Why Don't More People Love Audio?

Throwing money at high end audio (or most things for that matter) does not gaurantee anything. I've heard plenty of uber-expensive stereos that sound horrible.
The rich, being that they are rich, aren't not buying because of a lack of money.

How many are willing to spend double that amount for 36" of cable?

Especially when the differences are virtually inaudible as no one can tell in double blind listening tests. Again, "most people" are not going to be willing to spend hours listening for differences between cables. Using measurements would simplify things, but "measurements can't be trusted".
People will spend money on something like an I-pod because it is tailored to their lifestyle. Going by stereo systems I see photographed on Audiogon, even many audiophiles are NOT going to put speakers out into the room even when it givers markedly better sound. And these are people who care about sound.

I think the vast majority of people don't enjoy music. Before retirement, I worked for Northern California's utility company servicing gas appliances. In 30 plus years of going into homes, I noticed that very few people have any type of audio equipment. If they did, it was an old record player, in a corner, collecting dust. It is as they they got older, their interest in music waned. I've seen many records packed away, the owners seemingly not caring to play them. More people have modest HT systems than 2 channel equipment. In my visits to approximate. 30 to 40 thousand homes, I've seen probably 10-12 high end systems. So here in San Francisco, the number of people with any type of music system is extremly low. Younger people enjoy music but they seem to get by with iPods and those little earbud things. Also, the few music lovers that are out there do not realize that a good system can be put together with relatively few $'s.

i use to spend my time describing good equipment to people and they would always ask "what about bose?". and when i told them about bose the never asked "what about kef, b and w, celestion, dahlquist?. what about magneplanar?" and to go from a pioneer reciever to a yamaha was a real leap. people love music but they hate to look like they don,t know what they are talking about so they stick with name brands they recognize. by the way,, just where does a person find a high end storefront in most of america? presently you could drive all day around st louis and find 5 or 6 of the brands people on audiogon are fans of. and to listen to any combinations is impossible. vexing for a knowledgeable person much less a newcomer. no wonder great audio gear is a very small part of the home electronics industry. and how many salesman are capable of selling it??

I noticed that in less than a month this thread will be 10 years old. Bravo!!!

We audiophiles may be in mystical rapture over a system's properties, but the rest of Them are not. For Them, the song matters more than the sound.