One of my non a'phile friends brought up a good point today in a discussion of our hobby. He stated that he thought part of the reason that it is not understood by many is the fact that it really seemed to him to be a solitary hobby. By this he meant that most of the practitioner's seem to listen by themselves in either a dedicated room or other. However, the fact that really only one person is listening at a time was something that he felt was unfortunate. The result of this is that the a'phile has to remove himself ( or herself...BUT as we all know the number of women in the field is EXTREMELY small....my friend believes that this is one of the primary reason's why ( the solitary aspect is NOT family friendly)) from the other parties in the group/family. An interesting perspective and one that I believe holds a lot of truth. OTOH,as we all know, most non a'philes seem to have little or no interest in what we are trying to accomplish...so perhaps we will have to continue in our solitude. One question does come to mind...how many of us listen in a group setting or with others and how often do we do this vs. listen solitarily.
A solitary hobby??
- Thread starter DaveyF
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I have noticed your observation in pictures of rooms where many seem to have only one chair. Thanks to my wife, music fills our home all the time in the mornings before work, and my wife and I work at the table next to each other with the system on in the evenings and on weekends. The only time when I listen alone is after she has gone to sleep and I am still working. Its nice.
Lloyd, you're a lucky guy, IMO. My wife cannot stand to listen for more than a few seconds at best and same with the rest of the family. So, I'm one of the guys that listens alone.( Typically).
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For Phile type listening, evaluation, solitary is the usual call. OTOH it's a family affair. Certainly what's up for a spin has quite a bit to do on who takes a seat.
This is definitely a solitary hobby. There has only been one woman in my life (30 years ago) with whom I could listen in an "audiophile mode" without talking and that was because she was one of the few rare women audiophiles herself.
Audiophile listening is clearly NOT the same thing as having background music in the house. It is practically impossible to listen with women, mainly because the volume is either too loud or they have to talk.
Listening to music at realistic levels and without interruptions is NOT an activity like having the family come together for a viewing in the home theater.
I crank it up late at night after the rest of the house has gone to sleep or when no one else is home.
Audiophile listening is clearly NOT the same thing as having background music in the house. It is practically impossible to listen with women, mainly because the volume is either too loud or they have to talk.
Listening to music at realistic levels and without interruptions is NOT an activity like having the family come together for a viewing in the home theater.
I crank it up late at night after the rest of the house has gone to sleep or when no one else is home.
garylkoh
WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
These days, I have to separate between listening for work (designing, picking music for shows, etc.) and listening for pleasure. How I got into this business was because I used to always listen to music with my wife. Even when she was listening, and I was just sitting next to her reading or on the computer. When the opportunity came up, we both figured that we'd get to spend even more of our time listening to music. She is still a very big part of Genesis. No speaker gets passed without her approval (nor the kids!). To accommodate this, every speaker I design must have a sweet spot large enough for at least two.
Since I live alone I could have answered as such, but I've been fortunate in that when I have company my music is well received and listening, albeit not critically most times, is a part of the visit. This could be because my guests really don't have much choice since music is always on at Chez Johnny. Even when I was married that held true. My ex wasn't a great music fan, but she never asked me to shut things down or prevent me from enjoying my music.
When my daughter was growing up during those early years when as parents we videotaped every second of her life, I was always encouraged to select some music while we were taping. Not to boast, but friends and family would comment on how much they enjoyed watching the videos (yeah, ok...we've heard that before) in large part because of my music selections/inclusions. Sorry for veering off slightly here.
I do think however (as audiophiles) that we enjoy the time alone to listen to a new piece (gear or music) and to evaluate it on our own terms. I don't think we'd be spending all this money if that were not the case. And I know for sure that if I didn't have that interest I likely wouldn't belong to any audio forum.
When my daughter was growing up during those early years when as parents we videotaped every second of her life, I was always encouraged to select some music while we were taping. Not to boast, but friends and family would comment on how much they enjoyed watching the videos (yeah, ok...we've heard that before) in large part because of my music selections/inclusions. Sorry for veering off slightly here.
I do think however (as audiophiles) that we enjoy the time alone to listen to a new piece (gear or music) and to evaluate it on our own terms. I don't think we'd be spending all this money if that were not the case. And I know for sure that if I didn't have that interest I likely wouldn't belong to any audio forum.
Remember, I'm NOT playing Lady Gaga, LOL. Well at least most of the time anyways
Ring! Ring! Ring! Davey will you get that? I think your tweeters are calling.
Nope. I had to have surgery on my right arm again because the first surgery was botched.
Being alone in modern society is becoming a rare thing. For me, it's healthy to spend time alone in deep thought or musical meditation. The folks I feel sorry for are the people that never spend any time alone.
