my goal is to stay the course and enjoy..
to me, the Audio hobby road never ends and can only get better !
evaluate the change and improvements over the decades..
Audiophile is not a term one can call themselves, peers decide.
its also a cardinal rule among'm. those who call and think themselves an audiophile
annoy those who truely are..

Hbar

I think it is unwise to allow others to define you.
Really? You are annoyed that I might consider myself an audiophile? I hope you understand that is your problem, not mine.

What are your goals with this hobby?
 

From Webster:

noun
au·​dio·​phile | \ ˈȯ-dē-ō-ˌfī(-ə)l \
Collegiate Definition
: a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction
First Known Use
1951, in the meaning defined above

I am enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction, therefore I feel quite free to define myself as an audiophile. And I’d be very, very surprised if that annoyed anyone on this forum beyond a minuscule minority, because I’m pretty sure most of us here think of ourselves as audiophiles and feel no need to have someone else declare us so.[emoji41]

correct , an Audiophile is not a term one can call him/herself
or we'd all be one, peers can decide..
simply bein' enthusiastic doesnt make you a'phile'
everyone on the site is an enthusiast of some sort,
it doesnt make'm a'phile..
i didn't mean to hurt yo feelers, sorry..

Hbar

What are your goals with this hobby?
 

But you’re just creating your own definition - the recognized meaning of audiophile is exactly that, a hobbyist who enjoys and is enthusiastic about pursuing high fidelity, not some expert or authority recognized and anointed by others. I don’t think you’re hurting anyone’s feelings, just making us wonder a bit. Perhaps we can take a vote to determine which of us are peer-reviewed and appointed audiophiles, that would be fun🤣. On that note, over and out, I need to call a few friends to see if they’ll vouch for me to get an audiophile certificate.

Well them thar real cardinal-rule respectin' audiophiles must really be a-fussin' and a-snivelin' at us here AA common'rs who just ain't never got no proper upbringin'. I'd try and help out yer so-phisticated paragons of proper practices but I don't know which way they came in.

Old thread but what a great read! Sage advice “Enjoy the hobby whichever way it turns you on.”

The definition of audiophile I have heard for the last fifty years was that you are an audiophile if your system cost more than your car. The definition is about priorities. My system has always been more expensive than my cars.

… there was also one about illness… I don’t remember that one.

That makes me one sick puppy! 🐶

My most important goal is to get around to playing records again. I have a stack of unplayed LPs (some unopened) which I added to this week, having bought 12 more in the last 7 days. Some of the others were bought several years ago and more. I was kicking around a new phono preamp, even researching options down to a short list, but that makes no sense if I'm not playing anything. Besides, my C2300 has a decent phono section; and there are other, non-audio things I need.