Do people with good stereos like music? Of course. The real question is whether they like music more than they like equipment.
One of the major problems in evaluating which they like better is that there is more good gear coming out than good music.
I have about $50-60K in my 2 channel rig, 1200+ cd's, about the same number of lp's, and I still buy 2-5 new things each month. However, at least half of what I buy is older stuff. And half of the new stuff I buy ends up being crap. So when I buy music, about half the time it's nothing new, and half of the rest of the time it's not so great.
In constrast, when I buy a new piece of gear (like my Cary SLP-05 preamp last month), I rekindle my relationship with all my music, and it makes me want to go buy more.
BOTTOM LINE: you could figure this out by asking how much music people are buying, whether they play an instrument regularly (and by play, I mean actually play, not "know how" to play) and whether they go out to hear music. The real music lovers (in my opinion) are buying, playing and going if they are physically able.
Rich
One of the major problems in evaluating which they like better is that there is more good gear coming out than good music.
I have about $50-60K in my 2 channel rig, 1200+ cd's, about the same number of lp's, and I still buy 2-5 new things each month. However, at least half of what I buy is older stuff. And half of the new stuff I buy ends up being crap. So when I buy music, about half the time it's nothing new, and half of the rest of the time it's not so great.
In constrast, when I buy a new piece of gear (like my Cary SLP-05 preamp last month), I rekindle my relationship with all my music, and it makes me want to go buy more.
BOTTOM LINE: you could figure this out by asking how much music people are buying, whether they play an instrument regularly (and by play, I mean actually play, not "know how" to play) and whether they go out to hear music. The real music lovers (in my opinion) are buying, playing and going if they are physically able.
Rich