How do you describe this hobby to strangers?

[240sx4u]

Hey guys, this was sparked in my mind by another post about audiophiles.

I tend to be pretty friendly and outgoing for the most part and inevitably hobbies come up when talking to new people and colleagues at work. One of my hobbies is audio of course. I find myself cringing when I use the word "audiophile" and really don't feel like I relate well to that term. I presume it's the connotations that sometimes come with it, and this could absolutely just be a ME thing.

I don't really want to get into the term audiophile itself, but I would like to hear alternative terminology that one may use instead of that to still get the point across.

Thoughts?

 

[MrEd]

Most folks don't get it, I don't tell folks I'm an audiophile.
I'll say I'm into music and if they have interest and the topic progresses then at some pont i add that I build my own gear.
I let it progress or deteriorate from there.

 

[240sx4u]

Most folks don't get it

I can argue this is true of most hobbies, I understand where you're coming from.

 

[MrEd]

I often say that I'm a bit of a nut case and make light of it while discussing...😎

 

[JohnVF]

I never describe myself as an audiophile. And really that's not my hobby- I have no interest in being lumped in with what that implies. Though the term itself is accurate, what it's come to mean has little to do with what I enjoy. I usually tell people that I'm "into old turntables" or "I'm into stereo stuff". The turntable aspect IS what I'm most into, so it's not inaccurate. And its the part of the hobby that my friends seem most intrigued by... I get a lot of requests for help from people looking for a turntable or stereo setup for themselves or their kids.

 

[JoeThePop]

I think @JohnVF has described it perfectly for me; “I’m into stereo stuff”. I think telling most people who aren’t into stereo stuff that you are an audiophile, would be met with blank stares. Also, along with what John said about the term itself, is the problem with trying to group disparate people under a single label. Labels can be very misleading. It’s like I could say I’m an NFL fan, but not one of those kind of fans. I actually know a couple people that admitted losing sleep over the Lions’ loss in the NFC Championship game. Myself, it was late and I slept like a baby. Labels are problematic.

 

[Wntrmute2]

I usually focus on my interest in music, then the vinyl/TT aspects and finally if there is still someone that seems interested, I move into the DIY and tube aspect. Rarely does anyone hang around past "I'm into Jazz".

 

[JohnVF]

In generally, when somebody asks what you do in your free time, they don't really want to know your life story. It's not exactly a rhetorical question but its also not an invitation for you to feel he need to explain in great detail what you do with your free time. Most people have no assumptions about "audiophile" at all, but the word itself sounds pretentious and off-putting. I know some people who are really "into wine" but none of them would say they're an "oenophile" and if they did, yikes. I'm outta there. The over-seriousness of the descriptor is one of nature's ways of saying do not touch. I feel like Mr Hardy posting this but add "I'm an audiophile" to this:

 

[Pat McGinty]

In my case it's not a hobby, but when the profession subject arises I just say, "I'm in the music playback business." When that response raises the occasional further inquiry, I usually deflect with something like: "Well, it depends on your relationship with music." By that time the 90% of the population who don't really care much about music usually desist, leaving those few who do. Then, maybe, there's something to talk about.

 

[Tables_and_Tubes]

I usually focus on my interest in music, then the vinyl/TT aspects and finally if there is still someone that seems interested, I move into the DIY and tube aspect. Rarely does anyone hang around past "I'm into Jazz".

The perfect summation of my interactions with not so like minded people. The only person that stuck around past "into jazz (and classical)" , is The Wife!

Dan

 

[Kpatch]

‘Audiophile’ is a term I use, with respect, to describe others but never use to describe myself even though we share the same interests. At home I have four working systems and various closeted components, cables, wires, etc., waiting to be swapped in and out and there’s always a learning curve and a lusting after new acquisitions and a layman’s interest in learning about the workings of both the old and the new which I guess makes this a hobby. I continue to have a strong interest, and dare I say it, obsession, in listening to a wide variety of music, with the exception of Bjork, and before streaming, I could only accomplish this by collecting cds, records and tapes, a collection which includes over 400 opera box sets on vinyl but I would never describe myself as a discophile, which is the correct term for record collecting, or a ‘vinylist’ which is a term I just made up. But it is the learning curve, the reading, the background research, the conversations and the community which continue to be the impetus to carry on. And through all of it, I remain married to the same, sane woman.

So ‘audiophile’ doesn’t seem that bad. You could be an avid philatelist an interest in stamp collecting. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

 

[jblnut]

I think it can only be explained to other people who themselves are 'into' something. My wife has some friends for example that by their own admission lack passion and interest in doing anything other than repeating their daily routine. My wife (and I) feel sad for them in that they lack curiosity, passion and a general motivation to seek more out of this very short existence. You're never going to explain audiophila to them as they barely care about music to begin with.

On the other hand we both have friends with burning passions for travel, food, skiing, wine, etc. Those folks 'get' the big speakers and a room full of records. We bond (and bong as my autocorrect just laughingly tried to remind me) over our shared interests and although they may not have huge investments in audio gear, they have invested in something similar that brings them joy.

I am mostly done with gear swapping myself but I will be playing music as long as I draw breath. I hope you all will be as well ;-).

 

[JohnVF]

I do have a giant box of cables in the closet labeled “audiophile shit”. So there’s a part of me that identifies with the label.

 

[airdronian]

An old friend stopped by last summer, saw the turntable (VPI Classic 1) and said "all that to play a record ??"

Reminded me of this:

 

[Olson_jr]

Talk to strangers?​

 

[Doghouse Riley]

Most people can't understand my interest in my two vinyl jukeboxes, when there's far "easier ways to enjoy listening to music."

 

[JoeThePop]

Talk to strangers?​

That's my wife. At the grocery store, at the movies, SOS office... anywhere there may be a line or waiting.
It's unnatural and embarrassing.

 

[Snade]

If it's a stranger over 50, I say something like: "I collect old stereo and record albums".

Hoping -- they have a McIntosh tube amp stored in their basement, remember that, and offer it to me for a song.

Laughing.

 

[Audionut]

Talk to strangers?​

This could be a thread in itself (not stranger danger necessarily)?

 

[Anton D]

I tell them about liking Hi Fi if they make it past the detailed biographies, personality analysis, cute antics, and adventure stories I tell about all five of my (non-existent) cats.