are any of your friends audiophiles?

I'm extremely fortunate to have many, many friends and acquaintances who are into audio as well as music and would consider themselves audiphiles. How committed? Well, I don't know of more than a couple of them (out of 20-25 or so) who AREN'T into tubes! Lots of DIYers who've taught me a lot.

In addition are the "civilians" -- other friends and neighbors who like to listen to my stuff but have few interests in audiophilia per se. Dave

Saygrr, I share your experiences. I have known many who used to even attend shows who either now have home theaters or just don't listen at all. For at least two it is the decline in their hearing that may explain this.

I have gotten accustomed to my kids and relatives comments. It helps to be getting to an age where one eccentricities are tolerated rather than dismissed.

Mrtennis, I am sure that pedophiles, etc. do not help. Perhaps we should call ourselves audio or music lovers or audio enthusiasts.

Wow - this thread has gotten more responses than any I've posted.

So it seems my experience is not unique. Most people simply don't have the ear, wallet or patience for this hobby.

I often tell people (half jokingly) that a good audio system is better suited for regular people than audiophiles like us. A typical person spending a few thousand on a stereo is a fantastic deal. They will probably keep most of the components for 15 years, so amortized over the years, it is a small yearly cost and of course rewards greatly.

For people like many of us, who are always looking for better performance, buying and selling gear (usually loosing money), trying cables and tweeks, etc it is not nearly as good a deal!!!

Another recent experience that opened my eyes to how skewed many of our value system is. Someone who works in my building mentioned to my Girlfriend that a package I had delivered looked like an LP, ans he mentioned he loved vinyl, etc. Hearing this I talked to him about his collection, etc, and he said his table was broken. I replied "then I have a great deal for you" I have a used WTT I am getting ready to sell (since I got a Raven One and Phantom) I told him the table was only around $750. He looked at me like I had 2 heads. It seemed to him $750 was an outrageous sum to pay for a turntable, new or used. I finally saw it from his perspective, and thought he would think there was something seriously wrong with me if he knew the retail cost of my new table (bottom of the line)/arm/cart/cable was close to 14K.

It was a real reality check and eye opener.

I don't have a single audiophile friend. Unfortunately, a lot of people who think I'm nuts with no one to share the pain or show me some understanding. Fortunately, I manage it well and listen to a lot of music.

At work a few of us were at a training session. One of the guys asked about my system. Another who I know but rarely see asked a question about the LPs and how much the Nitty Gritty cost. When I said "about $100 but that was years ago" he said "I would never spend a $100 for a ******* record cleaner". That made for a pleasant day.