5 Things I don't Like About The Audiophile Community

I shot this video a year ago, but hesitated to release it. The topics I mention keep coming up, as well others, and since other, well-known reviewers have commented on issues, I figured as may as well too.

I'm sure it will generate a few interesting comments. Constructive discussion is welcome.
------------
Become a supporter, see my reviews and product impressions in advance, and get my buying advice any time:
------------
I have been using Backblaze’s unlimited cloud backup to protect all my data — terabytes of it — for a flat monthly or yearly fee, for years. I highly recommend them as a backup solution.
------------

[HowieHaigh]

Add another for audiophile snobs, people who look down on others with lower price tier gear. It's all about the journey of enjoying music according to what you can afford and choose to buy.

[joentell]

As an audio reviewer, I like the this!

I don't mind derailing hype trains, but I don't aim to do so. I go in hoping all the products are awesome because it's so much easier to do a review a product I love compared to one that's just mediocre.

I like being made aware when I'm wrong because it means I can stop and start being right!

My #1 thing I hate is when people in this hobby/industry forget that this all supposed to be fun! None of this stuff is a need, they're all wants. Let's just have fun with it. Let's argue, but keep it fun.

[GodfreyMann]

Definitely on the money. I've been in this hobby just since lockdown, coming from photography & wine tasting, and finding it confusing how polarised the community is on simple things such as cables, jitter, high-res, etc.

Both my other hobbies had brand loyalties, but most photographers could be kept in check by seeing amazing photos from other brands. The difference with audiophiles is simply that human capacity for hearing is so much weaker in the sense it's more subjective, but this is no different to wine in that sense, yet the two communities could not be so different.

I suspect the difference is due to audiophillia being rooted in science, because as you say this allows misinterpretations and misuse of science (via bad theory supported by equally bad measurements) that facilitates a sense of misguided righteousness that's just not here in wine, thus ensuring a mutual respect for others subjective differences in taste.

I'm so glad you've raised this issue as it's been bothering me a lot recently after having bizarre discussions on YouTube. I've since realised the science is complex (and I have two science degrees in different fields), so my response is humility in my ignorance of a subject I don't understand from first principles.

Even if I figure out the science to my satisfaction, I'm not going to get involved in debates, because when people's minds are made up, then they're not for changing....why should they if they 'know' they're right?

No, my plan is to just buy my gear and enjoy the music.

Here's my sole contribution to the community:

do you really *know* the science or do you just have a high level working model....an interpretation of the science? If you're unsure, then take one of your conclusions e.g. 'Nygquist proves high-res is BS' and research it not in audiophile forums, but from other sources - locate Nyquist's original paper and find non-audiophiles who discuss and explain it so you can understand new concepts at a high-level. Drill down on these concepts until you understand throughly the concepts behind the maths (but not necessarily the maths itself). At that point, test your understanding by not looking stupid getting tips from a physicist, then find audiophiles in forums who can discuss at your level how this all this science & its assumptions equates to the quality of sound we can hear. Please then write a paper for the rest of us, but if at any point it proves too much, then how about acting with humility in forums and elsewhere? Thanks.

[lolakyle]

If it sound good and measures good, it’s good
If it sound bad and measures good, it’s bad
If it sound good and measures bad, we’re measuring the wrong thing

[damirhlobik]

"95% of "audiophiles" own budget or cheap equipment, but they read tons of articles, which made them "audiophile experts".
This is what an electronics engineer and audiophile, who repairs and makes his own audio equipment, told me.

[sidvicious]

Currawong, you hit the nail right on the head hear and the things you mentioned are helping to hurt the community, but unfortunately this type of mentality translates well outside of just audio and is going on in many forums.

[siriosstar]

Audiophile reviews sound suspiciously like wine reviews .
" it has a hint of oak and vanilla with a saffron finish . The crimson red viscosity allows the aroma to linger on the pallet far longer than thinner wines . a slight amount of sediment was detected but not enough to show up on my lips when i was slobbering due to excessive consumption ."

[cirnir]

People who trash talk your purchase is the worst! I made a purchase that I enjoy, and someone just said “your purchase is over rated, you should have bought ‘X’, it’s ‘X’ or nothing”… from that point on, I will not share anymore and just keep it to myself, and enjoy on my own.

[Thethaggie]

I’m glad you took a stance on these things. I’ve always appreciated your humble approach to reviews and unnecessary drama.

I’ve seen this toxic power play play out time and time again across hobbies/fandoms. The toxic leaders usually are compensating for a lack of perceived power in the real world. It’s ironic for them to present themselves intelligent when they simply adapted the poo flinging tactics of our genetic ancestors.

Keep up the great work with reviews and being a positive influence on the community.

[vtl]

Spot on. I prefer your in-depth approach. Keep doing a wonderful job.

[BrerRabbit]

Completely agree. I have learned a lot about headphones and amps by reading on forums such as head-fi and it has helped me through many of my purchases, yet at times I feel ashamed belonging to the "audiophile" community as for a lot of folks in this community it is all about their egos and intellectual pride. However this is not very different from other hobbies or even professions.

