I believe that it is a more personal and intimate hobby....When was the last time a beautiful lady was swooned back to your place after telling her that you just bought a new pair of B&W 801's !!! ??? But, and I'm just generalizing here, if you told her you just bought a new Porsche.....well that's different. It is more of a specialzed hobby that is between you and the creation of music through these components. It's inward not outward....for most Audiophiles. Then I love when you get the my ''boom box'' sounds just a good as your stereo....it's all the same. Yes, and so is riding in a Pinto vs. that Porsche.....It's all about the music and what music does for you and to you
Why are audiophiles perceived as being wackos?
I have been pursuing this wonderful hobby of high end stereo equipment and music for almost 30 years. I do consider myself a passionate audiophile who loves to listen to music on a daily basis. The reason for this post is because it has been my experience that the great majority of people who do not pursue this hobby think of audiophiles as being wackos/screwballs because of the amount of time, money, and passion they put towards their systems. I find it very interesting that individuals who spend tremendous amounts of money and time pursuing esoteric tastes such as wines, watches, coins, etc, are considered connoisseurs or aficionados with a serious passion that is often respected even if it is not the other person's cup of tea. Another example would be people who love high end cars/boats who read all the magazines, go to the shows and invest large sums of money to purchase and tweak their cars or boats to get the last bit of ultimate performance out of their prized possessions. So I don't believe the negative viewpoint towards passionate audiophiles revolves around the amount of money that they can invest in their equipment. So my question for all you GON members is what would be your explanation for people outside our hobby having such a negative or condescending attitude towards our passion, where they infrequently would not have the same attitude towards other people's hobbies and passionate but unique pursuits? It would be a pleasure to hear about your experiences and what your explanation would be for this phenomena towards our hobby.