It's a mindset. I was fiddling with a suitcase record player jacked into a musical instrument amp and PA speaker when I was a teen. I have progressed since then.
There's a darker view of self-professed audiophiles for whom "source material" is meant to demonstrate the virtues of the system. That, to me, has nothing to do with music.
I don't view this hobby as an exclusive club. The boundaries are limitless in terms of accumulated knowledge and know how.