Am I an Audiophile?

rrmahalle

Few days ago, one of my pen-friend purchased a new wireless bluetooth headphone. I asked him his review of those headphones.

To be true, I was not at all interested in headphones, but curiosity is a stubborn disease. I hate bluetooth headphones because they are not meant for quality (as well as longevity). But on the upside, they are practical. I prefer quality over practicality – anytime. Rather, practicality is relative to one’s personal preferences. For me, quality is practicality after all.

Back to my pen-friend. Rather than reviewing his headphones, he exclaimed, “Don’t say that you are an Audiophile too.” I asked him if what does he mean by too. Cheeky fellow. He said, “You are a man of many things and ideas, this shouldn’t surprise me that Being Audiophile can be your field too.” (Enough personal praise!)

I could not give him an answer. I don’t like myself to be accredited with stupid certifications. I feel that certifications rob your originality. Rather than some monkey with credentials, I like to find an interesting field to satisfy my curiosity and move forward to see the boundaries of that field. Satisfaction is a consequence of that search for the boundaries.

To a narcissist sociopath, music is the best companion. I still remember my first song on which I spent my money. It was Teri Deewani by Kailash Kher. I had spent ₹30 to pirate it on a cassette tape and my musical journey began.

Rather than lengthening my history with music, here I present you with the musical equipment I have currently. Judge yourself, am I an Audiophile?

My Current Audio Equipment

Commodity Audio Gear

  1. Regular iPhone Earpods (Wired)
    Side-Sleeper podcast headphones.
    Free, so value for money
    Audio Quality – 2/5
    Value/price – Free 5/5
  2. Soundcore Sports Air (Bluetooth)
    These used to be my gym headphones.
    Dirt Cheap – No wires.
    Audio Quality – 2/5
    Value/Price – 3/5
  3. Sennheiser pmx60 (Wired)
    Bedroom desktop headphones.
    Dirt Cheap – Value for money (old, not available).
    Audio Quality – 3/5
    Price/Value – These were gifted 5/5
  4. UE Roll 2 (Bluetooth Speakers)
    Roadtrip speakers, Get-together speakers.
    Great sound for a small size. Robust build.
    Audio Quality – 3/5
    Value/Price – 4/5

Semi-Audiophile Gear

  1. Koss Porta Pro with Yaxi Pads (Wired)
    Primary desktop headphones.
    Great open sound.
    Audio Quality – 4/5
    Value/Price – 3/5 (kinda costly in India)
  2. Audio Technica M50X with Brainwavz Earpads (Wired)
    Current Gym Headphones.
    Powerful Sound, Tight Bass, Analytical (Not so much fun, but forceful).
    Audio Quality – 4/5
    Value/Price – 3/5
  3. Mackie CR4 Studio Monitors
    Desktop Speakers.
    Crisp Sound. Bassy. Solid Build.
    Audio Quality – 4/5
    Value/Price – 4.5/5
  4. Harmon Kardon SoundSticks
    Reading Room Speakers.
    Bright Sound with nice bass (though my subwoofer broke).
    I use them as a background music player while reading (Lo-Fi music).
    Audio Quality – 3.5/5
    Value/Price – 4/5

Pro Grade Gear

  1. Hifiman Sundara (Wired)
    Smooth as butter. Beautiful Warm Sound. Fast. Truly Sundara.
    My Enjoyment Headphones. Can’t explain. More than to explain.
    Audio Quality – +5/5
    Value/Price – +5/5
  2. Stereo Sound System
    Elac Debut B6.2 + Elac S10.2 Subwoofer + Yamaha RN-602 Integrated Amplifier
    God Sound. Warm, Bright, Banging, Thumping, Throbbing, Heartbeating, Tripping, Eargasm… … … More than to explain.
    Audio Quality = ++5/5
    Value/Price – 5/5

Planned? What say?

  1. Audeze LCD 2C – Heard a lot about them.
  2. Sennheiser HD660S – For A. R. Rahman?

So, am I an Audiophile? Don’t say yes – I hate credentials.

11Why so many? Because there is no one endgame gear in music. Every gear has its own personality. Also, rather than going for an endgame (which no beginner know), I climbed step by step.

Am I an Audiophile?