Why Don't More People Love Audio?


Can anyone explain why high end audio seems to be forever stuck as a cottage industry? Why do my rich friends who absolutely have to have the BEST of everything and wouldn't be caught dead without expensive clothes, watch, car, home, furniture etc. settle for cheap mass produced components stuck away in a closet somewhere? I can hardly afford to go out to dinner, but I wouldn't dream of spending any less on audio or music.
tuckermorleyfca6
Hey everybody,
In my opinion (and experience) our hobby is rather like a religion - tubes vs. chips, analog vs. digital, catholics vs. protestants. I believe whichever church you belong to - you were at some point inducted into it by some individual more enthusiastic about it than you. Whatever convinced you initially (penis envy, cathardic listening sessions/demonstrations, etc.) is/are the same thing(s) that will convince others. I suppose the reason why more people (IMHO) don't love audio is that we probably don't take it seriously enough to: dawn our short-sleeved white button-down shirts, black slacks and tyes, hop on our bicycles and ride around town door-to-door and shove it down peoples' throats. Sorry "Latter-Day Saints"...I'm just picking on you for the mental picture. I just think it's funny reading all the extremely furvent comments. The "tone" of quite a few of the posts seems to conjure images of audiophiles sinking on the Titanic, of the last few drops of water evaporating from the surface of the Earth as our Sun goes supernova. RELAX PEOPLE!!! Human nature pretty well dictates that there will ALWAYS be people not satisfied with the status quo of sound, video, cars, ashtrays, whatever - and as a result there will ALWAYS be someone who likes it just a little more than someone else or thinks that they have the "ultimate answer" or who just wants to make a buck. And on the 8th day God went down to the Earth because nobody in Heaven was aware of the latest advances in Teflon-coated speaker cables nor what effect they will have on His stereo" oh, and, Thou shalt not add, nor subtract from The Absolute Sound." ;)
Maybe they do, but have you ever been to an audio store where people who wander in are treated nicely, and have people patiently help them put together a MUSICAL system for their budget ? Very rarely in my experience, so how can you expect people to love something they aren't informed about ?
It's audio's fault, even the term " High End " or " TAS " can be offoutting .
More exposure to music in the schools, and parents taking children to live music events seems like a " natural " solution.
A.J.,
I hope I didn't offend you. My point was just that after reading about the first 20 or so responses (randomly throughout this thread) it seemed to me that people were less concerned about "why more people don't love audio" and more worried about "how soon will my beloved hi-fi hobby come to it's bitter end."
Bipolars tend to get lost and carried away in the music. Upgrade on a whim for a fleeting perception of hearing something better. Hi end audio would not be the same without them.