Do people don't care or don't know?

Honestly, I think life is like this in general. I've been on friends' boats and had a blast. I've watched a baseball game from a club level suite and enjoyed the hell out of it. Some of the greatest times of my life have occured in some of the most expensive cities in the world.

But when push comes to shove, would I own a 30-foot speedboat? Would I spend $200 to see a ballgame? Would I live in the heart of midtown Manhattan for $3,500 per month?

Not really. I think audiophilia is just another area of life that possesses this element for a lot of people.

Very well said, Thedautch. Another way of approaching this would be to let folks hear the many "secondary" systems in audiophile bedrooms or offices which can be really fun for much less money.
Audiogon has helped me assemble quite a few systems for myself, and my family, and each system has provided that exquisite feeling to someone, despite being affordable.
I have also had the more rare experience of playing some really fine recordings which failed to connect with the intended recipient, since there's no accounting for some people's taste in sound, or music.

__________"So I guess most people
__________ are just not aware of
__________ what a good system should
__________ sound like and are deprived
__________ of some good music."

Your statement above also applies to most audiophiles.

what astounds me is how good the cheap equipment now is

people don't know that for about 1700$ you can have something that will bring far more satistaction than the 1500 computor, 400 dollar ipod, and hundreds for compressed to hell downloaded mp3 mp4 crap. i have the dared vp-16 (359$), the mmf-5 tt (600), the heart cd player (i payed 750) and a wright preamp (900) driving ciare ch 250 open baffles. to do it over i would use a onix cd (300) and a hagerman bugle (200) saving 1150.

also a shame that the houses are not built with acoustics in mind. the dumbass magazines do a disservice to themselves picturing midfi equipment in hard modern ultraclean rooms glass,hardwood floors, and vast expanses of wallboard. the american livingrooms could be so much better for sound than the small european parlours but nobody has clue one.

ahkba,

Beauty is in the in eye of the beholder. One system may sound horrible to you but, be the next person's perfect system. If there was such a thing as a perfect system, wouldn't every audiophile have one?