I'll take a swipe at defining an audiophile by comparing an audiophile with a "music lover" in the words of Joe.
The audiophile is mostly concerned with finding recordings which sound great to him/her in the playback chain.
The music lover is mostly concerned with finding a playback system which can make their favorite music sound great.
Therefore the music lover is flexible and can adapt to the music. The audiophile must be willing to accommodate their musical preferences so that their system can sound its best. This is why the audiophile is often very restrictive with the genres, formats or even mediums of music with which he/she is willing to connect.
The music lover puts music above all else. The music lover can ignore the prideful tendency to place the gear above the music no matter the subjective financial costs, appearance or non-conformity with the hyperbolic and hysterical marketing tactics in the playback marketplace.
Thank you so much for posting this. This is EXACTLY how I meant it but don't always have the flair for words. Some of the music that I love is not the best recorded or highest quality recording but it makes me happy and/or feel good. The JBL's excel with great recordings but play well with the lesser recordings too. They crank and are easy on the ears. Home run!
I'll take a swipe at defining an audiophile by comparing an audiophile with a "music lover" in the words of Joe.
The audiophile is mostly concerned with finding recordings which sound great to him/her in the playback chain.
The music lover is mostly concerned with finding a playback system which can make their favorite music sound great.
Therefore the music lover is flexible and can adapt to the music. The audiophile must be willing to accommodate their musical preferences so that their system can sound its best. This is why the audiophile is often very restrictive with the genres, formats or even mediums of music with which he/she is willing to connect.
The music lover puts music above all else. The music lover can ignore the prideful tendency to place the gear above the music no matter the subjective financial costs, appearance or non-conformity with the hyperbolic and hysterical marketing tactics in the playback marketplace.
I'll take a swipe at defining an audiophile by comparing an audiophile with a "music lover" in the words of Joe.
The audiophile is mostly concerned with finding recordings which sound great to him/her in the playback chain.
The music lover is mostly concerned with finding a playback system which can make their favorite music sound great.
Therefore the music lover is flexible and can adapt to the music. The audiophile must be willing to accommodate their musical preferences so that their system can sound its best. This is why the audiophile is often very restrictive with the genres, formats or even mediums of music with which he/she is willing to connect.
The music lover puts music above all else. The music lover can ignore the prideful tendency to place the gear above the music no matter the subjective financial costs, appearance or non-conformity with the hyperbolic and hysterical marketing tactics in the playback marketplace.
I will not debate the JBLs as I have no experience with them and only read excellent reviews on them, but I strongly disagree on your audiophile definition.
Most audiophiles I know about are mostly concerned about optimizing the playback of their favorite type of music. It all starts with the music they enjoy. It is why they have typed preferences and the audiophiles have such a broad spectra of preferences. IMHO the stereotype of the audiophile owning and listening to only to an half dozen of audiophile recordings is the exception, not the rule. But is is always easy to particularize on a few to mock on an whole category. I also do not understand why a music lover must be flexible and adapt on the music.
IMHO, most and the best audiophiles are music lovers and a few music lovers are audiophiles. A proper audiophile system will make more recordings sound good. It will probably open doors to new types of music to their owners.
It is curious that some people refer to "audiophile recordings" in abstract as it was something suspicious. But 99.99% of the times when this "category" has a defined title and artist on it most people will praise the great quality of the interpretation and music, as well as the quality of the recording.
BTW I am restrictive on the concerts I go, where do I fit?
Most audiophiles I know are looking for nuances in the music...critical listening for width of sound stage, depth of sound stage, etc. they want to transport themselves to the recording studio and imagine how the tracks were put down. One of the goals being the ability to identify musical information that the average listener misses or that lower priced equipment can't reproduce.
On the other hand what I want is a system that makes me pull out my air guitar for classic rock, relive concerts I attended, make love all night to smooth jazz, and expand my horizons by wanting to listen to new and different kinds of music than what I am used to. The JBL 4367's do this in spades! Hope that helps.
Most audiophiles I know are looking for nuances in the music...critical listening for width of sound stage, depth of sound stage, etc. they want to transport themselves to the recording studio and imagine how the tracks were put down. One of the goals being the ability to identify musical information that the average listener misses or that lower priced equipment can't reproduce.
On the other hand what I want is a system that makes me pull out my air guitar for classic rock, relive concerts I attended, make love all night to smooth jazz, and expand my horizons by wanting to listen to new and different kinds of music than what I am used to. The JBL 4367's do this in spades! Hope that helps.
here are some videos of the 4367. i know high-end audio played back thru amateur video certainly cannot capture what they are capable ... it is still fun to listen and check out.
here are some videos of the 4367. i know high-end audio played back thru amateur video certainly cannot capture what they are capable ... it is still fun to listen and check out.
Just want to say Congrats to you all to your new JBL 4367. I have never listening prior purchase and this goes for all of my speakers. JBL 4319, 4429, 4365 and PRX635 with 618S-XLF and ALL sounds good!!
Interesting. One of the best SS amps I know. Thought it was better than the Ypsilon Aelius hybrids in a direct A/B on Vivid G1. Joel, whose place I tried them at, slightly prefers it the other way.
That was the M800, bridged. M900 has even more power. They are full, rich, great tone. Big fan. The 700 is not supposed to be as good as the 800s or 900s which are considered much better, though never compared. I have also heard the B1000 at Philip's
Nord One Up w/ Sparkos op amp
Accuphase A-36
Ayre KX-5/20
McIntosh MC-75 new reissue monos
Next up will be CJ ART monos, Jolida 3502 w/ KT-150's and Bryston 28BSST2's.
I have to say each has their own strength but the "toobs" sound best to me. Depth increases exponentially with more air and separation. These are the smoothest, most fun speaker that I've heard. The MC-75 monos have been my favorite so far, but I suspect that the ART monos will kill all easily.
As much as I want to get away from tubes, I love their sound best.
I'll take a swipe at defining an audiophile by comparing an audiophile with a "music lover" in the words of Joe.
The audiophile is mostly concerned with finding recordings which sound great to him/her in the playback chain.
The music lover is mostly concerned with finding a playback system which can make their favorite music sound great.
Therefore the music lover is flexible and can adapt to the music. The audiophile must be willing to accommodate their musical preferences so that their system can sound its best. This is why the audiophile is often very restrictive with the genres, formats or even mediums of music with which he/she is willing to connect.
The music lover puts music above all else. The music lover can ignore the prideful tendency to place the gear above the music no matter the subjective financial costs, appearance or non-conformity with the hyperbolic and hysterical marketing tactics in the playback marketplace.
The audiophile's primary objective is fidelity irrespective of music type preference.
The music lover's primary objective is enjoyable music irrespective of fidelity (not of considerable concern).
Both enjoy music, both enjoy fidelity each prioritizes differently.