Why Don't More People Love Audio?

And then there's some additional questions: (3) do we want audiophile equipment to be a status symbol and (4) why would that be beneficial. As far as (3) goes, that's relating back to basic human needs for validation. We've spent gobs of money our equipment. It would be nice to get knowing nods of appreciation instead of puzzled looks. As far a (4) goes, I don't think it would economically beneficial. Look what happened to the price of 4 wheel drive vehicles once having an SUV became a status symbol. It drove the price of practical SUVs (e.g., Chevy Blazer) up to luxury status, and created a class of luxury SUVs with astronomical prices. Those of us who live out in the boonies in snow country don't appreciate that. Audiophile equipment is expensive enough already!

I've always been a big live music fan, but don't have time to go out as much. I know for a fact that i have a high end stereo so I can hear music better. In many ways I prefer it to concerts because I can keep the volume level reasonable, and the fidelity is actually quite a bit higher. I look forward to listening to music when the day is done.

High end audio will never appeal to the average yuppie. It is too sophisticated, it takes a committment, and you can't show it off because nobody understands it. But thank God for that; BMW, amoung other enthusiast brands was ruined by the masses. I would rather keep it to myself, even if anyone was interested.

Actually audio has real snob appeal in many countries in the Far East. Some buyers of expensive stuff love music, others want status. There is no status to hifi in the West. Why, I don't entirely understand. True story: when we first started selling Clayton amps, one guy from Hong Kong came to our setup at HiFi 96, loved the sound, thought about buying our stuff and then was put out to find that our amps sold for under $10K. He said he would lose face and went on to buy a MUCH more expensive set from another long-established company. Of course, the economic crash in the Far East since 1997 has destroyed much of this business and destroyed lots of high end companies along the way. But clearly, advertising would help. It also wouldn't hurt if some big rags hadn't always claimed that all equipment sounds the same. Just my 3 cents worth.

Followup: Why lack of interest in hifi I do think there has also been a shift in taste away from high fidelity. People have been trained to want BAD, electronic sound. By this I mean, that much of the high end is about correctly reproducing acoustic instruments in a real space and being true to real sounds even in pop recordings. However, people are starting to complain that live music isn't as exciting as their stereo, hence the pressure for bright concert halls in classical music. I am also astonished at how often jazz is over amplified in tiny clubs where no mikes are needed. And look at musical theatre. Last time I was in London I was stunned at how often the music was broadcast at ungodly levels over a poor PA system. I talked to a local engineer who claimed that people want that loud ARTIFICIAL electronic sound. Let's forget most rock concerts, where noise and bright lights beat good sound any day. So some of it is lack of exposure. Some of it is lack of status. Some is lack of passion. But also, just face it -- relative to the general population we audiophiles suffer from a disease :) :)