Reduce an audiophile to someone who spends all his time and money for high-end sound equipment is a big mistake. The real goal of every audiophile is the pleasure of listening to music in the best conditions. To exploit the full potential of a HI-FI system, the source, ie the recording, must be produced with the goal to obtain an exceptional sound quality.
Get out of the myths...
Identifying albums of great interest for audiophiles is very difficult because few information is available, and because there are many myths around Audiophile's records.
I know that I will loose some purist audiophile readers in the following, but it's really important to clarify some things around records sonic performances.
1- An audiophile record; it's a myth, a wet dream. Ok, now, take a breath, stay calms, I know it's a bad news, but don't try sell your system for right now. All albums produced in the world use audiophile's criteria with more or less success. There's no red book, no standards to define the rules to make an audiophile record. Some standards exist for the mastering like K2 HD, but to have a real audiophile record, each element in the chain production must be at an Audiophile level (record, mix, mastering, support). A record can be interesting for an audiophile if only some key criteria (unnecessary all) are worked with a special attention (Ex: soundstage, sound quality, presence, etc...).
2- An album can be at an audiophile level even if it's not a Jazz record or Classical record. Stop to be so snob !...
3 - An album can be produced at an audiophile level even if the label is not an audiophile label. Hey, hey, hey,...... Of course, several dedicated labels like Fidelio or Carpe Diem produce exceptional albums in terms of sound quality, but the production is very small. Keep in mind that to produce a good album in terms of sound, you must have a high-end recording equipment, an intelligent producer, an artist concerned by the sound aspect, and a sound engineer not completely deaf (this the most difficult part...)
4- Why are audiophiles so picky with so many technical specifications about cables, turntables, speakers, etc., and so romantic when they talk about music albums? Have you ever read an audiophile critic of a recording? ''The sound of this album, is like a cool breeze in the spring...''. Come on guys, this isn't a parfum review!!!!….Give me a little bit more objective parameters to know if the record could be interesting in an audiophile perspective. As for the artistic evaluation, trust me, i could have a good preview with Allmusic.com.
5- Please stop confusing the media format and the recording quality . You can use a file in FLAC 32bit/192khz or more, but if the sound at the source sucks, it will still suck at 192Khz. Life is so strange....
You understood, this magazine is not intended to categorize, or to reward some albums in a pseudo audiophile artistic way. It is limited to share a view as objective as possible of the sound quality from an audiophile's key criteria. That's all! And guys, don't forget that the WAF (Woman Acceptance Factor) rises with good music albums at home. Trust me...
Help Audiophile Record to support NGO
I am pleased to offer you a free, independent, and eclectic selection of records that will allow many of you to discover amazing recordings that you'll have a great pleasure to listen to. So, if you like this magazine, if you have found some exceptional albums through it, if you think that this magazine has a real value, you can help Audiophile Record to support the V-Day organization. Please visit and support V-Day.
Audiophile record is produced in Canada.
Audiophile record is produced in Canada.
