Are audiophiles wired differently?

[caesar]

Most folks I know would rather watch a live show in person or watch a show on TV or DVD, which would have an inferior sound, but instead will have a lot of visual cues to help trigger emotion.

Watch Vengerov and other musicians doing Czardas. The facial expressions, body language, the movements of fingers and batons , the interplay between the musicians - definitely trigger a lot of emotions and generate goosebumps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n0qXSO7Z-Q

Also, check out James Cotton - Midnight Creeper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZXMWklGf84

He starts out with a little sweat, but at the end is completely soaked as he is working that harp with his whole body and tongue. As a musician, he gets off on visual cues also. Seeing the crowd go wild makes him and his band given even more...

So do audiophiles perceive music differently, by possibly imagining more or imagining different things when they listen, than the most folks and the musicians?

 

[amirm]

Boy, what a philosophical question to wake up to on a lazy Sunday morning . I like to think we are not wired differently. I know that by training, I could hear more so if by wiring we mean what we were born with, I don't think that is the case.

Now can we imagine different things, I am pretty sure we can and are.

 

[Mobiusman]

Caesar,

I think that it is important to distinguish between musicians and audiophiles because they are two completely different beasts, and more often than not mutually compatible. IMHO, musicians are creative sources of music that non-musicians envy basically do not comprehend. For instance they can generate music, many can only appreciate it. Audiophiles on the other hand seem to be mostly in the group that appreciate music, but cannot generate it on a high quality level, unfortunately. Therefore, we take our obsessive-compulsive tendencies to reproduce the work of others so that it matches or exceeds what we hear in live scenarios.

Back in the day when I had a truly superb system in a custom designed/superb environment and had musicians over to listen, they generally were not all that interested unless it was their music because the system served as vehicle for them to fine tune their craft. When I went to their homes, I was amazed at the systems that they listen to.

This reply would not be complete without mentioning the third group, who have no interest in music at all other than as background noise and cannot tell a cheap system from the state of the art and look at you blankly when you ask," can you hear the difference?"

 

[mimesis]

Having spent a fair amount of time investigating the professional research literature (for other reasons) I'm skeptical that people are innately wired differently although ontogenetic development under certain environmental conditions may lead to neural networks that differ between the groups. There is always a danger in connecting basal function with very high level social function - too many intervening layers and variables one must account for - whether in a formal model or even anecdotally in water cooler talk.

 

[RogerD]

I have a good friend that is a musician,audiophile,engineer, with a very high intellect. What does that prove? Audiophiles have above average intellect of course.

 

[hifitommy]

there are SOME people

who dont even respond to music. i think it is sad for them as music can really move you and improve your mood. conversely, music can agitate you like when youre upset and music is too much of a distraction.

sometimes, a piece will seem totally irrelevant but when you listen to it at another time, it clicks.

so it seems that we may be wired or strung differently at different times.

 

[fas42]

I think people react strongly to musical cues, tune into energy being projected by the musicians. This is very much a state of mind thing, I certainly know if I am feeling low key, the last thing I want to listen to is high energy rock 'n roll. The degree people can and want to react to such cues will also vary from individual to individual.

So of course muso's are turned on big time by the cues being very strong in a live session. The advantage of a system really working properly is that the cues come through just or almost as strongly, and so the audiophile gets a real high from it. I certainly know that I feel worn out, in a good way, from playing a high energy album at a good volume.

Frank

 

[caesar]

sometimes, a piece will seem totally irrelevant but when you listen to it at another time, it clicks.

Yes, I know what you mean. A lot of people get hooked on new music this way - listen a few times with no effect, and then WHAM! you are hooked.

 

[caesar]

I know we can have endless debates on nature vs. nurture stuff. The classic here in the "nature camp" is Blank Slate by Pinker.

http://www.amazon.com/Blank-Slate-M...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302544164&sr=1-1

Here is some interesting stuff by the Freakonomics guys. They basically argue is that if you work REAL, REAL, REAL hard, you can get good at various things.

the http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/07/magazine/07wwln_freak.html
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But ultimately, I find it interesting that the vast majority of non-audiophiles are happy with a crappy recording and some supporting visuals, instead of solely listening to music. Without the Cotton's sweat or Vengerov's facial expressions, most people just lose focus listening to either Vengerov or Cotton.

