Why Don't More People Love Audio?

The real answer:
Folks time ago grew up on SOUND: the RADIO was the thing in the 30's through the early 50's And even all through the 50's and 60' we grew up listening to the RADIO while driving etc. TV and movies where a 'special' affair.
So as we grew up, we naturally though about a SOUND system for an entertainment system.
From the 60's forward, folks born in that era and beyond, grew up on VISUAL images from a constant barrage of TV.
So they really do NOT think of SOUND alone as ENTERTAINMENT, sound for them is only an afterthought to an image.
That is why (I think) the 'audio only' market is shrinking.
The current generation? with the computer may have yet another change in the way they approach media, and in 15 years the A/V system will be a dinosaur too.
Agree though that it is possible to see past one's conditioning and move to a different drummer... So we may get a few new audiophiles... yet.
(if this idea was presented in the prior 140+ posts, forgive me for not reading all of them)

Elizabeth, good point. I wonder now whether the MP-3 player is a good thing -- at least it gets people back to music.

Perhaps we have now discovered the secret to being rich...develope a tin ear!

It takes some type of mentoring for the uninitiated on the benefits of spending a little more to get something unimaginable, and the cottage industry continues to fill that growing void left by the larger high end companies.

Service to the customer is the key but without the newbie hearing a top-flight system playing their familiar tunes, is it any wonder most people find this hobby a turn off?

Another phenomenon I take note of is what happens when someone new to all this listens to great sound. It puts them to sleep. It must be mentally fatiguing to process all the additional information one hears. Interesting. So, there is some mentoring needed on why one feels that way. It takes time to get beyond that and just allow the music to take over. That requires a real commitment.
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As several have mentioned, the number one reason that people treat their audio systems like appliances is lack of exposure to a great system. No music lover goes away from hearing a great system unchanged. Most want to have some modicum of that for themselves once they are aware of its existence. The next problem is finding the stuff to buy. Great dealers are few and far between, and without their help the learning curve is very steep for the uninitiated.