The hobby of audiophilia is about building a music system that can reproduce the musical event, be it studio or live, in a way that you actually can hear what the recording engineer, the record producer and the musical artists intended.
Lots goes into this although the cliché of needing to spend a fortune on equipment or buying more and more audiophile esoteric equipment is bullshit. So is propping up your speaker cables on little saw horses. So is painting the outside of your Compact Discs with green paint. So is arranging Mpingo disc all over your room. So is replacing your well-insulated AC power chords. So is using a $4,000 fuse in your AC power box. That’s all audiophile garbage sold to you by the OK Boomer audiophile print magazines.
If you would like to be an audiophile guru – here is the path the enlightenment:
- Embrace room acoustics – first, second and third. Studios do. You should too. Nothing will make your system sound better. Treat your first order reflections behind your speakers, above your speakers and to the side of your speakers. Then address standing waves in the corners of your room. Use plants, acoustical diffusers, books in a bookcase and or even a brick wall for additional diffusion.
- Use lighting control to make an excellent vibe in your room. Today’s LED are the right color temperature and dim better. $400 worth of Home Depot gear can go a long way.
- While you electrician is over, have him or her redo your outlets with “hospital grade” outlets, a few dedicated lines (for amps as well as electronics). Make sure every solder point is solid and that lights don’t hum.
- Use hush kits on your HVAC to reduce noise. This is a huge benefit that’s bigger than buying an amp with an extra ZERO at the end of its measurement for distortion. Your summer AC is fucking loud. Hush it a bit and enjoy better music.
- Buy excellent, comfortable and most-of-all social furniture so that you will be willing bring people into your listening room to experience music with you IF ONLY at quiet levels.
What Audio Components Should You Focus On When It Comes Time To Really Dial In You System
- Audiophile Floorstanding Loudspeakers – These come first. Floorstanding speaker are better than bookshelf speakers in most cases but not always. Spend more on speakers than anything.
- Subwoofers – Audiophiles historically hate subwoofers. Component experts know better. Even the biggest, $100,000 per pair PLUS speakers can’t go as low as an SVS SB-4000 subwoofer for $2,000. You need a pair of excellent subwoofers.
- Audiophile Preamp– A good preamp shouldn’t have a sound per se but it should pass your sound through while a) switching inputs and b) raising and lowering volume. Plain and simple.
- Audiophile Power Amps – Audiophile amps are capable of driving everything from easy-horn speakers to tough electrostatics speakers.
- Digital Source Components – You need a good digital to analog converter. Today, you don’t have to spend a fortune here.
Audiophile Turntable – It is fun to spin some old school vinyl. $500 gets you well on your way in this audiophile component. - Headphones – When you are at the gym or sitting in seat 3D on that next flight, wouldn’t it be cool to have some of that good sound with you on the road? $400 per pair gets you a very nice pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones.
- Audiophile Accessories – AC Power Conditioning, excellent seating, home theater seating cool AV racks all fall under audiophile accessories. You need them. Embrace accordingly and as budget allows.
Follow these tips and you will be an audiophile component expert for sure.