Ladies analogy lover?

Armstrod, I'm not sure if I agree with you. Saying you have to be a music lover to be an audiophile is like saying you have to like getting from point A to point B if you are a car lover.

I admit I do love music, but can see how you can get mixed up in this hobby based on the equipment alone..

S7horton said: “Saying you have to be a music lover to be an audiophile is like saying you have to like getting from point A to point B if you are a car lover."

Not to split hairs here, or mix metaphors more than needed, but I would say its more akin to saying you have to like driving to be a car lover.

While I agree, you could be an audiophile for the equipment; I believe most audiophiles are combination music lover/gadget freak. Perhaps men in this age are far more likely to be gadget freaks than women. My girlfriend of many years has enjoyed my hobby, and listens all the time. She has a preference for what little good vinyl we have over redbook CD, but she just isn’t as into the actual equipment as me.

A good friend and industry contact once said to me that "An audiophile loves music, a stereophile loves equipment."

I think people come at their entrance to the HiFi world along a continuum between the two poles. And to relate to another HiFi lover (HiFiphile?)it helps to know where they are coming from.

Personally, I have zero musical instrument training, nor any measurable talent, yet according to the tests, have near perfect pitch, and great ears. I am definetely motivated by being moved by the music, and hearing things in it I have never heard before, which is the underlying motivation when I buy my gear.

Some people, on the other hand, just like big shiny boxes with blinky lights on them, and expensive braided cables as big as your wrist. They like HAVING the gear as much or more than listening to the gear.

S7horton,

I'll admit, I never considered the possibility that someone would spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars on audiophile pursuits if they didn't love music.

Perhaps someone here on Audiogon who is NOT a music lover might have even better advice for Audioblazer. Any takers?

If it was as much about the music as it is about the equipment you'd see a much larger female participation. Let's face it, this hobby has a lot in common with 60's and 70's muscle cars. High performance, powerful, fast, and slick looking machines.