audiophile

American  

[aw-dee-uh-fahyl] / ˈɔ di əˌfaɪl /

noun

1. a person who is especially interested in high-fidelity sound reproduction.

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audiophile British  

/ ˈɔːdɪəʊˌfaɪl /

noun

1. a person who has a great interest in high-fidelity sound reproduction

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Usage

What is an audiophile? An audiophile is a person who is interested in high-fidelity sound—that is, sound that’s recorded or reproduced with very little distortion from the original. High-fidelity sound is sound reproduced in a way that closely follows the original as much as possible. Audiophiles are professionals or enthusiasts who enjoy high-fidelity sound recordings, whether they’re producing the recordings or just listening to them. Audiophiles often have a strong knowledge of how sound is recorded or played back. They likely have an understanding of speakers, headphones, microphones, audio converters, and other sound equipment. Audiophiles are often technology enthusiasts and may make a hobby out of fine-tuning their systems in order to get the best sound quality for the least hassle. Audiophiles may be interested in music, voice acting, film, environmental sounds, or any other type of sound that can be recorded and played back. Interests can be as varied as audiophiles themselves. Example: Opal was a bit of an audiophile and helped me set up a fantastic sound system for my house.

Etymology

Origin of audiophile

First recorded in 1950–55; audio- + -phile

Explanation

An audiophile is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound production. Your friend who's always adjusting the equalizer on the car stereo and spends a lot of money on "the best" speakers may be an audiophile. The word audiophile combines the Latin audio-, meaning "sound" or "hearing," with the Greek -phile, meaning "one who loves." So an audiophile is literally a person who loves hearing sounds — and wants them to sound the best they can. In a home setting, an audiophile wants to capture the experience of a live musical performance. This requires specialized equipment, such as high-end speakers, and music recorded in "lossless" formats that retain all the sound data. It might even require a room with specialized acoustics!

Example Sentences

Amoeba is best known for its ample vinyl and CD stocks, but its three locations sell a little bit of everything: books, DVDs and Blu-Rays, audiophile gear, and customized merchandise.

From Slate • Mar. 8, 2025

What about a box set fit for a budding audiophile?

From Seattle Times • Nov. 20, 2023

Tell me you’re an audiophile without telling me you’re an audiophile — that’s the kind of vibe these project.

From The Verge • Jul. 16, 2022

For the audiophile who hates the compressed quality of streaming music, the Ives is sold as a two-CD set through the L.A.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 4, 2021

Still, when I referenced virtually any element of it to my audiophile sources, they made it clear I had not gone far enough.

From Washington Post