Do you have an account on Tidal? Do you hear a difference while using cheap and expensive cables with your speakers? Do you still buy vinyl? Does the sound quality matter to you more than actual music? Do you know the slow rate definition? Do you own an expensive pair of headphones? And no, not the iPhone or iPod ones.
If you answered ‘YES’ to at least three of these questions, there is a chance that you are the so-called audiophile. And what is an audiophile you may ask? To put it shortly, an audiophile is a person who is fascinated with equipment destined for playing recorded sound and its quality. Usually, the goal of an audiophile is to capture the experience of live performance. Every experienced audiophile is able to do it. Nothing is going to hide in the sound from an audiophile – every component is as important as others, from the format of the audio to the cable. You must need the best center channel speakers to hear the sound peacefully.
If at this point you are not so sure if you are an audiophile or just an intense music lover, here are few things that might tell you the answer.
You’re an Expert in Theory
Do you remember when you were in school and learning about your country’s history was a struggle? Well, when it comes to the history of audio, you have no problem with remembering the dates and what happened when. You know what helped the technology to reach the level it has today, and you know how it happened.
Phrases like “lossless compression” are so normal for you to use that you could be a lecturer of audio language. You also know everything about the new technologies that come out and are an expert in them. You have no problem with helping your friends buy the best noise isolating headphones or speakers that make the best sound.
Of course, if you don’t know the whole history of the audio industry doesn’t mean that you can’t be an audiophile. There are a few more things that classify one.
Your Studying Never Stops
It doesn’t matter how much you already know, you are always hungry for knowledge. Your library card is full of books about audio, its history, and progress. You want to educate yourself about the newest trends and changes in the audio world. Unlike other people, you don’t skip instructions added to the product. Instead, you read them carefully to learn how to obtain the best results.
When someone has a problem with the choice of audio equipment, you are the person they go to. You know how to get the best results when it comes to sound. You prefer to not listen to music at all than to listen to it and have a bad quality of sound. You can’t understand why people use the Cubase VST Plugins, instead of investing in better ones.
Your Collection is Better Than Kim K’s Surgeon
When other people have refined collections of clothes, books, movies, jewelry, etc., your specialty is high-fidelity equipment. When a new product launches, you’re the first one in the store. You can be saving for a whole year just to buy a new speaker or new headphones. Reviews you can find online are not enough to meet your needs – you need to judge for yourself.
Your favorite time of the year is the time of CES (Consumer Electronics Show) – you live for it. You love to look for new products that will be in stock soon. A perfect birthday present for you is a gift card to a shop with electronic devices.
Future Job? Audio Engineer
Just like a person who likes to write would love to work as a writer, your dream is to become an audio engineer transferring your passion into your career. You are always learning about the popular music producers, sound engineers, and sound mixers who are doing what they love already. Names like Joe Meek, Tom Dowd, or Tom Scholz are not unknown to you.
When you were in school, you probably helped in the theatre program, or still do – it was/is a great way to learn about sound engineering from students just like you. You often go to local clubs or pubs, where there is live music to observe the sound person and what they do. You wish to have an internship in a recording and production company so that you can learn the ins and outs of the industry.
How does it work?
Most of your free time is spent on YouTube with reviews and videos on which people dismantle audio equipment. Your main page is filled with them, and the channels you subscribe are the ones connected to the audio industry. You know how everything works and yet you are still trying to learn and discover more.
While other people browse sites like Facebook and Instagram, you browse audiophile magazines and forums. You are that one person on the forum that tries to help everyone with their knowledge and answers most of the questions.
Conclusion
There are several opinions on who can actually be considered an audiophile. For one person, an audiophile is a person who fulfills the criteria listed above, while for another person an audiophile can be someone who just appreciates the quality of sound more than the actual music. Just like in any other matter, people disagree with each other.
However, what definitely can be considered as a characteristic of any audiophile is that they prefer to give up on listening to music at all, then have the pleasure of it destroyed by bad quality sound.
Another thing to remember is that there are different levels of being an audiophile – not every audiophile has to fall under all of the criteria from the above. If you want to test it for yourself, there are some tests online that are made specifically to establish if a person is an audiophile or just a very intense music lover.