One thing I have learned is that, reading on forums is essential if one wants to know the products, but one should have a basic idea about their own likes and dislikes and should use common sense to sort the good content from the bad, on audiophile forums. Finally, avoid extreme and purely technical opinions, leave some room for what sounds good to your ears, for the type of the music you listen to.

[jemallen]

I remember wanting to get a set of audio technica headphones back then since i liked the sound and look of it when I borrowed one from my cousin so I saved money in any way i can (as someone who lives in a 3rd world country, having something like 20 bucks is already kind of a big thing), I happily posted my new headphones online bought with my hard earned money aaand all the snobs said things like it's not good enough, my purchase suck or I wasted my money, this brand and model is better, stuff like that.

[legrandmaitre]

I love music. Once in a while I get involved in the whole Hifi thing and then I enter into a world where music comes second.
Many "audiophiles" only listen to perfectly recorded music, endlessly tweaking and tweaking to make fewer and fewer pieces of music sound ever more wonderful.
If you really love music you'll discover that many of the greatest recordings aren't in perfect sound. In my experience, the most neutral system is the one most likely to play the widest range of music.
A large part of the listening experience is beyond simple science and measurement.

[ZTenski]

Very common in any relatively niche, technical community on the internet. There's been a lot of issues with people in the visual media space as well, people reviewing TV's and bashing anyone else who reviews the same TV, getting bent out of shape because people disagree with their color calibrations, etc.

In my field, you see a lot of this with Linux snobs. People who think that everyone in the world is stupid for not using linux but then gatekeep the community and treat any newcomers like dirt just for lack of experience, instead of offering good advice and leaving the condescending attitude at home.

I think it comes down to pure hipster mentality. People like being experts in a small niche and they don't want it to become mainstream, because then they won't be as special any more.

[audioaficionado]

Good points. I saw this before in an audio related list mail forum many years ago. We had industry leaders willing to share their knowledge with us about speaker design. Unfortunately we had several idiots that would attack everyone who disagreed with their pet theories. Eventually the guys who's day job was audio left as they didn't need to subject themselves to the nonsense and waste of time.

Your reviews are excellent and valuable. Thanks for the time and effort you put in.

[thomasandersen]

Just wanna say thanks for taking this subject up, and also for the way you do it here, in a respectful manner for all to learn. The toxic of this wonderful hobby, need to be addressed once in a while, as it seems it continues to pop up? I guess there is no easy way to address this, but you are taking a big chunk for us all, so thanks again for that. Btw, i couldn't agree more in what you are pointing out here. Cheers from Denmark & peace.

[sarahswanray]

Hype trains are my #1 frustration with online audiophiles. #1 frustration with in-person audiophile community is the decades I’ve lived with not been taken seriously at shops by the middle-aged men’s audio club.

[POVShotgun]

worst thing? using fancy ass headphones to listen to headphone reviews and not listening to your music or discovering music. Too obsessed on the motorcycle and not enough on the actual ride.

[HowToHomeLife]

As a "high-end" manufacturer of audio components, Great American sound Co. or GAS Co. was continually approached by "golden-eared audiophiles" claiming the amplifier or preamplifier they owned clearly sounded superior to any of the GAS Co. products we were producing. I would always invite these individuals into the sound room with their preferred audio component and proceed to connect it to the switching system. I would have them select a comparable GAS Co. component that I also connected to the system and then carefully adjusted both components with a precision AC voltmeter for equal levels. Before the testing commenced, I would give the audiophile the remote lanyard--a small handheld box with a toggle switch labeled A or B. I always told them that the "A" position was their piece of equipment and the "B" position was the GAS Co. equipment. After exhaustively auditioning the two components, the golden eared individual would always have a litany of subjective terms that negatively described the sound of the GAS Co. component such as: "overall dullness", "lack of transparency", "ill defined bass", "irritating midrange", "shrill highs", "lack of depth", "unstable ad nauseam. While the audiophile was espousing these opinions, I would bring the level of the music back up, then casually walk over to the components, switch off the power to the GAS Co. component and ask the audiophile to please toggle the lanyard switch between A and B.
Unbeknownst to the audiophile, I had connected the switching system exclusively to their component only. During the test when they switched from A to B, the sound audibly dropped-out during the switching process for a few milliseconds cueing the listener that something had changed. When the audiophile realized that I had clearly demonstrated that their golden ears were not golden at all, they would quickly disconnect their component from the system, and while stomping out of the listening room, turn around, and, depending on how invested they were in believing they had golden ears, generally espouse a litany of profanities directed at me. Don't shoot the messenger! I repeated these same A/B listening tests many times with various individuals and groups and determined there was a direct correlation between audiophiles and lovers of music; audiophiles were always angered; music lovers were always enlightened, especially women! This same switching system was also utilized for loudspeakers and phono cartridges since GAS Co. was selling "Sleeping Beauty" "moving-coil" phono cartridges made by Coral Corp. in Japan. There was no need try to fool the listener as I did with electronics, switching between different loudspeakers and phono cartridges always produced easily discernible audible changes in the musical timbre characteristics. David Riddle

[bigjt]

Good stuff Currawong.."I don't have to push other people down, to boost myself up." Good stuff. Yeah, around the audiophile community, can be very toxic at times, sadly. Nice points. 💯✌🏼