Where is the line drawn that defines the border between audiophilia and audiophoolery?
>pic somewhat related
Is it in the wires?
I've heard from some people that the investment in wires is where it begins but I don't know if I fully agree with that.
I shall bump with audio gear until the responses come in
I shall not reply because I am enjoying your bumps
Oh dear. I will continue to bump even if you reply.
How's that?
Exactly when you start benefiting more from buying a soundcard for x amount then theoretically improving your dac/amp/headphone by x amount
the line is the point where specifications cease to be backed by scientific understanding/testing and begin to rely on subjective "feeling" or plain made-up marketing bullshit
>>51280238
That's pretty good. But it's doesn't cover all the bases I was looking for.
Perhaps it's an argument of diminishing returns on a larger scale (compare LCD-3 to LCD-4)
>pic not related
Stands to lift your cables from the ground to reduce magnetic resonance
>>51280256
What point is that?
Is it at $500? $750? $2000?
Audiophilia: "I want a correct reproduction of the recording"
Audiophoolery: "I'll pay for anything that makes the music sound better to my ears"
>>51280259
kek
Pseudoscience and splitting hairs.
I don't know what you have against ba, they do have certain advantages over dynamics, just like ribbon vs domes, open vs closed baffle, or condensers vs dynamics
>>51280291
So anyone who spends money with non-neutral, non-reference level equipment is an audiophool?
>pic related... if it were more neutral and less sibilant
>>51280284
400, +dac and amp
>>51280284
for headphones? i'd say even $500 is overkill
fuck, i have a $25 pair of headphones which sound fucking awesome given the right software filters
anything more than about $150 or so has to really try hard to sell them
>>51280319
I have nothing against BA drivers.
My portable gear is the Westone W20s and I love them to death.
Infact I enjoy the precision from Planar Cans or BA drivers over the sound of Dynamic drivers
>>51280335
replace headphone with iem and this post is accurate
>>51280335
>software filters
oh dear
>>51280322
Anyone who doesn't pursue accurate reproduction is an audiophool unless they don't even care about music in the first place and just buy stuff like Beats to look cool then I wouldn't categorize them as either.
>mfw humans are biologically incapable of hearing anything better than 44khz/16bit audio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIQ9IXSUzuM
>>51280358
well, they sound average otherwise, but sound is pretty subjective, and these handle what i personally want to do with the sound quite well
>>51280364
this guy knows what he's talking about
>>51280138
Balanced armatures are all about real world compromises. Higher distortion (but still low), more sensitivity, more compact. What's the placebo?
>>51280351
>>51280335
This very much depends. With BA IEMs, a single driver often struggles to produce all the sounds so it can be beneficial to get 2 or 3 drivers in there, which can cost three, four, or five hundred dollars.
My W20s costed me $300 and that money went into 2 BA drivers, a remarkably sturdy build quality, and remarkably small buds.
>>51280364
I don't disagree. I'm just trying to play devil's advocate.
>>51280138
Whether or not some part makes a difference can be objectively measured
>>51280409
See >>51280343
I was just posting general audio stuff.
>>51280391
>sound is pretty subjective
this
>>51280425
>BA IEMs, a single driver often struggles to produce all the sounds
True. You probably need two minimum on paper. A few more may need to control the treble quality on the most of the tweeter drivers. But NOT 10+ drivers. That you need 10+ drivers or that 10+ BAs even sound better is a silly idea like MOAR CPU CORES.
I know a few things about the Westone W20. Uses the Knowles GQ dual, W20 is a reskinned Westone 2, and near identical sounding to the Stagediver SD2 that seems somewhat popular. Westone raised the prices on all their IEMs, Westone 2 used to be 250 or less. Not fond of Westone for doing that.
Audio Technica used the same GQ drivers with the CK90 and the IM02, the latter is somewhat popular. I like what they did the IM02 more and it's cheaper, but the shell is really fat. One thing Westone does very well is the ergonomics, although I only ever liked the Westone 4R sound.
