player that I bought new in 2003 and I use for CDs, SACDs, and DVD-A, and a Wiim Pro for streaming Amazon Music up to ultra HD, FLAC files stored in my NAS, and also as a DAC for CDs and DVD-A since the Wiim doesn't support DSD. My speakers are Dayton MK442 (Audioholics 2019 budget speaker of the year), and for architectural and spousal reasons I can't accommodate a subwoofer in the room.
My question/issue is: I absolutely love the damn thing! So much that I don't see myself justifying upgrades for years to come. I'm incredibly happy with it, but I read so many reviews about much better equipment. Does that mean I'll never have "golden ears" or that I'll never be able to hear the difference between what I have at home and what is possible with a few thousand? I'm 55, which is relevant because by now I've lost some high frequency hearing. I listen to classical, rock, some jazz, and some experimental music. I have attended countless classical music concerts in my life since my childhood, I know how it's supposed to sound. The system can go more than loud enough for me, the bass goes very deep in the room, and I can't hear any sign of strain from the receiver or the speakers. Actually I can't tell the difference between high resolution and ultra high resolution music. I can, but barely, tell the difference between a high bitrate mp3 and a FLAC.
Did I peak in terms of my ability to discern sound quality? Should I forget about audio Nirvana and never come back to Audioholics? . This is a little tongue in cheek, but I'd love to hear some opinions. Thanks!

 

[ryanosaur]

What's a "true" audiophile?

I like very good, high quality sound. I don't feel like I need to buy the newest most expensive gear, or have cables as thick as my thighs...

Perhaps loving audio and loving gear are oft confused?

If you are happy with your kit, then be content: no need to sweat it!

 

[dolynick]

I've never really considered the term "audiophile" to mean "chases the high end only" but rather "cares about having good/decent sound". It's easy to chase the higher end as a natural progression of "looking for better" but quality sound at a reasonable price point and system complexity is perfectly valid too.

There's also nothing really wrong with CD/redbook level audio quality. It was chosen as a standard because it covers the majority of what most people are capable of hearing anyways. I always view going after the higher bitrate/quality stuff as more "just making sure nothing is missing" rather than necessarily being able to hear more in actual use.

 

[noob0804]

I really like those answers. They're kinda what I was hoping for. It's really not about spending $1,000 per foot of speaker cable, but finding the best value items within one's budget to enjoy the music as much as possible.
I, like you guys, appreciate a well recorded piece of music and I find bad recordings distracting, and frankly, overly compressed masters unbearable.
I feel very lucky for having attained my own level of audio bliss without spending a lot of money, and I owe that for the most part to the research I did here before pulling the trigger. I always try to go for highest value at reasonable cost.
Yamaha stereo receiver: $150
Oppo DVD player: about $300 in 2003 money, so it's fully amortized
Wiim Pro: $150
Dayton speakers: $220
speaker cable from Ace hardware: $30
SPDF and RCA interconnects: came included with various components
All in all, a stereo that fully satisfies me for less than $1k. I guess it's not bad.

Thanks!

 

[j_garcia]

Audiophile to me is about enjoying the audio, not just the gear. Yes, the gear is part of it too and people tend to improve the gear over time, but that doesn't make an audiophile IMO.

I used to own a 980H and it was a pretty good player.

 

[Steve81]

I probably do like 60% of my listening on cheap ass earbuds. Do they sound as good, or hit as hard as my stereo rig? Heck no. If my stereo rig died tomorrow and I couldn’t afford a new one, would I worry about it? Also heck no. And let’s be honest here, as long as you’re enjoying yourself, who cares what snobs think?

 

[Trebdp83]

