Why Don't More People Love Audio?

I spend what I can on audio equipment (and software) for no other reason than the love of music. My system is only mid-fi (Low end rega, nad, mirage, and a sony cd player) thet being all I can afford. If one has no love for music then it would be wasful to spend money on a stero of high quality. That said, I cannot recall who said that all art tends towands the form of music (sugesting that music is the highest art but I agree.
I can detect faults in my system even now (im listing to Chopin), but, as it has been said this is not a hobby for the poor (or for students like me). I am truly sorry for those who cannot afford a good (even as good as mine) system, but have truly good ears, and almot envy a freind who loves music but cannot hear the difrence between a poor system and a good one- he injoys poor systems greatly, and that is an enviable position.

Seems like most of my freinds could care less if they listen to music on a clock radio,200$ System,cheap car stereo,they think Im nuts to spend the money I do.

Because too many people don't know what to do with their eyes when listening to Audio....Raised on too much T.V. perhaps. I suspect that this was not a problem with the Radio generation. They knew how to listen when there was nothing to watch.

Great question, and I'm not sure why either. I have observed people at my house as they look at and/or listen to my system. I think that most people simply don't care or don't think there is an audible difference between high end and mass market. There are some that can tell the difference, but are intimidated by the complexity or cost. Some (often women) don't want to deal with the integrating something like this into their decor. In the 20 years I've been into the hobby, there's only been one person out of so many that came to my house and was impressed enough by my sound to buy an audiophile grade system of their own.

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)