Why Don't More People Love Audio?

We're guilty of projection. Most of us are into gear as a means to the end of hearing moving, exhilirating music, on demand, in our homes (I actually believe this). We also tend to think that others want, or would want, the same experience. But they don't. Like one of the earlier posts, my wife knows good sound because we have it in our home, but she almost never goes to the big rig in the dedicated room. I have had many friends sit in my dedicated room and I have played music chosen by them on my $20k+ system. They say "WOW," sometimes genuinely amazed at the realism, power, intimacy, and immediacy of a good system, but none of them has changed their priorities to invest even a quarter of that amount in their own systems, even though they could. Music over my stereo is an ecstatic experience that gives me goose bumps and brings an occasional tear to my eye. I would never give it up! My conclusion about others, though, regretably, is that very few of them have ever been moved by music the way most audiophiles are on a regular basis, no matter how good the system. That's the main reason most people don't pursue hi-end audio, even inexpensive hi-end, which can be quite good; they just don't care that much about music. This is not elitist, it's just the way it is. The quality of their systems reflects the priority of music in their lives. High equipment prices and snobby dealers sure don't help, but they're not the main limiter of the appeal of hi-end audio. When I reluctantly came to this conclusion it saddened me, but now I don't worry about it, and instead focus on my own experience of music.