Don’t shoot the messenger I’m just quoting Google’s definition of Audiophile.
As for me it’s the music that appeals to me, the gear just helps me hear it. As long as I have music to listen to and irrespective of whether it is via my HiFi, my house radio, in the car or via a bluetooth speaker sitting out in the garden as long as I have music playing I am happy.
The same as @Oxfordian . The quality of gear helps me to better appreciate the music. I am not listening to how my system sounds, apart when buying a new gear or comparing for example cables. Hopefully it’s not often, I prefer to relax and be absorbed by the music.
For me being an audiophile is tending to have the most real sound in my room, which enables me to connect more with the music and the why of each album. It’s not the what, as tiny details…but the why, as how the musicians communicate and try to express.
Just because it is written, doesn’t mean that it’s accurate!
Exactly, a lot of inaccuracies in Wikipedia , in general.
Reads like an AI summary to me.
Don’t try to convince me they are mutually exclusive.
And the British press, especially the Daily …………
Maybe it is, but is it wrong or is it right?
I don’t think that there will ever be consensus on that question.
For me the term “audiophile” implies a hobbyist who has more interest in the gear and tinkering with it…it’s not a word I like much. But, this is a personal view so may well be inaccurate 
Wittgenstein argued that: “the meaning of a word is its use in the language”. So, if that is how you use the word “audiophile”, and those who hear you understand it, then that is the meaning.
Also, fwiw, I would use the word pretty much as you do.
On the other hand, we may be drifting quite a way away from pictures of turntables. So….
That’s a very good-looking matte black system - but you need to get your cartridge re-finished!!
Have to agree, its the music that I want to hear, the term ‘Audiophile’ can push people away, the gear should just be there to allow you to hear the music.
How qualify people upgrading their gear since many years, going from a Nait then SN then 282/250 then 252, buying each new steps for their lp12, keel, urika, lingo, and so on…?
Music enthusiasts?
This is one of those impossible questions because there is no right or wrong answers.
I listen to music, my aim is to get the best kit that I can afford to make my listening experience as good as I can get it. When I lower the needle onto the vinyl my thought is on the music not on what cartridge or what deck is being used. I have no interest in my cables I just buy what I feel fits and at a price I consider acceptable, I have no interest in what stand my gear is on as long as its not a wonky sideboard.
However, I do care that my vinyl is cleaned and stored properly, it is after all the primary source for my musical enjoyment. I am very interested in the quality of the vinyl that I buy, I am as happy searching the pre-loved section as the much as the ‘new in’ sections but in both it is my aim to find great music.
But I am going to upgrade from my current P3 to an LP12 in the next few weeks so does that make me an Audiophile because I want to retrieve a bit more from the grooves? In fact most of my system is going to get an upgrade this year due to an inheritance heading my way,
Adding tags to what people are in their hobbies is bonkers, just causes confusion IMHO.
I enjoy music, I enjoy listening to music at home on a system that puts a big grin on my face and has me tapping my toes.
Am I an Audiophile or a Music Enthusiast?
Are we not all audiophiles. Loving (philos) to hear sound (audio)?
Difference between birdwatchers and twitchers.
I am personally an audiophile, because I have a lot of interest in audio gear and how it works, how I can perform my system. It doesn’t bother be to have that badge.
But in the same time I am a music lover, loving to discover new albums, artists….and enjoying music rather than listening to my system.
But I am not a true audiophile who listens only to audiophile recordings, like DSD, DXD…or always the albums that sound the best, as Carmen Gowes all the day and night, lol.
I love listening to how different gear changes the presentation of music. How deep we can hear into the recording, the texture of instruments, density, detail, clarity, emotion, etc. Not sure how to separate listening to the gear vs listening to music.
I suspect that changing a Lyra Kleos (complete with a white and cheap-looking plastic bit at the front) for something with a matt black body might disappoint my ears.
There are options:-
Linn Adikt or Koil
Hana ML
Dynavector 20X2 or XX2 II or XX-2A or DRT CV-1S
Rega Ania
Vertere Dark Sabre
Would you dump a Kleos for any of them?
The real heresy is hidden. After much AB comparison, we opted to keep a well-known after-market mat. It’s, er, red.
I had three Dynavector XX2 MkII cartridges. It was a great cartridge, but I don’t know if it’s still manufactured.
PS Just checked - it’s still current.
