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Audiophile?

barkerd

barkerd

Super Member
Just looking at some Bluetooth speakers online.

Is it just me or has the meaning and use of the word Audiophile changed?

Back in the day it was something someone in the know sent your way as a compliment. Not something you publicly proclaimed to be. It was a label earned, and only valid if recognized by others , not one you assumed and picked out of your closet like a pr of pants.

YMMV but I'm tired of bogus online opinions being presented by self-proclaimed "Audiophiles"
 
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I always thought an "Audiophile" was someone (anyone) that had better gear then I did. Almost anyone that actually calls themselves an "Audiophile" isn't.

Kinda like anyone driving faster then me is a "Maniac" and anyone driving slower than me is an "idiot"
 
BayouTiger said:
I always thought an "Audiophile" was someone (anyone) that had better gear then I did. Almost anyone that actually calls themselves an "Audiophile" isn't.
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Exactly : in my books, at least, its a term of reverence used to describe others.

As in : "wow : he's been at it a long time and has amassed a phenomenal rig : he's an audiophile."

NOT : "This $80 bluetooth speaker is awesome and I should know because I am an audiophile."
 
barkerd said:
Exactly : in my books, at least, its a term of reverence used to describe others.

As in : "wow : he's been at it a long time and has amassed a phenomenal rig : he's an audiophile."

NOT : "This $80 bluetooth speaker is awesome and I should know because I am an audiophile."
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100% correct in my opinion. Those same self proclaimed audiophiles also have to ask is the equipment audiophile for if it is it is ok for them to use. Haha
 
The word 'audiophile' has been used in many ways. It's been a compliment and a slur. It's been misused and abused. So what?

It literally means 'lover of sound' (typically, sound as music). Period. That's it. Love music? You're an audiophile. If you think it means something else, that's a meaning YOU put on it. Feel free to do so, but dry your eyes if someone else misuses it in a way you don't like.

We see this kind of post from time to time. We also see similar posts from people complaining that companies use the term 'Hi-Fi' or "High Fidelity" as if it was a patented term that can only be applied if we personally agree with its goodness and quality.

I consider myself an audiophile. I like music. If you like music too, you're also an audiophile. Welcome to the club, but unclench. The word is highly subject to misuse. Life goes on.
 
Marketing teams blur more things than just the meaning of the word audiophile.....

Come on man. It's marketing.


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The term "audiophile" is so abused these days.

Certainly it is a hard term to define but "audiophile blue tooth speakers" seems to me to be a contradiction in terms.

I think we are all audiophiles in our own ways. Wigwam Jones said it best... "I like music. If you like music too, you're also an audiophile."

How we reach that "status" is totally up to us. We like what we hear and we are happy. Some chase gear and specifications. Others seek the best sound they can afford.

We are all seeking some form of "audio nirvana" in our own ways.
 
Yamaki said:
How we reach that "status" is totally up to us.
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That's my point : the change in use. From whence this descriptor came it was never "up to us" .... it was a term that was to be bestowed. It just seems like everyone and his/her brother are now self-chosen"audiophiles". I have never used this title to describe myself ..... but it used to be a way to determine if one's opinions were worth listening to....... when other's in the know used it to describe someone it held some weight. That person was worth listening to. It was like a filter to "listen and heed" or "ignore" ....now it means virtually nothing.
 
Well, I thought I would look up the official definition as a matter of curiosity.

Websters - a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction.

Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audiophile - Too long to print but interesting.

Urban Dictionary - One who enjoys sex acts involving the ear.
After they stopped kissing, Jenny felt something touch her ear. She sighed. Why did she always end up with the audiophiles?

I guess I really am an audiophile! :banana: :thmbsp: :music:
 
here is another question: Why do audiophiles hate the term audiophile so much?

I would say anyone who belongs to and post on an online audio forum is an audiophile, some maybe are a little crazier then others but we are all in the same gang.
 
The term audiophile has been embraced by marketing, so it has lost it's meaning.
Pretty much any device that makes sound, can be marketed as "audiophile".

I think the term "audio enthusiast" works better.
 
I've been sitting here thinking about what it would take to make a pair of audiophile Bluetooth speakers.

DIY overnight sensations kit
TPA3116 or Shure amplifier board
Bluetooth receiver.


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Wigwam Jones said:
The word 'audiophile' has been used in many ways. It's been a compliment and a slur. It's been misused and abused. So what?

It literally means 'lover of sound' (typically, sound as music). Period. That's it. Love music? You're an audiophile. If you think it means something else, that's a meaning YOU put on it. Feel free to do so, but dry your eyes if someone else misuses it in a way you don't like.

We see this kind of post from time to time. We also see similar posts from people complaining that companies use the term 'Hi-Fi' or "High Fidelity" as if it was a patented term that can only be applied if we personally agree with its goodness and quality.

I consider myself an audiophile. I like music. If you like music too, you're also an audiophile. Welcome to the club, but unclench. The word is highly subject to misuse. Life goes on.
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qft.
 
barkerd said:
That's my point : the change in use. From whence this descriptor came it was never "up to us" .... it was a term that was to be bestowed. It just seems like everyone and his/her brother are now self-chosen"audiophiles". I have never used this title to describe myself ..... but it used to be a way to determine if one's opinions were worth listening to....... when other's in the know used it to describe someone it held some weight. That person was worth listening to. It was like a filter to "listen and heed" or "ignore" ....now it means virtually nothing.
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So what you are saying is that a term you understood to mean something incorrect is now used to mean something else incorrect that you don't agree with.

Oh well. Yeah, it has changed in common parlance. Many times, and sometimes it means different things to different people at the same time.

Seems like a complete waste of time to get fashed over how other people incorrectly use the term you used incorrectly yourself, just in a different way.
 
Adda said:
The term audiophile has been embraced by marketing, so it has lost it's meaning.
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The only meaning it ever had was 'music lover'. Any other meaning was incorrect and simply accepted by many. Now it is accepted by many to mean something else. Shocking.
 
I woudn't sweat who uses the term or how they use it. It means different things to different people. Sure, there is maybe only one "correct" meaning, but the difference usually comes in whether someone thinks that's a bad thing or a good thing. And surely everyone here, if they're honest considers themselves to be audiophiles to some degree or another. I love my Bose 901's. Does that disqualify me from the audiophile club? I'm sure to many it would. But every non-audiophile who who knows me considers me to be a hopeless, over-the-top, gonzo audiophile of hte first order. Then I cruise online and see the systems that cost more than my house, the footers, and elevators, and myrtle blocks, etc, etc and I think I'm no audiophile at all. But it really should not be defined by our degree of affliction. I think anyone who cares about sound and is willing to expend some effort and at least a little coin to pursue it, IS an audiophile!
 
The part I find hilarious is how people who have spent years making hundreds or thousands of posts on an audio website are so quick to distance themselves from the label "audiophile".
 
In my circle back in the day circa late 70's, it was an elitist term denoting exclusivity among serious enthusiasts not of music but mostly the gear. Something akin to the 'Bimmer Club'. From there, it progressed to a derogatory characterization by those not belonging. I never liked being labeled as such because of the also snooty attitude in general they were identified with.
 
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