A CHICAGO ANALOGY
Once upon a time, a long, long, time ago I would watch every Chicago cubs game I could. Yes, the entire 9 Innings. Needless to say, people thought I was completely nuts. The Cubs were my first love. I knew every player, their number, position, and almost every other random statistic I could get my hands on.
When I would meet other Chicago Cub fans I would immediately get this rush of excitement and begin assaulting them with questions about their thoughts on the current status of the team.
I learned that not all Cubs fans were as fanatical as I was.
This is the reality with most things that we really love, and high fidelity audio is no different.
THE AUDIOPHILE QUESTION
Currently the question, “Are you an Audiophile” is most commonly answered with a yes or no. We feel it is not as simple as that.
We understand there are different degrees of high fidelity adoration. We thought it would be fun to create a system to show “how audiophile” someone actually is.
Do you know someone who claims to be an audiophile because they bought a sweet set of speakers, yet doesn’t have the ability to adequately speak about the basic sonic capabilities and specs of said speakers.
Here at aperion one of our main goals, besides creating the best speakers for your money, is to educate the masses. We want to teach others about how to find and distinguish amazing sound from the long list of imitators.
WHO IS AN AUDIOPHILE?
In this article we will use the term audiophile as an enthusiast of high fidelity audio quality. This can be applied at all stages of audio reproduction process including:
- the initial audio recording
- the production process
- the playback (speakers in your home)
Because our company is focused on the playback, our quiz leans towards this particular set of audiophiles.
So, can we really break down someone’s degree of enthusiasm?
Through various interviews and emails we’ve come up with the set of questions that would help us understand someone’s level of commitment and knowledge about high fidelity audio.
The result, 15 statements to determine your level of “audiophileness.”
THE AUDIOPHILE TEST
For every statement you answer in the affirmative give yourself a point. At the end tally up your points and refer to the scorecard below. You can only answer YES or NO.
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1. You wince at 44.1 KHz x 16 bits material and know why.
2. Can you finish the cliché “no highs, no lows, it has to be…”
3. You know the difference between sample rate and bit rate.
4. You’ve brought your own source material to someone else’s party.
5. You know what the sonic performance of a speaker is without having seen the curve.
6. You cringe when you hear music on someone’s smart phone speakers.
7. You listen to a friends “killer” new 5.1 setup and you hear the rear speakers are louder than the center and YOU TELL HIM/HER.
8. Regardless of what you’ve spent on your system you still aren’t completely happy.
9. You’ve complained about tones nobody else can hear.
10. You have a stand alone DAC.
11. Where you sit matters when viewing or listing to movies or music.
12. You spend more on acoustic treatment than you do on furniture.
13. You hear the difference between 18 and 12 gauge wire.
14. You spend more time on AVS Forum than Facebook.
15. You know the frequency response of every speaker you own.
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YOUR RESULTS
Now tally up all your Yeses and use the key below to find out your level of Audiophile.
1 – 5 White Belt Audiophile
Your dedication young grasshopper is not overlooked. You are the future.
6 – 10 Brown Belt Audiophile
Your wisdom is impressive. Continue on your path to enlightenment.
11 – 15 Black Belt Audiophile
Hai Sensei. You are a grandmaster. Spread your wisdom to all future generations.
Is this science? No, not really.
It is just a fun way for us to engage with our sound loving culture and audience.
So, whether you’re an audiophile or audiophile-in-training your goal should be to never stop learning. Continue to help us educate the masses about what great sound actually sounds like.
If you feel this test could be improved, then send us your statement addition to customerservice@aperionaudio.com