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It doesn't take special ears to become an audiophile... just perhaps some doctor's orders to listen to music. Join our marketing associate Jo for a week of product testing and reflection on what the word "audiophile" truly means.

Check out Jo's previous post on Bowers & Wilkins here.

Monday, 3/9/15: Reflections

It’s difficult to wrap up this chain of posts I’ve been writing, mainly because I’m not sure how to. I’m healthy enough now to look at computer screens again, but I have a feeling I’ll be nostalgic for the focus and relaxation that purely listening to music brought me.

Every listening experience is different. I know if I were to go home and listen to Pandora on my phone, it won’t grant me the same satisfaction as our listening rooms have. It was amazing to be introduced to the sonic intricacies of music through either hi-fi speakers or the maintenance of a turntable. I feel that before this week I was stuck in the Allegory of the Cave by Plato, in that I was once okay with my ignorance of sound quality and now would hate to experience audio without it. (Give it a read here… wonderful philosophical reading if you’re into it.)

On the flip side I’m glad to have discovered audiophilia… the love of, well, audio. Obviously I’m not going to learn everything there is to know about sound and music in one week - too difficult and I’m too much of a dabbler. But I feel I’ve better cultivated an appreciation of music due to raw exposure. I never realized how many  layers upon layers of sound hid within my computer and iPhone speakers - the curse of growing up in the digital age, I guess.

So begs the question: Have I become a true audiophile? In the literally translated latin meaning of the word, yes. By our industry’s standards? I sincerely doubt it. But you don’t have to be an expert or think about music 24/7 to enjoy it enough to want awesome new speakers or headphones. You can form your own opinions, and that’s the beauty of being a critic. A speaker can be the best of the best according to everyone you know, but it may not be your favorite, and no one can prove that you're wrong.

But I digress. I enjoyed this week, headaches and all… at least when I was listening to music. I invite everyone to listen to a song with as much focus as one would staring at a piece of art in a museum. And then, once you listen to it, observe it the same way: Is the painting framed? Dusty? Is there depth and clarity to your music, and is your preferred vocalist enunciating or is he/she marred by poor speaker quality? And, either way, does it make you like that art/music any less? Just some reflections to consider.

Thanks for reading! 

"There is in souls a sympathy with sounds: And as the mind is pitch'd the ear is pleased With melting airs, or martial, brisk or grave; Some chord in unison with what we hear Is touch'd within us, and the heart replies.” ― William Cowper, The Winter Walk at Noon

Join us in early May for our Spring event, the Evolution of Audio, where you too can discover all the latest technology and listening experiences Gramophone has to offer. Click here for more information and to RSVP today!