What You Spend On Hi-Fi Equipment Is Your Business

We’ve all been there. That awkward moment when we proudly demonstrate our latest Hi-Fi purchase to our friends and they just look at us with some degree of incredulity and finally ask “When exactly did you stop taking your medication?”

That look has nothing to do with price; it can range from a new $200 headphone to a $50,000 high-end audio rig. The phenomenon is not limited to people outside of our little corner of the universe.

I recently received that same look from eCoustics EIC, Ian White, during a recent staff meeting when I started discussing a new $2,800 pair of IEMs.

“That’s just crazy to spend that kind of money on universal IEMs,” he replied.

This is the same person with a stack of Cambridge Audio Edge Series Electronics powering a pair of Magnepan Loudspeakers at the moment and someone who has faced similar comments from friends, family, and other members of the team who are confused by that kind of expenditure.

All of this got me thinking about how we foolishly explain ourselves to those who wouldn’t be inclined to spend that kind of money on audio gear for themselves.

We’re talking about the enjoyment of art; music and cinema appeal to almost every segment of humanity — yet we feel this weird sense of guilt or defensiveness when the conversation turns to money.

The natural instinct is to respond with how much other hobbies also cost; golfers spend an inordinate amount of money on course fees, equipment, lessons, travel to golf courses around the world, and therapists to fix physical injuries from playing.

Do you belong to a Skeet and Trap Club? A high-end shotgun, ammunition, and other equipment can cost thousands of dollars. Just to blow clay targets out of the sky.

But I don’t think that tells the right story or at least not all of it.

For most audio enthusiasts, we can’t remember a period in our lives when music wasn’t an integral part of our existence. If you can — that was most likely a bleak period that most don’t want to revisit.

But unlike golf, fishing, shooting, or any other hobbies that we we enjoy on the weekends to recharge our mental and physical batteries after a grueling work week — music is a constant companion.

We listen at home, during our commute, at work, and then repeat the cycle in the opposite order. Many even fall asleep to some form of music and wake-up to another.

EIC Ian White has written many times about how listening to his Sansui FM Tuner overnight from the age of twelve heavily influenced his love of classical and jazz music. He would lay awake in bed and listen until he finally drifted off.

I think that is the big dividing line between audio enthusiasts and those who feel we’ve lost our minds.

Music to a lot of people is background noise. For audiophiles, music is life. At least it should be.

How do we explain to non-audiophiles why we’re willing to spend so much on products that they feel are exorbitantly priced?

I’ve suggested to some that they should try depriving themselves of things that are essential to their existence. Whilst nobody is arguing that music is as important as eating and drinking — for many people music is essential for their mental health.

Being able to use headphones or earphones to block out constant outside noise helps keep me from feeling frazzled before I even get to the office some days.   Other times, it’s a way to escape for an hour at lunch with a favorite LP or playlist.

As eCoustics’ Headphone Editor, I spend most of my time listening to headphones, but even I will concede that there are moments when headphones or earphones can’t compete with the dynamic capabilities and gestalt of loudspeakers.

This has nothing to do with sound quality; although I still contend that a headphone like the Audeze LCD-5 ($4500) and an RME ADI-2 DAC/Headphone Amplifier ($1039) can compete rather favorably with some stereo systems above $30,000.

How I can I possibly say that? Convenience.

Having speakers in my office makes a huge difference to my work day and how my co-workers perceive me. When I’m relegated to headphones, that I have to take on/off not to miss conversations, I tend to wear them only when I know I have an extended period without interruption. This means that when something goes wrong and I’m likely to have constant traffic in and out of my office — I cannot listen.   

Having a small set of KEF powered speakers on my desk allows me to leave music on behind those conversations and immediately fall back into the zone when the conversation ends. This breaks the cycle of stress. At times, a single song will change my mood entirely. I am transported to another place and time far away from the stress of the day.

On the surface it doesn’t seem like a big change, but those opportunities to break away from stress change how we interact with others and how we view the world around us.

There are few things that we can enjoy on a daily basis that can compete with that experience and how it impacts our lives.

Rather than apologize for spending whatever you can.

Enjoy it.

Related reading: Does the Audiophile Community Have a Problem?