Japanese Audiophiles Are Going to Extremes

Japanese audiophiles are spending thousands of dollars on high-end stereo systems. Some are even installing private utility poles for a personal source of electricity, all in a quest for aural perfection. Photo: Juro Osawa/The Wall Street Journal

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[freelikeojallday]

How I feel when I download an album in flac format

[mr.summerset]

In all honesty. I kinda get the first guy. Retired, holds a passion for music, has thousands of dollars worth of equipment. Why not spend your free time to improve upon this....the second guy is just nuts

[thesghemboman]

Imagine how under pressure the sound technician must have felt recording this

[AZCobraman]

Still too low-end. I built my own nuclear reactor to get the cleanest power possible.

[floatingdoor]

That's it? I would have watched an hour documentary about these dudes.

[Buccarado]

*"The 82 year old retired lawyer"* yep, this guy can do anything he wants.

[max_mittler]

I love that they threw in the shot at 1:20 where the guy looks like he's about to pass out for some reason. Like this guy is living on the brink of death in his tiny apartment.

[PJV]

I've travelled down the audiophile path. When you first make the decision to get audiophile headphones and equipment it's absolutely mindblowing listening to your favourite albums, it's like you're hearing them for the first time all over again such is the difference in quality. You hear things you've never heard before, putting a completely different spin on interpreting and enjoying the music. When you first make the leap you'll marvel at the fact that you can close your eyes and feel like the lead singer is singing right in front of you live (like they're singing into your ear), you can actually hear where the different musicians are 'on stage' and it's like you're at a little mini concert just for yourself. That might sound exaggerated however it's one-hundred percent true, listening is believing.

However if you're not careful you can fast forward a few years and find yourself with maxed-out credit cards, no personal life and a house designed entirely around the movement and reverberation of air. Your life has become about fretting about the exact placement of a component because of some esoteric pseudoscience that says if your balanced cables touch the floor at any point, clarity will be attenuated percent and you'll lose a touch of your midrange. You'll be spending £2000 on special, magical pagan cultist cables blessed by Reznor, the audiophile god that have gold wiring wrapped in platinum threads and coated in a patented diamond spray that ensures excellent low-end performance without compromising on the mids and highs. You'll also have £50, 000 Sennheiser HE-1 electrostatic headphones and £250, 000 speakers AND bailiffs chasing you down for the unpaid balances on the 234 different credit cards, overdrafts and loans you're struggling to repay.

You won't have a wife, girlfriend or children because that flesh will dampen the way the sound waves reach your ears.

Most importantly, however, is the realisation that you no longer actually LIKE music anymore because all you hear is the 'flaws' in your rig. Instead of sitting back and enjoying The Downward Spiral or Dark Side of The Moon you'll be fiddling with knobs and EQ settings, whilst slightly adjusting the placement of your adamantium woofer.

I beg you, IF you decide to experiment with audiophile grade sound equipment/hi-fi's PLEASE DON'T PROGRESS INTO THE LATTER! You'll turn into a hi-fi cultist who hates music (which is exactly the opposite of why you got into audiophile equipment to begin with).

This has been a public safety announcement.

[Hegdder]

when will audiophiles finally understand that acoustic treatment of your room is at least equally important as the speakers themselves

[SquidkidMega]

I don't know whats more shocking……that the 2nd guy paid $100 grand for his speakers, or that he has a girlfriend

[Case]

This is way too short. I want more details on how these guys think and live.

[RmnGnzlz]

I've personally have been accused of being an audiophile but they could never prove it and the charges were dropped.

[gauge_shawtyy]

"I'm a complete audiophile, i strive for perfection with my music"
*Grabs record by grooves*

[gavincurtis]

Right on with the isolated power transformer. Audiophile rule of thumb #1 *NEVER SHARE YOUR ELECTRONS!!!* Last time I shared audio electrons with the neighbor's toaster, my tweeters got yeast infections....

[luckygitane]

Dude must be untouchable on the Steve Hoffman forums

[mitche]

“I found that I had long listened to music filled with noise” *merzbow plays softly in the background*

[suzesiviter]

A tip for all you audio enthusiasts, never turn your equipment upside down, the electrons fall out and it will never sound the same again.

[pTiclZagg]

And here i'm contemplating whether 99€ is a bit too much to splurge out on a new cartridge.

[grisgriz]

“Personal source of pure electricity”? Without a dedicated power plant?

[ahphodg]

Seriously? A 1 minute report. This could easily be a Netflix documentary.