au'di-o-phile. n. 1. A person who exhibits extreme obsessive/compulsive behavior that happens to be directed at achieving perfect music reproduction, even at the risk of compromising their personal relationships and financial security. 2. A delusional person who believes he or she can find the "holy grail" of perfect music reproduction, a condition often manifest by unrelenting searches for new audio equipment and frequent pronouncements of the type: "If only I had a [INSERT NAME OF AN OBSCURE OR EXPENSIVE PIECE OF MUSIC REPRODUCTION GEAR HERE]." 3. Any of a class of people who dedicate far more time and money developing a music reproduction system to capture the essence of a "live" concert, than they spend actually going to live concerts. 4. Any person who is willing to spend more money to purchase a single "upgrade" AC power cord for an electronic device than is earned in an entire year by 70% of the other people in the world. 5. A malcontent who devotes inordinate time visiting audio equipment dealers, auditioning new audio gear, reading audio magazines, trying seemingly irrational "tweaks" like demagnetizing CDs, continually adjusting their speaker placement and changing cables, and scanning audio-related internet chat rooms looking for other ways to achieve better music reproduction. 6. A person whose life is characterized by extended periods of dissatisfaction and apprehension punctuated by occassional periods of euphoria and contentment induced by sublime music reproduction. 7. You and I.
