I'm frustrated with people who don't ...

I've concluded with many of your responses, there was nothing I could say to convince anyone, just move on. When I get a chance I'll get some of the guys over and let them hear for themselves. You guys are right, at the end of the day, it's about the music and our interests... just got 2 new CDs from Amazon, I'm gonna' go crank it up.

It depends on how you use your music system. Audiophiles listen intently, and get upset about the slightest fault. But many people listen very casually, background sound while engaged in another activity. For them expensive equipment would be a waste. And furthermore, new technology, particularly digital, has greatly improved the sonic quality of very inexpensive stuff. If you don't believe this you haven't hooked up a $275 Panasonic digital receiver to a good speaker, perhaps even $500 Maggie MMGs.

the other day i had an accomplished finger-style guitarist over to help me unpack some speakers. i asked him to sit
down for a few minutes before we began weightlifting, and
listen to a cd i had on w/classical guitar playing bach.
i could hear the attack and decay of every note/chord as well
as the beauty of the composition, but my friend quickly became bored (!), so we started in on the chores. later, he
took out his new handmade $6k guitar (madagascar rosewood/adirondack blanchard) and we both played it for awhile- the
guitar had the most beautiful harmonics and a mellow tone totally unlike most steel-string flat-tops. this guy could hear every nuance of sound that guitar could produce, and we both went a little nuts passing it back and forth, trying different tunes/techniques (he's about 10,000 times better than i am...). even laymen comment on the unusual appearance of my mark levinson 33h amps, but he just said that i have a great system and that was all i could get out of him. he's working on his 2nd cd right now, so he knows enough about electronics/digital recording to get by to say the least.
everyone has a mental prism that they look through, but playing musical instruments is what got ME into audio.
this guy just wants to save up for another guitar- well he does play 3-5 hrs a day...

Not everything is the same to everyone. There are those that will have pre-set notions and beliefs to those who are open to "unknowns" and differences.
Still, many will hear a high end system and say "big deal!"...I don't get it. That's ok. Maybe Bose soud just as good.
And, as you mentioned, some think digital is digital. Well if you think so, then go buy the cheapest cd player!...just don't bring it over to my house to stick it in my system! I know better. And more importantly, my system sounds infinitely better with the better(IMO) CD player!...I think 99 out of 100 would agree if they heard my system.
The same is with cables, and all dissagree. But then again I don't like the sound from systems that have crappy cables, let alone crappy gear. I can immediately hear the differences. To each his own

Well, there are often some misconceptions within the audio society as well,e.g. cables are the most important items, speakers must always be used with spikes, to name a few.
We usally don´t perceive the world as it is, but as we believe it is.That´s a difference for, sure!Personally, I´m not sure if the direction in audio is towards a more "enlightened" view. We often cling to our concepts,because questioning them would be too inconvenient.

The best answer to the question I sometimes get about my other hobby (flyfishing);"why did you release all the fish you caught", is maybe,"because I wanted to do that"?Only if I think the other person is able to understand, would I bother to explain in more detail....Do I know if the other person will get it?No that´s a prediction,and like all pre-dictions uncertain.Excuse me for being somewhat philosophical.I´m a Swede.Does it matter?