Wow - this thread has gotten more responses than any I've posted.
So it seems my experience is not unique. Most people simply don't have the ear, wallet or patience for this hobby.
I often tell people (half jokingly) that a good audio system is better suited for regular people than audiophiles like us. A typical person spending a few thousand on a stereo is a fantastic deal. They will probably keep most of the components for 15 years, so amortized over the years, it is a small yearly cost and of course rewards greatly.
For people like many of us, who are always looking for better performance, buying and selling gear (usually loosing money), trying cables and tweeks, etc it is not nearly as good a deal!!!
Another recent experience that opened my eyes to how skewed many of our value system is. Someone who works in my building mentioned to my Girlfriend that a package I had delivered looked like an LP, ans he mentioned he loved vinyl, etc. Hearing this I talked to him about his collection, etc, and he said his table was broken. I replied "then I have a great deal for you" I have a used WTT I am getting ready to sell (since I got a Raven One and Phantom) I told him the table was only around $750. He looked at me like I had 2 heads. It seemed to him $750 was an outrageous sum to pay for a turntable, new or used. I finally saw it from his perspective, and thought he would think there was something seriously wrong with me if he knew the retail cost of my new table (bottom of the line)/arm/cart/cable was close to 14K.
It was a real reality check and eye opener.
So it seems my experience is not unique. Most people simply don't have the ear, wallet or patience for this hobby.
I often tell people (half jokingly) that a good audio system is better suited for regular people than audiophiles like us. A typical person spending a few thousand on a stereo is a fantastic deal. They will probably keep most of the components for 15 years, so amortized over the years, it is a small yearly cost and of course rewards greatly.
For people like many of us, who are always looking for better performance, buying and selling gear (usually loosing money), trying cables and tweeks, etc it is not nearly as good a deal!!!
Another recent experience that opened my eyes to how skewed many of our value system is. Someone who works in my building mentioned to my Girlfriend that a package I had delivered looked like an LP, ans he mentioned he loved vinyl, etc. Hearing this I talked to him about his collection, etc, and he said his table was broken. I replied "then I have a great deal for you" I have a used WTT I am getting ready to sell (since I got a Raven One and Phantom) I told him the table was only around $750. He looked at me like I had 2 heads. It seemed to him $750 was an outrageous sum to pay for a turntable, new or used. I finally saw it from his perspective, and thought he would think there was something seriously wrong with me if he knew the retail cost of my new table (bottom of the line)/arm/cart/cable was close to 14K.
It was a real reality check and eye opener.