Would you buy a component without hearing it first?
With high-end audio dealers getting scarcer, audiophiles often turn to the Internet or mail-order for products. Would you buy something you hadn't yet heard?
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Are you interested in a high-fidelity download site, even if it spies on your music collection?
MusicGiants says it will be the first company to offer high-fidelity downloads, but it will also <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/051605musicgiants/">spy on your computer</A> to see what other music files you may have. Are you interested in a service like this?
Do you find that some electronic components
Some audiophiles argue that you should never judge the merits of a component (other than speakers) before it has had sufficient playing time to break in. Do you find this is the case?
Did you attend HE 2005 last week? If so, what stood out for you?
This year's Home Entertainment Show in New York has just ended. If you had the chance to attend, what caught your ear?
What's the all-time most-annoying album you've had the misfortune to acquire?
For some folks, it might be polka tunes; for others, that tuba quintet CD they were given as a birthday gift. What single recording have you acquired that has proven to be the most annoying?
Do you have a specific method for optimizing speaker placement or do you guess and fiddle?
Do you feel you have developed skills for placing speakers in a room, or do you plunk them down, shuffle them around, and hope for the best?
Can you set up and align your own cartridge?
As technology marches on, some of the old audiophile ways become lost arts. Do you still have the skills needed to set up and align a cartridge on a tonearm and turntable?
Do DRM (digital rights management) restrictions on paid downloads bother you? Why or why not?
When you download a music file from pay services, you get DRM or digital rights management that restricts how you use the file. Is this a problem for you?
Given equivalent quality, do you think downloads or discs will become the most popular medium in the next 5-10 years? Why?
In a a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/031405discs">recent article</A>, <I>Stereophile</I>'s Jon Iverson cited the increase in broadband usage as an indication that more folks may get their music via download than disc in the future. What do you think?
What has been your favorite of all the components you've ever owned? Why?
Some components simply endear themselves to audiophiles