Slappy, as a techfile, you are just an audiophile in the early stages of development :-)
Besides enjoying technology, the aspect that gets into the blood of engineering types working or hobbying in this area is being fascinated by the relationship of electronics and physics to sound. The ear is so good that it hears noise and distortion at extremely low levels. Sound is very fragile; it is easy to distort it with poor design but a labor of love to preserve it intact. Every manufacturer making those lovely electronics works to control vibration and a/c, and audiophiles are only extending the same process.
Besides enjoying technology, the aspect that gets into the blood of engineering types working or hobbying in this area is being fascinated by the relationship of electronics and physics to sound. The ear is so good that it hears noise and distortion at extremely low levels. Sound is very fragile; it is easy to distort it with poor design but a labor of love to preserve it intact. Every manufacturer making those lovely electronics works to control vibration and a/c, and audiophiles are only extending the same process.