Audiophiles tend to be smug know-it-alls with a propensity for dogmatism and obsession. It's a good thing they are, too. Without audiophiles, the entire stereo ecosystem would collapse under the immense weight of mediocrity. Imagine a world where vinyl is no longer pressed, and every "hi-fi" system is a plastic box made by robots. In such a low-res dystopia legions of drones would trudge to work listening to Big Brother lossy files through crappy white earbuds. That sexy carbon fiber tonearm, the one on the $400 critically acclaimed Pro-Ject turntable your girlfriend gave you for your birthday? Sorry. It doesn’t exist. It would never have trickled down from those high-end decks that use to cost as much as a Lincoln Towncar 25 years ago. Nobody but a crazy audiophile hell-bent on inventing the perfect turntable would ever think of making a tonearm out of the same exotic material that NASA used in the space shuttle.
For all these reasons and more, anyone with more than a passing interest in recorded music should attend an audio show. The latest whistle-stop on the stereophile circuit, New York Audio Show 14, recently took place in Brooklyn. As expected, there was enough audio porn crammed into 54 Marriott hotel rooms to make graybeards with deep pockets feel like young lions again. Here are some of the highlights.
