Are you an audiophile? Chances are, you are one and you just don’t know it. It’s a niche yet steadily growing fraternity in the country, one that headphone manufacturers and retailers are desperate to reach out to.
As Raghav Somani, CEO of the online store Headphone Zone, explains, “An audiophile is a person who enjoys listening to music, and cares deeply about the way the music sounds.” The difference, he says, lies in what the listener is listening to. One way to describe it is that an audiophile is interested in the nuts and bolts of sound — the intricacy of musical compositions; the contribution of each instrument towards the larger picture; details that can only be appreciated when one listens closely. Needless to say, a constant search for the perfect set of equipment to bring out that sound goes hand in hand.
“It’s a serious hobby,” adds Raghav. It’s also the dream fraternity for headphone makers. For obvious reasons, but also for reasons that go beyond sales. “We do business with 65 brands, who only sell them online. There’s no sensory experience online, the customer only knows what the product looks like.” Actual appreciation of their craft, from someone who truly understands it, is rare, he points out. “So these brands are interested in our meetups and help facilitate it. CEOs also join the meetups sometimes.”
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So what happens at a meetup? You bring in your headphones and favourite gear — there’s no bar in terms of brands — and discuss the nitty gritties with like-minded enthusiasts. This gives you a chance to try out the gear owned by others as well, to sample a gadget you might be aspiring for and to exchange notes. That, according to Raghav, is an added perk of being an audiophile. “People who are into high end speakers and home theatres form an even more niche community, but they can’t hold public meetups, because you can’t just carry that gear around. Here, the most you’ll need is a laptop bag.”
This will be the company’s first Headphone Connect event in Chennai, after having hosted multiple ones at Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram and Bengaluru for three years. Raghav thought of expanding here city once he realised “The Indian Audiophile Forum on Facebook has over 6,000 members, with many active people from Chennai.” “Some enthusiasts also bring their friends and familes along, and someone or the other invariably takes an initiative to explain everything to them,” he says, adding that only among the like-minded can you really test out the abilities of your gear, which otherwise is relegated to a mere daily-use gadget or even less. “Think of it as an old man’s club going to a vintage car rally,” he says, “And using their collection the way it’s meant to.”
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Headphone Connect will be held at Writer’s Cafe, Gopalapuram, on October 21, from 10 am to 2 pm. Registrations cost ₹599 per head, inclusive of refreshments. RSVP at www.headphonezone.in/pages/headphone-connect-chennai.