Is Budget Audiophile an oxymoron?

Real keys for success for budget audiophiles are luck and tolerance melded with skepticism. I have had several lucky system upgrades thanks to used items from  generous friends.  And the house we moved to 10 years ago has a room that has worked out acoustically extremely nicely with my electronics with intentional treatment limited to a rug.  I am tolerant of some shortcomings and skeptical of the value-added  metrics of many items. 

I have never heard anything like many of this forum's far fancier systems, certainly not for any length of time.   And the semi-high end one I am privileged to hear (over decades of changes) is very often considerably better than mine. So nice! But, I may be fooling myself in hearing, every once in a while, a song that isn't nearly as good as when played on my stereo. At least at the moment. Probably due to his electrostatics vs, my paper cones and our individual predilections. Note to self: make a list and try again.

I can live with one sub and zero fancy anything, other than performance and recording. Sometimes the experience is so truly transporting and I cannot imagine living with lesser equipment.  So I can understand how the chase gets underway.  All in all I have tremendous enjoyment of the music without the expense and anxiety that comes with the never-ending search for perfection.

Audio = Music.  Phile = Love.  That's what it as all about for me. 

But I really should address that problem with the Thorens....

It’s only an oxymoron to elitist @$$hats. 

To answer your title question, absolutely not. "Audiophile" doesn't hinge on the amount of money spent. Anyone who tells you it does isn't worth your time because they're doing what Alan Parsons said so-called audiophiles do. 

It depends, depending on the type of audiophile.  For the type of audiophile only focuses on SQ, budget audiophile is NOT an exymoron.  For the type of audiophile purports price defines hi-fi or plays music, then yes budget audiophile is an oxymoron.  So, to recap

1. For SQ-centric audiophile - budget audiophile IS NOT an exymoron.

2. For PRICE-centric audiophile - budget audiophile IS an exymoron.

Got it?  What type of audiophile are you are or have you been?

No! The issue with many frugal Audiophiles is the constant need to devalue audio components that have more potential. "Law of Diminishing Returns" or "Rabbit Hole" are common negatively biased catch phrases that only serve personal validation. Good enough will satisfy some Audiophiles but not all!