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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
brucegel
151 posts
 
All thing find their level.Eveyone gets what they give.Its only about the music."Same as it ever was"(David Byrne)
jax2
3,031 posts
 
Thought all you "wackos" might enjoy this new thread that was directly inspired by this one.

Marco
cwlondon
1,210 posts
 
CDC

In my view, people who can't cook but still spend $50,000 on a kitchen, or people who can't drive but still order Porsches with "Tiptronic" transmissions -- they are no more and no less sane than audiophiles who spend thousands speaker cables.

(If anything, I might argue that they are LESS sane, because in my thesis that only audiophiles care about audio, we assume that the audiophile, at least to some degree, USES the equipment.)

In the end, whether or not Mr and Mrs Super Rich Famous and Glamorous care about high end, I will still obsess over it, contribute to this forum and tweak the placement of my speakers into perfect equilateral triangles until I am dead and buried.

However, I maintain my position that audiophiles are "perceived as being wackos" (remember why we started this thread?) for no other reason other than wackos are the marketing face of the industry and have failed to create or associate any luxury goods cachet with their products.

I think this is unfortunate because it keeps the market small and contributes to the prejudices that started this thread.

Your comment about Marantz and Sony is a popular argument but here, too, I respectfully disagree.

GM may focus on minivans to the exclusion of 400 horsepower sports cars, but that doesn't negate Porsche's or Ferrari's ability to capture the imagination of the public, build genuine, successful businesses and/or become status symbols to aspirational, mass affluent consumers.

Like your $279.00 tuner, there are inexpensive Japanese cars that can be tweaked out to outperform a 911, but that fact isn't going to put Porsche out of business any time soon.

Oh...and one other thing: I was in SONY Style the other day on Madison Avenue and it seems that they, in fact, are catching on to this idea.

In the back of their showroom, in boutiquey little rooms, they now have insanely expensive, limited production headphones, digital cameras and other quirky overpriced and completely unnecessary products, far beyond the reach of our grubby wacko hands, displayed in huge vault like glass cases and marketing as their luxury sub brand: Sony Qualia.

Again, only the wackos have made this wacko.

Because actually, it is a joy, a luxury, and something that no one who can afford it should be without.
brucegel
151 posts
 
Somewhere in all this coveting lets try and remember to give our wives and children a hug and tell them how much we love them.Unless you are a self absorbed single guy then you may rub the bubinga cabinet with a one hundred dollar bottle of purified tung oil.
cwlondon
1,210 posts
 
Brucegel

I give both my wife and son a hug at and tell them I love them as much as I possibly can.

If "wackos" weren't running the hi fi industry, then I might be the one getting more hugs and reassurance from my wife, despite the fact that there are six foot Magneplanar Tympani panels dominating our living room.
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