At what price is one considered an Audiophile.

Audiophile means that someone love sound, why?

Because he had learn how to learn hearing better ...

Is it elitist ?

It is as being not deaf is BETTER state in a general way compared to a deaf people...

We can listen very well classical music on a phone, music is not sound, but sound can be music , then any musician, even those who dare not to play the audiophile game know the difference between different violins quality levels, Stradivarius, Guarneri and 500 bucks instruments ...

We live an era with no education at all given ,( because it was deemed not necessary for a slave worker especially a voting one , save if he pay a lot more than he can to afford it , guess why ?) where we brag about staying ignorant , and where we had learn how to despise any "elite" on any form even biological ...

Sorry, elite exist in all aspects of life and for all activities and studies; woman are elite by design and man too, not by choices save for conditioned fools...... The rest is studying and practising...

There is no point in being a non elite baker .... Will you pay for his bread ?

“Tolerance will reach such a level that intelligent people will be forbidden to think so as not to offend fools” Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I think we’ve gotten some "hits" and "misses" here. Mostly "hits."

Being an "audiophile" can worn as a badge of honor. It depends on how we use it. Yes, we can weaponize our "audiophile status" to belittle others and position ourselves in a position of superiority. Or, we can be a humble servant -- worthwhle asset in helping to deliveri the best musical experiences for others. Perhaps, turn them on to some great music in the process? Our inner audiophile makes ours, and other’s lives better -- on many levels.

Somewhere along the way, our experiences have navigated us towards the pursuit of better sound. The "price of admission" the to obtain the goals of better sound required an intellectual journey, an investment in time and, yes, resources. It is the pursuit that defines us, not what is sittling in/on the rack at home. As mentioned earlier, I believe the "audiophile system" is that system that best fulfills the objectives of the listener after following something resembling an "audiophile path." IF that system is budget/space constrained, so be it. The fact that we took the "audiophile path" -- research, listening, peer review etc. to make those choices is what defines us.  And, makes it "an audiphile system."

This process also leads us to an understanding of a component/system’s limitations and we make it a point to do so. There have been several posts here by those stating they went to Big Box and bought a <insert popular brand name consumer product> and "LOVE IT." Well, this may be the case. But, if we haven’t taken the time to evaluate other components at, near, or even multiples of price point above that, we don’t know it’s limitations. The "audiophile path" is missing, therefore, its is a "one and done consumer choice" and not a carefully selected product based on it’s performance vs the rest of the world, as a true "audiophile" would have done. I am familiar with many of the items listed here, and can politely state that there’s a lof of music that never leaves those boxes -- compared to other choices in the category.

@mahgister, kudos for the Dostoyevsky quote!

Just when it seemed like this thread might be reaching the "beating a dead horse" phase, you provided that gem.

@waytoomuchstuff     +1

My pet peeve is when one obsesses over the law of diminishing returns. IMO this does not exist if one considers themselves an Audiophile. Where did this simple minded formula come to fruition... $20k amp must sound 10x better than a $2k amp? How could this even be measured(lol)? The $20k amp could be capable of hundreds of sonics improvements over the $2k amp. IMO the $20k amp is the bargain.