Are audiophile products designed to initially impress then fatigue to make you upgrade?

When I sold stereo equipment in the 1980's, we had a Cerwin Vega knock off (5 inch woofer, ported, etc) that was all boom and highs. Sounded great to the teenagers who came in for their first stereo and played the latest  Alice Cooper, AC/DC or Led Zepplin.  We did try and sell them good stuff, but the good stuff sounded bland to them and they never took our advice. I even had a friend who brought the knock offs instead of the Mirage speakers we had, which were damn good.

Today? I think there is a little, but damn, if you like screeching highs and big bottoms, so be it. I'm talking speakers here of course....  

I suspect the majority of audiophiles put together a system and run it until it breaks or some major life change intervenes.  The people who post on sites like these with their constant equipment changing are probably in the minority of audiophiles.  For instance, if you put together a good system in 1990, it still sounds great.  Are there better systems now available, yes, but there were better systems available back in 1990.  Some people think of the equipment side as a journey, while other stay at home.

First CD player in our family was a $1300 Hitachi, 1985-ish. ~$3800 in todays money. Lasted over 10 years, then we lost track of it after gifting it to a friend. 

@kenjit Wrote:

Cd players used to be built to last a lifetime and the ones that were built in the 70's are still sought after for that reason. 

That's funny! 🤣

Mike

No listeners are swayed by audiophile products that initially impress esp during a 1hr demo then the buyer has regret as they realise that the sound that grabbed them grates after more extended listening.

They hope the product will burn in and sometimes the ears develop to accept the sound but most of the time the buyer listens with a what if...?

So not design of the product but more the frail human mind.