Are Audiophiles Obsessive Nuts?

For a lot of us this is a hobby. Passion is a component of a hobbiest interest. Look at other people's hobbies and you will see the level of passion varies considerably as well. My current setup took many hours of experimenting and auditioning. I feel the time (and money-ouch!) was well spent.

Meta, I think the word you want is "observe", as in S-Holmes' caveat to Watson: "you see but do not observe, my dear Watson" (about the number of steps leading from the entrance to the living room: Watson saw these many times a day...).

Certain thoughts come to mind.

1. Comparing & contrasting undefined "audiophiles" with "others" (??? ditto) is a sophism at best; hi-end purportedly strives to reproduce music at home better than (i.e. the "hi-end of) other equipment (hence the old word, fidelity). Henceforth, we either we define premises, perhaps by comparing, amongst music lovers, those that have invested (time, effort, mega$$) in their home reproduction system and those that have not --- or IMO we are confusing the issue.

2. If the above holds, how is it that musician friends can (have, and still do) help me with pre-amplifier choice, speaker placement, placing cones under the CDP (including the best "sounding" point to place said cones!), and LP vs. CD preferences?

3. The article may be paying only lip-service to users' (consumers') opinion: anyone remember "new coke"? Maybe not a top example, but that, too, measured better on ALL tests -- except in the market.
Also, I beleive that audiophile go looking for "things" of which "others" are not aware could be experienced during reproduction.

As to mags making the bags (of money) for unknown manufacturers... a good review is good publicity and, ofcourse, introduces the brand if little known. BUT, if the product does not deliver, I doubt its manufacturer will end up with millions.

Very interesting post, Plasma.

In 2 above, I mean "...musician friends belonging to the "others" category..."
Sorry.

Sometimes, it helps to be a little nuts to thoroughly enjoy life and others. This goes well beyond the scope of these forums.

I am nuts, just ask my wife! We audiophiles do what we do because 1) we can and 2) we don't necessarily need the confirmation from other mere flawed mortals to pursue audio's ultimate goal. Any way we can rationalize what we do and why we do it, is certainly reason enough to do it! Enjoy it for what it's worth and don't worry about it...