How rare is an audiophile

The number of "audiophiles" is down about 6 db compared to 1980.

There are tons of people out there who "like" music. They want their music close by, but don’t want to be tethered by the physical or mental constraints of being an "audiophile" and/or music "lover". The diference being that the music "lover" is comfortable with prioritizing the music listening experience to the degree where it becomes (literally) front and center, and fully engulfs the senses for some period of time. Those attributes, accompanyed by a high level of appreciation for, and curiosity about, the equipment that makes it all happen completes the definition of the term "audiophile" in my opinion.

I enjoy observing people involved in other hobbies, and the parallels to audio enthusiasts. We’ve got waytoomuchstuff parked in our garages, too. We are involved in a ridiculous number of car events. Here we go: Street Rods, Muscle Cars, British Cars, European Cars, Ford Powered Cars, Shelby events and, of course, Sunbeam Tigers in particular. What’s the point here? I think we can’t ignore the element of nostalgia as a factor. in the audiphile community. Most of us (?) have a emotional connection to our (past) lives, the music, and the gear. Younger people today are living in the present and haven’t experienced the historical content in just how important music and equipment is in their lives. Just like those basic biological functions, it may be decades before they appreciate what they had.

And, one more point. Whenever I get the opportunity to snag a good example of vintage hifi gear, I like to grab them and hang on to them for my grandkids. I’m also finding that I, literally, can’t give the stuff away. Times are different now.

30 years from now the young people of today will be in their 50’s and "listening" to perfect music transmitted to their brains telepathically. Then they’ll say to each other: "Ah, remember the good ’ole days when we danced around and enjoyed listening to MP3s wearing those really cool-looking ear buds? I miss those times."

I’d just like to say that the gals who tolerate us boys and our hobbies are the nicest, most patient, loving and accommodating people in the world. I’ve seen this across mulitple spectrums/hobbies. They are the best of the best.

Here I am, talking to my gear head buddies about the time I broke the clutch cable on my Corvair at the dragstrip (when I was 18), and only had one tool with me -- a pair of Vicegrips -- clamped it down on the cable, make 3 more passes, and drove the car home. The number of times my loving wife has sat patiently thru this story would take all my fingers and toes (in @asvjerry ’s case 19!) to count.

This is in addition to sitting there, nodding her hear during conversations about air gap flux density, room nodes, and the highly energetic 104th demo of Fourplay’s Between the Sheets on my system.

She, and my car buddy's companions, are the best!!

fyi- personalized plates on my daily driver -- "LUV HZ"

I got a "two-fer" here. A "tribute" to my first wife, AND a statement of my passion for (just about) anything that makes noise. Must be an audiophile?