This post is really funny to see written by an engineer, an entire profession dedicated to the art of measuring precisely the lowest quality we can use while still accomplishing the task.
Having discerning taste is a vice not a virtue. I actively try to limit the number of areas where my taste is ruined by high quality because it makes me noticeably worse off. My life isn't better for experiencing better quality, it's worse for the other 99% of the time.
Now I have to buy the name brand which is more expensive, now I'm focused on all the schlock-y writing of the latest Marvel movie I'm at with my friends instead of enjoying it, now I can't unsee the damn keming or blurry fonts on everyone's computer but mine. Don't be the hi-fi nerd whose ears will
be put through a cheese grater any time you hear music through cheap speakers for the rest of your life. Ignorance really is bliss.
> My life isn't better for experiencing better quality, it's worse for the other 99% of the time.
IMO it is possible (and I believe I have done it with effort) to achieve a high level of appreciation for popular, common, basic, what have you things, while also having a high level of appreciation for high quality things.
I completely agree that being unable to enjoy things is a negative, and if lots of people can enjoy a thing you might be better off working out how to also enjoy it. But you can do both.
Does knowledge of good things necessarily make bad things painful? I have cheap earbuds for listening to podcasts or walking around and listening to music, and then some ok HIFIMAN headphones on some midrange dac/amp. Maybe I’ve been too mobile lately, but I find that I get enough time on the earbuds to provide a frame of reference that lets me really enjoy the headphones. It is a nice little experience once in a while; to put the headphones on and really notice the difference.
It is possible I haven’t gotten far enough into the audiophile “hobby” to achieve miserableness. But, I wonder if it is enough to save yourself by staying grounded in a more reasonable frame of reference.
I remember an article posted here that showed that wine aficionados enjoyed drinking wine less than the average person does.
I have a feeling that the best strategy is to avoid the bottom 10% of any market because that is guaranteed to be garbage. Beyond that it doesn't really matter.
I think it's both. I never switched on 120hz refresh rate on my phone because 60hz never bothered me. I also know, if I switch to 120hz I won't be able to view 60hz phones anymore without it bothering me!
But there's some things where buying higher quality definitely offers a much better experience. Everything from soap dispensers to vacuum machines - higher quality ones will save time, look better, last longer, be easier to maintain, etc. Cheap ones will break, be a hassle to use, etc. As I'm writing this though, maybe this is actually in agreement with your post. Those quality issues are frustrating "for me". And one might assume needing to replace 5 out of 6 soap dispensers after 3mo-2yrs would be universally frustrating for all people. But perhaps that's not the case and people simply aren't bothered by these things.
The problem being that if you truly enjoy something, you will end up becoming better at noticing quality.
Learning to understand music so that you can show off in society is (IMHO) stupid because you ruin your ability to enjoy "average" music. But if you really enjoy music, you're doomed to improve your understanding of it and start becoming more critical regarding "poor" music, however popular it is.
What is the motivation of emulating an ascetic lifestyle by consuming low quality goods? It sounds like you're doing it to save money rather than reduce total consumption, but for what greater purpose?
Having discerning taste is a vice not a virtue. I actively try to limit the number of areas where my taste is ruined by high quality because it makes me noticeably worse off. My life isn't better for experiencing better quality, it's worse for the other 99% of the time.
Now I have to buy the name brand which is more expensive, now I'm focused on all the schlock-y writing of the latest Marvel movie I'm at with my friends instead of enjoying it, now I can't unsee the damn keming or blurry fonts on everyone's computer but mine. Don't be the hi-fi nerd whose ears will be put through a cheese grater any time you hear music through cheap speakers for the rest of your life. Ignorance really is bliss.