But many audiophiles would trade the crappily recorded youtube clips for good recordings of these performances. And I find these differences very interesting.

 

[garylkoh]

I thought that I had posted this in the Tech Talks forum..... but it looks like I didn't.

Audiophiles are not wired different - when we listen to music, visual cues change the way we perceive the music - note duration, emotion, etc. It was discussed in the video with Evelyn Glynnie and in several papers I may or may not have remembered to post.

http://www.michaelschutz.net/documents/Schutz Lipscomb 07 - Hearing gestures, seeing music.pdf

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.94.1304&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Whether this can translate into larger loudspeakers or fatter cables sounds better is anybody's guess. I haven't read any scientific studies to support that (yet).

 

[mimesis]

I think we should distinguish between interest and non-interest and leave biology alone. For instance, there is no shortage of sports fans, some of whom are raging maniacs and others of whom are cerebral advanced stat junkies. Both approach their interest with similar passion yet in a very different way. The list of interests is a large as humankind; what about people who embrace art or dance or mathematics or gardening or logic? Are people hardwired for each of these things differently? How about video game junkies vs programmers; recon combat soldiers, 8,000 meter peak climbers, preschool teachers or trauma surgeons? Attention, focus, interest are all intertwined and the content of each may differ even if the neural correlates are generally similar. Phenotypic expression based on various inputs of socialization coupled with genetic potential do lead to interesting outcomes. Also, are people destined to be audiophiles forever? Some people may leave...and focus on the music alone and perhaps enjoy it more while giving up the endless upgradeitis of stereophilia. If so, then would it be hardwired?

 

[rsbeck]

And if Audiophiles are wired differently, do you get any benefit from spending more on the wiring?

Do the ones with silver wiring sound brighter than the ones with copper?

Can you hear the difference between audiophiles?

 

[mep]

And if Audiophiles are wired differently, do you get any benefit from spending more on the wiring?

Do the ones with silver wiring sound brighter than the ones with copper?

Can you hear the difference between audiophiles?

I can because some of them talk nonsense.

 

[muralman1]

A lot of audiophiles are hooked on the big toys syndrome. Boys love it when friends ooh and ah at big naked drivers, hose cables with magic boxes, amps that glow mysteriously, gold accents like jewelry on a Toon Jessica audio system.

 

[RogerD]

Also, are people destined to be audiophiles forever? Some people may leave...and focus on the music alone and perhaps enjoy it more while giving up the endless upgradeitis of stereophilia. If so, then would it be hardwired?

I think you are grabbed by this hobby at an early age. I remember my ordering Allied & Lafayette electronic catalogs when I was probably 10 or 11.
I would listen to James Gabbert's "excursions in stereo" on KPEN & K101 FM and of course drool over Playboy's articles on Hifi,among other things,lol.

Hardwired? Hell yes! and it isn't genetic because my dad only showed the most minor interest. Funny thing though my twin brother is as bad as I am.

 

[caesar]

Boys love it when friends ooh and ah at big naked drivers, hose cables with magic boxes, amps that glow mysteriously, gold accents like jewelry on a Toon Jessica audio system.

Most of my friends who already think I am totally nuts get their confirmation when they see my huge Soundlabs and the monster tube amps that drive them.

 

[Steve Williams]

What tube amps are you using Caesar

 

[caesar]

What tube amps are you using Caesar

VTL 750's

 

[Steve Williams]

I wasn't sure if it was VTL or VAC

 

[FrantzM]

VTL 750's

Serious Tubes if you ask me .. I had the 300 back in the days ...

We are wired differently ... Let's admit it ... Most of us seem to be addicted to the notion of "best" something. I think that often we have to re-train ourselves to enjoy the art and forget the media that carries it ... For example I know I am bothered to no end if I go to a movie theater and the exit lights are too bright ...

Frantz