HiFi lacking social recognition?

foster nails it. even most record/music collectors have no use for audiophiles.

Interesting, I've read a few things and it surely seems that most people would rather invest in putting together a home theater system vs a hi-end audio system. And it had little to do with money, whether it was $1,000 or 50,000. Including building a specialized home theater room and purchasing Ht gear from the same brands that sell audiophile gear. I know many audiophiles don't bother with home theater but I see no reason you can't enjoy both. I find home theater just as if not more enjoyable than hi-fi reproduction. IMO Hi-fi audio reproduction will always be a smaller niche market, it's just too self absorbed.

IME most people rate Audiophiles only a very little bit higher than child molesters... which I find hard to understand. Why are audiophiles so easy to marginalize???

:o

I think atleast some of the upper class income folks do have nice systems, they simply dont change gear very often.
With all the business, travel,& social commitments those folks have they do not have time to listen like others do, hell if I could fly first class anytime to vacation and see the world with a pocket full of cash I would probably not care about this hobby as much either........but I would be going to DOZENS of concerts yearly!

Chadnliz, you are probably right about busy lifestyle vs time to procratsinate and even my buddys in audio retail admit that it is an 80-20 rule again: 80% of their revenues come from 20% of their clientele who can afford very expensive systems either because they are true audiophile or because they heard that Wilson-Spectral or Wilson-Levinson is like Rolls Royce. But they confess that their bread and butter come from average Joes often looking for special financing, lay-aways, ready to go into debt to upgrade their gear way beyond the threshold of disposable income -when they are not unemployed like a few I know!
So, Hifi may make it into Forbes next "Top 10 drugs to blow your bonus on" right after cocaine and way before Oban 14-yr old.