Why Don't More People Love Audio?

Most people are able to love and appreciate music without obsessive concerns about sonic quality. It's not because they are ignorant or uncaring. It's well known that any number of professional musicians (classical & pop) do not have audiophile type systems, yet I don't think that anyone can seriously question their commitment to music. Audiophiles are a small minority who by definition obsess about sound quality. Most other people are able to simply enjoy the music. BTW, I'm both a music lover and an audiophile.

These are the same people who keep Dr. Bose rich and famous.Or, are looking to score Sound Lab-in walls 'cause speaker wire on the floors is a taboo. I am responding, but I don't usually give much thought to the subject.The thought of going to Wall-Mart for discount Vandy 5's would be more than I could handle. Does K-Mart carry Cardas? Yes, I'm keeping the day job, but this is how it would be if everybody were like us.

I think the difference is that being an audiophile is a very pasionate and creative hobby. I think the things you mentioned are related to status and image. Not that they dont share some characterstics but one is a lot more indepth then the other.

I am confused. I think Porsches and Ferraris lend themselves to passion and expertise and yet they are purchased as status symbols by idiots who probably never learn to drive them. How many Nikon camera owners know their way around a darkroom? How many Rolex Sea Dweller wearers ever swim beneath 3 feet? So why doesn't anyone care about high end audio?

The original question was why don't people who buy expensive things also buy expensive audio gear, not why are those people not audiophiles. I think the fact that they're not audiophiles or music lovers (or both) is adequately explained by the amount of time these pursuits take. Just like any hobby well done, it's time consuming and most people with a fair amount of money don't have time for too many well done hobbies.

I think the reason these people don't buy high-end / expensive audio systems is that the main impetus for owning other high-end things without being avidly into the hobby is status, and there isn't much status to be had by owning a high-end audio system. How many non-audiophiles have you ever really impressed with your system? Not just, "Wow, that sounds great" but a reaction that shows you really got their interest for even, say, 15 minutes. I think this is one of the reasons HT is so much more popular - it is easy to truly grab somebody's attention with even a halfway decent HT setup, even if they're not into it themselves. Super Bowl at my house on the new big screen and surround sound! A HT setup does have a fair amount of status associated with it, a high-end audio system just doesn't.