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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.
teajay
ehart
215 posts
 
One point I would make is that at least in my middle-class world, it is a mistake to think that most people have *any* hobby comparable to being an audiophile. Most people I know don't collect wine or watches or anything of the sort. They are busy saving for college for their kids, or retirement, or trying to figure out whether they really need two cars or not. So when they hear someone is spending $5,000 or $10,000 to do something that can be done reasonably well for $500, it seems, well, odd to them.
strapper211
119 posts
 
Audiophiles are percieved as wackos because we spend great sums of money to create music that can be reproduced for a lot less.What non-audiophiles do not know is the feeling of looking at your music collection and bringing any numbers of artists into your room for a thrilling illusion of the event,they do not get the rush.I know I do and the pleasure I get from that is priceless.If they do not understand tough s--t.
Robert
wildoats
339 posts
 
I know an audiophile who will tell me about a recent component he just got, a Moon Eclipse cd player for example. He tells me how extraordinary, incredible it sounds. A few days later, or a couple of weeks, he has sold the player on audiogon because he doesn't think it sounds that great anymore, and is telling me how great the new one he got sounds. Uh, what happened?

Is he really hearing something great, or is it great because it's new? Mentally, he has convinced himself it will sound great before he even hooks it up. Then when the excitement of "new" is gone, so is the great sound.

Sometimes he even listens to a whole song before he is in the back changing tubes, cables, etc.

While this is fine with me, different strokes you know, don't you think some people might find him a little strange.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,217 posts
 
Great posts by Rnm4 and Ehart.
strapper211
119 posts
 
Wildoats you are correct some audiophiles get a certain high from a new piece of equipment,when the high wears off it is back to the drawing board.But after 30 years of doing this you realize you can chase your tail all day so I buy this very expensive equipment try to match it carfully and live with it.But I do demo new products at home as they come out,if it is better than what I got and fits with the system,I make a change.
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