I'm not sure I even like to think of myself as an audiophile :-)
I have many friends who are avid music lovers - listen all the time to wide ranging music, go to shows, etc.
I have several friends who seem to really enjoy listening to my system and appreciate it for the quality of the sound.
I have two friends that I both see regularly and who avidly seek out listening to music on my system. They seek it out, we listen for an extended period, you can see them actively enjoying the activity.
These same two friends have both bought some nice gear - one let me buy her a full system and uses it regularly at her house. She definitely hears the difference between good or bad, but is solidly in the music-lover camp. I could easily imagine her using the same (very nice) system forever.
The other friend doesn't have lots of spare financial resources, but loves the nice pair of speakers he bought, and I'm sure better equipment in time is something he will pursue.
In general, though, I find people all the time who are passionate about music, but I find very few people who care much about gear or any of the other audiophile trappings.
I have many friends who are avid music lovers - listen all the time to wide ranging music, go to shows, etc.
I have several friends who seem to really enjoy listening to my system and appreciate it for the quality of the sound.
I have two friends that I both see regularly and who avidly seek out listening to music on my system. They seek it out, we listen for an extended period, you can see them actively enjoying the activity.
These same two friends have both bought some nice gear - one let me buy her a full system and uses it regularly at her house. She definitely hears the difference between good or bad, but is solidly in the music-lover camp. I could easily imagine her using the same (very nice) system forever.
The other friend doesn't have lots of spare financial resources, but loves the nice pair of speakers he bought, and I'm sure better equipment in time is something he will pursue.
In general, though, I find people all the time who are passionate about music, but I find very few people who care much about gear or any of the other audiophile trappings.