When I wrote this comment I had chosen to put in perspective the interpreter - or even composer side of musicians. That side goes deep into the writing, the fabric of the music, and therefore to how various interpreters can make it « sound ».
What is striking there in the « audiophile » perspective, is that it does not take sophisticated audio at all, to have such a person go deep in the appreciation of an interpretation. Whereas for an audiophile who does not possess the same deep knowledge of this fabric, it is much more difficult to appreciate that, one tends to need a good system to feel comfortable with a discussion on the subtleties of a given interpretation one just heard on it.
Now, of course putting the sheer love and enjoyment of making music and sharing it aside, there is at least one other major components of being a musician, which is the technical aspect of producing notes or sounds on an instrument, and how the real thing really sounds, or by extension the live sound of a band or an orchestra (let’s stay acoustical here to simplify the discussion).
Years or decades of serious practice of one or several musical instruments obviously result in an excessively well trained ear on what the real instrument sounds like ! It makes musicians acute critical listeners of audio gear when it comes to music reproduction, as well as excellent judges of the quality of a recording and its mastering.
That said, in the general comments read about musicians, about their attitude towards audio gear, it could be simply that the enjoyment of listening to recorded music fades in comparison with making music themselves. In other words a pianist would rather invest in a Steinway piano than into an audio system of comparable price unless he can easily afford both. Personally I would certainly not call myself a musician but with over a decade of studying two instruments (piano and guitar) in early age, I can understand that.
I’ve been looking into it previously but as a student I can’t afford it right now. Blew my budget on Roon
But I would need to buy another pair of headphones as the H95 are powered and if I’m not mistaken that means that everything is running through it’s internal DAC even when it’s a wired connection
haha! I find this board is all about technology and less about the enjoyment of music. perhaps thats the reason this board reads like my office’s IT department blog page and explains the demographics of those who post.
Because you’re only reading the support sections of the forum? Roon does all its support from here, so the forum is more heavily weighted to tech than music.
16 years old. I “saved” and amp from garbage. Hoocked a walkman and with pocket money bought used a pair of speakers.
20 years old. Saved and saved money to buy a Sony receiver and a pair of floor speakers
21 years old. Managed a CD and a MD deck.
23. Mp3 kicked in.
25 iPod and iTunes.
Now 45. rediscovered (I guess with the lockdown). happy with my mid fi
No doubt Covid/lockdown was terrible, but like you, I found that it re-ignited my passion for music. As I recall there was a substantial surge in streaming subscriptions also, so I don’t think we were alone.
I think adding more robust playlist tools, and a larger quantity of the pre-made Roon ones would help bring in a younger demographic. The younger demographic almost exclusively listens to playlists as a means of audio intake. To keep Roon around, it would be wise to see what would attract future younger revenue streams to hook them as repeat customers as they get older.
I listen to both equally. Playlists for casual listening, and albums for a dedicated listening session. I really do wish there were more premade options, and better options to make my own playlists more robust.
I am most worried about the younger listeners and how they are listening (louder than perhaps should be done) and the amount of noise in general day to day life that also pushes the volume needs up for us all…construction, air conditioning, fans, children , concerts and live music, living in big noisy cities, cards and trucks and planes etc etc etc.
My hearing at 62 is certainly not what it used to be 10-15 years ago, so for the younger ones here Look after your hearing!!!
How about hearing loss and tinnitus? Both started at the same time. Bicycle accident in Aug 1990 resulting in a triple skull fracture and loss of hearing in my right ear. I’ve had the crickets screaming in my ear since then. Seems like the noise is from both sides but that can’t be.
Turn 70 this month and very grateful to be here and still listening to music.
, concerts and live music, living in big noisy cities, cards and trucks and planes etc etc etc.