At what price is one considered an Audiophile.

The AKG K340 was uncontested flagship headphone put against the best Stax at the times and today...

Cost used for me : 100 bucks...

They contain two new technology never used together again... Kennerton representative said to me when i ask the question , that to recreate these with today standards it will cost too much in research...They are not interested to recreate an hybrid...None of my 9 other headphones beat the K340 because all gave an unnatural sound even the two low cost Stax i owned...I throw them out of my music system...It takes me 6 months of experiments to modify the K340 and optimize them...They are old(45 years old ) they needed it... Their soundfield is natural timbre and speaker-like and they gave me the original recording acoustic to hear...Not bad for 100 bucks...

My amplifier is a Sansui alpha: cost used 300 bucks...It is the top of Sansui history in amplification ...

It is so good i returned my upgrade purchase of a Berning tube amplifier after one hour of listening ...The synergy of the Sansui with the K340 was too good... No comparison...I dont criticize the Berning amp here, i underline the necessary synergy...

Is the Sansui alpha no more high end amplifier ? Yes it is not a low fi product even for today...

Synergy matter sorry in a high end system not only the design ...

Add to that my contemporary dac , a low cost one WITH NO APPARENT lacks in any way.... Cost 200 bucks...Hidizs AP 80 pro...

I consider my audio system high end....total cost near 700 bucks... 😁

i will add my nearfield modified active speakers in their acoustic small room paid 100 bucks 12 years ago, M-Audio AV 40.. I use them for music ONLY after 6 modifications/optimization... Not BEFORE...They reach 50 hertz now instead of the 85 hertz in the specs sheet... I add 17 tubes bundle of straws of different volume and lenght to the porthole... ( many speakers are Hemholtz resonator ) I increase the directivity of the tweeter with a cylinder for my near field listening... And i mechanically decrease the crosstalk level... It is NO MORE the speakers they were in their original box... I put them in a special acoustic corner with diffuser, absorption and reflective surface ratio...

An audiophile must learn acoustic and how to embed gear... This had nothing to do with price tag....

My goal is and was the best system in the world for peanuts price...

I will bragg then about basic knowledge and creativity not about my wallet... 😊

Beware: Right out of the box with no optimization , no modification , no acoustic control, i dont like my system and it is not high end...Now it is....

Acoustics knowledge rule the gear not the reverse...

@hilde45 That's how much I spent on dinner with my daughter and her husband last night, well close.. I go off cheap!😎 Was some really good Korean BBQ with K-Pop blaring in the background. 

$132.97

An audiophile is anyone who says they are.

@ghdprentice wrote:

On the other hand there are audiophile components. These are built to exacting requirements where component costs are unimportant… sound quality is the only objective.

So, if one is really to adhere by the boldfaced part, the components involved could, strictly speaking, be either cheaper or more expensive, right? And yet you continue with..

These tend to start around $10K to $20K. So every aspect is optimized… the best… not cheapest subcomponents are used.

If sound quality truly is the only objective, then why is it automatically assumed price always has a strict bearing? To your logic then price is the only objective, to which sound quality must follow by necessity. I mean, which is it?

If sound quality really is where you're coming from (and your specific position on what constitutes good sound quality likely isn't shared by everyone) I would imagine the outcome is somewhat more varied in price range, segment, brand, principle, design and what not than what you would propose or imply. 

So, budding audiophiles seek out off brands, used audiophile equipment and off beat techniques to get the best sound they can.

So, the man of freshly produced audiophile gear, widely known brands and "on beat" techniques is at odds with, or really throws a slightly condescending glance at the individuals who'd choose used (and in effect cheaper) "off brand" gear and "off techniques" (compared to what, one might add), as someone aspiring to be a true, seasoned audiophile. I fail to see the relevance of what you write with anything that's a true bearing on an individual's pursuit, goals and actual achievements in regards to audio reproduction - regardless of price and approach - other than telling me more about you. 

@deep_333    If your current system is your final audio destination kudos. What is offensive is claiming anyone that has or desires an audio system of better build and sound quality cares less about music and more about gear? That might get the award for "most convoluted" statement on Audiogon!