>>51280284
300~400 dollars for headphones
150~200 dollars for IEMs
100 dollars for amp/DAC (this one just in case your source produce a lot of noise).
I don't know about speakers.
Anything that surpasses an audio engineer setup. There is no reason to have a better setup than the studio.
>>51280364
>what are SPL or coverage requirements
Sorta useless if you have speakers that have a perfect frequency response, but only on axis and with no dynamic range.
Wtf is "accurate reproduction" anyways? I like to think of the practical aspects as well. Your room will never sound like a concert hall, regardless of the amount of work you do to it, what speakers you use, what cables you use, etc.
I'm just saying that striving for the "most accurate" is a fool-hardy endeavor.
>>51280138
There is no line in home/car stereo equipment; spending a metric ton of cash can (& usually will) get you better sound, point blank.
Mobile/portable audio, however? I draw the line when the speaker(s)/headphones/earbuds cost more than the device that's producing the sounds. Ridiculous.
>>51280138
>audiophilia and audiophoolery?
Spending money on things that don't make a difference outside your mind. Headphones have the build quality factor as they are worn, so comfort and durability matter besides sound.
DACs are easy to get right nowadays, good amplifiers only cost so much, speakers and headphones need to be beaten to death with DSP and EQ to sound right. Good headphone acoustics can be had from 300-500 dollars, even less for IEMs. Speakers can get into the thousands easily, but stuff like cables still aren't worth worrying over.
>>51280740
>Your room will never sound like a concert hall, regardless of the amount of work you do to it, what speakers you use
You probably could if you really went crazy on the space simulation and surround sound. That requires many loudspeakers, dozens across a single room. But even if you duplicated the sound perfectly, it still wouldn't be a concert experience.
>>51280162
Some of the "Audiophile" Wiring is retarded expensive. TweakGeek, for example, wants a grand for a 1 meter, 24 Gauge speaker wire.
>>51280138
The line will be drawn when an alleged audiophile can explain the concepts of dither and Nyqyist sampling.
Until then every single one of them is a fool
Most "audiophile" gear is pure placebo. Most mid-price hardware is quite good. What matters the most is the audio source.
A poorly mastered album will still sound like shit, even on high-end hardware
When they would no longer be able to pass an ABX text of the new components.
when you acknowledge that you can't hear any difference but you keep spending money anyway
An audiophile automatically becomes an audiophool the moment he buys a Sennheiser product.
>>51280739
This. There is no reason to use "better" equipment than the guy who mastered the recording.
>>51280138
>Where is the line drawn that defines the border between audiophilia and audiophoolery?
repeatable testing
/thread
>>51281895
Right, but a typical professional audio setup has a bunch of shit that most consumers would find completely useless. Even then, most audio engineer setups can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
>>51280947
>TweakGeek
Assuming you meant >http://www.tweekgeek.com/
There is no reaction image for my reaction. Dumbfounded, I suppose.
>"Audio Isolation Feet"
>$699 EACH
I blame Colorado weed laws.
>>51282872
"I purchased a set to go under JBL everest speakers. Really cleaned up the bass, and made the speaker interact with the room far less than without. Was thinking of using an equalizer, but with the Stillpoints, probably not sure one is needed. Very expensive product, but I'm convinced they are superior to other solutions. "
>>51282872
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ez8EzAFQ-c
>>51282627
The speakers, the flush mounts, cabling, AD/DA, compressors, preamps...
>>51280664
There are some small tonal differences between the W20s and the Westone 2s. The W20s are a little more neutral compared to the bright 2s and they are also more aesthetically pleasing. Additionally, when I said $300, I'm talking CAD as I'm a Canadafag and 300 CAD = 226 USD which seems like a decent price desu
>>51282975
Oh, my...It's like they hired a group of CSI technobabble writers.
"Magnets...how do they work?"
