I'm frustrated with people who don't ...

Food tickles many of our senses simultaneously. It can be seen by the eye with judgment passed either way. It can be smelled by the nose and judgment passed either way. It can be tasted with the mouth and judgment passed either way. The texture can be felt with one's hands or in one's mouth and judgment passed either way. In no way can hi-fi be "consumed" in such a sensually rich manner. The one thing that food and hi-fi have in common is that they are both very personal preferences and no too people may share the same exact preferences. Sean
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hmmmmm...interesting post Sean...at first I agreed completely...but then after thinking...this is my take.

Some high end gear...well...to me...lots of it is very beautiful to look at. I'm sure that any person that walked into someones house and saw a full blown JRDG setup would be impressed and inquisitive before even hearing it.

With regards to touch...the first time I turned the volume knob on a piece of high end gear, there was a tactile sensation that had been unmatched by the previous mass market gear that I had been accustomed to.

With regards to smell...I hear ya

With regards to taste...I guess we'll just have to hunt down one of those people with that rare disorder that causes them to eat just about anything...grind up a few different components...feed them to them...and then get their feedback afterwards. This would of course have to be a blind test as you wouldn't want them to assume that the prettier gear will taste better than the uglier gear. (just kidding...children, please do not try this at home)

ok...so I'm in a wierd mood today.

A lot of good comments here.

I'm not sure if I would conceder myself an audiophile or not, but I know what I like and what moves me. It has taken me 3 decades to really satisfy my ears, and I'm still not done.

I learned many years ago not to bring up and discuss this hobby with anyone. If I'm now asked anything about my system or equipment, and that is very very rare, I down play it and keep my comments short and simple.

I also found that most people can go listen to a $100,000.00
system and then go to Best Buy and listen to one and then not be able to tell you if one sounded better then the other one or not. If they do remember that one sounded better or more pleasing to them they can't tell you why.

I have one room in my house set up to A/B different networks, drivers, horns, speakers, and sometimes amps. I compare a lot of drivers and horns. I found that most people can tell the difference in equipment only if they can A/B them. Sometimes all it takes is a quick flip of the A/B switch. Other times I have to replay the sound or sounds over and over again for some people to pick out the difference and discribe it to me.

My kids grew up helping me listen to and compare different equipment this way. It is refreshing for me to listen to the adjectives that a non audio person will use to discribe the sound. I may say muffled, they would ask if I stuffed a sock in the throat of the horn. Sorry, I'm getting off of the subject so I'll end now.