How To Field Questions About Your Audiophile Lifestyle...

I'm about a clean aesthetic, so the source components/amps etc are in a separate room, and cables for my speakers are essentially hidden.  Thus people really just see a pair of nice looking speakers and - if they aren't interested in such things, don't comment.  If they are it's usually "what nice looking speakers, how do they sound?"
But man, when I see some of the systems some audiophiles have, every bit of technology just in your face, cables everywhere, risers, tweaks on walls, etc...yeah...that would take some 'splainin'

It’s interesting reading that some people seem to experience negativity about this hobby from people they know.

That hasn’t been the case for me. Certainly lots of my friends and acquaintances are not audiophiles, but I can’t remember ever getting even a sideways look if the subject comes up, or when anyone visits and sees my system. They just see some nice looking speakers and sometimes comment on the nice looking speakers. And if someone is interested they listen and are usually blown way by the sound. They get it. Not that they’d buy such gear for themselves, but they aren’t left baffled as to why I get enjoyment out of it.

(But then again, I don’t have a system with all the nutty looking stuff like cables on risers, every bit of gear exposed, vibrating discs and bowls around the room etc...Lots of audiophiles it seems want to see every bit of technology they paid for placed prominently in the room, so it ends up looking more like an electronics lab vs a domestic environment).

I also deal with some reactions to my home theater set up, which is the same room as my two channel speakers/listening. I turned my living room, which is the most prominent room in the house, the first one you see when you walk in the door, into a home theater with a giant projection screen, surround sound etc. Complete re-build, with dropped felt-lined ceiling, automated 4 way masking, projector on rising lift, etc. It’s the kind of idea that would give many wives a heart attack (and almost did mine, I promised it would come out ok).

But I think because I was so concerned with good aesthetics myself, I worked super hard to make it a beautiful, integrated looking room vs a "man cave" moved to the main floor. Turned out great and even other guys wives express admiration.

So I think that, yes, when we start talking about what we paid for our gear it can start looking goofy to other people. But I don’t see why we have to do that. Then beyond that, it seems to me good aesthetics go quite a way to making our hobby look reasonable to non-audiophiles.

I've been the "go-to" guy among my friends and acquaintances for advice on TVs and home theater, as they all know I'm in to that (or was, a lot more in years past).   But I've given up because the same thing happens every time "What TV should I buy?"  I ask them carefully about their budget, where it will be placed, what they watch etc, and suggest - without geeking out - possibilities.   And inevitably they may as well not have talked to me because they just end up going to Best Buy and picking whatever seems like a good deal on sale.   

Many HT geeks have the same experience.  People just want convenience, don't want to think too hard about any peripheral concerns they don't care about.

I think people strictly in to high end audio experience less of these questions because far fewer people want to upgrade their stereo vs buying new TVs etc.

Wise words, geoffkait.  Agreed.

hifiman5,

You bring up a good distinction - one that is much more in the public air these days having been raised by studies of people’s happiness .

I’ve briefly pondered it’s applicability to high end audio and can’t say I’ve come to a conclusion yet:

Does our hobby exemplify the desire for "owning things/possessions?"

On one hand, it IS about owning material objects that make us happy, and it does seem pretty materialism based - we lust after "things we want to own" e.g. the latest speaker, amplifier etc.

On the other hand, we use these objects as "experience machines" - to generate different experiences for us each day. The experiences of listening to different music and musicians, the home equivalent of going to a concert.

So it seems hard to pigeon hole which, if either, category - object or experience - our hobby falls in to.

(I think my inclination, probably shared by others, is to spin it more towards the "experience" side of things, which may be true but may also be our wanting to ennoble our efforts. On the other hand, people rushing in to Best Buy to get the latest TV on sale could say the same thing - it brings them experiences of the different things they’ll watch - sports, movies etc. But then, things like Big Screen TVs and the like are typically held up as examples of the "shiny materialistic objects" of materialism. So if one is defending high end audio on the same ground as defending TVs or other material goods, it seems a bit more suspect).