I'm not even sure this is remotely interesting for the Audioholic community, but here it goes:
In the past couple of years I put together a budget conscious 2.0 system for my home office (roughly 13'x14' with 9'-8" ceiling. I have doors in 2 corners and a wall with floor to ceiling windows.
The system is composed of a Yamaha S-202 basic stereo receiver, an Oppo 980H DVD player that I bought new in 2003 and I use for CDs, SACDs, and DVD-A, and a Wiim Pro for streaming Amazon Music up to ultra HD, FLAC files stored in my NAS, and also as a DAC for CDs and DVD-A since the Wiim doesn't support DSD. My speakers are Dayton MK442 (Audioholics 2019 budget speaker of the year), and for architectural and spousal reasons I can't accommodate a subwoofer in the room.
My question/issue is: I absolutely love the damn thing! So much that I don't see myself justifying upgrades for years to come. I'm incredibly happy with it, but I read so many reviews about much better equipment. Does that mean I'll never have "golden ears" or that I'll never be able to hear the difference between what I have at home and what is possible with a few thousand? I'm 55, which is relevant because by now I've lost some high frequency hearing. I listen to classical, rock, some jazz, and some experimental music. I have attended countless classical music concerts in my life since my childhood, I know how it's supposed to sound. The system can go more than loud enough for me, the bass goes very deep in the room, and I can't hear any sign of strain from the receiver or the speakers. Actually I can't tell the difference between high resolution and ultra high resolution music. I can, but barely, tell the difference between a high bitrate mp3 and a FLAC.
Did I peak in terms of my ability to discern sound quality? Should I forget about audio Nirvana and never come back to Audioholics? . This is a little tongue in cheek, but I'd love to hear some opinions. Thanks!

I have two pair of the MK442T speakers for fronts and surrounds, an MK442 Center Channel speaker and two SUB-1200 subwoofers. Great bang for buck and do not feel the need to upgrade, yet.

 

[Eppie]

You said it with "best value items within one's budget ". If you absolutely love it, that makes you an audiophile in my book. It's not about the cost but about the love of music and the gear you own. I still have two sets of Cambridge Soundworks computer speakers (at home and at the office) that I have owned for ages. I liked the sound then and I still do now. I understand lyrics better on these speakers than any other and the sub provides plenty of bass for a desktop system. I've been listening to them all of this afternoon.

 

[j_garcia]

You said it with "best value items within one's budget ". If you absolutely love it, that makes you an audiophile in my book. It's not about the cost but about the love of music and the gear you own. I still have two sets of Cambridge Soundworks computer speakers (at home and at the office) that I have owned for ages. I liked the sound then and I still do now. I understand lyrics better on these speakers than any other and the sub provides plenty of bass for a desktop system. I've been listening to them all of this afternoon.

View attachment 72592

I remember those

I have a 30 year old Sony bookshelf CD system. It went to my daughter, then my son, and back to me and it still works fine. Nothing fancy, but good for music and surprisingly decent sound for a bedroom.

 

[shadyJ]

The Dayton MK442Ts were great speakers for the price. Sad that they were discontinued. My father has a pair which I recommended for him. Getting something significantly better would cost a lot more, proportionally speaking. If you are happy, enjoy! I know I did when I had a pair. They have a smooth sound despite the low cost.

 

[Steve81]

I remember CSW pretty well too since that’s what brought me into this hobby in the first place

 

[mtbdudex]

Audiophile , schmudiophile !
That’s what I say.
People chasing some unknown thing.
Read about it, try and live it, do the “right talk”, say the “fancy words”.

Is it about some epiphany feeling of pure unadulterated ectasy?

I remember smoking my first joint in 1977, high school 10th grader.
And I chased for months and months to feel that “first high” again, never did. Yea, led to experimenting with harder drugs… hash, LSD, mescaline, shrroms, cocaine,I stopped and never did herion.

So, do true “audiophiles” chase the equivalent of that in their pursuit of …. well it.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[lovinthehd]

Audiophile basically just means someone who likes or is enthusiastic for hi fidelity reproduction gear. Sounds like you are already an audiophile and "true" enough. Has become a word more about the silly expensive side of audio these days. You can do very well for not a lot of money, or you can throw endless amounts of money at it, which is generally largely a waste of time and money.

 

[noob0804]

Thanks to all for humoring me with your opinions on this quandary that keeps me up at night. Paraphrasing the Top Gear guys, I guess I'm an audiophile with reasonably priced gear...

 

[Eppie]

I remember those

I have a 30 year old Sony bookshelf CD system. It went to my daughter, then my son, and back to me and it still works fine. Nothing fancy, but good for music and surprisingly decent sound for a bedroom.

I think those are the first rainbows that I have received in this forum! Badge of honour.

People see those little cubes and expect them to sound like crap. They really do sound good in the near field. The subwoofer is not meant for LFE but is just a bass driver and performs adequately at moderate listening levels. They may not compete with modern offerings from Kanto and the like but for the year they were produced it was a very good product for the money.