Is high end audio to snooty for its own good?

There's a saying  in marketing circles, "The price is the product " .

Is it demeaning to call our audiophile pursuit a "hobby" or us as "hobbyists"?
A recent letter to Stereophile takes umbrage to the use of that word.
If by definition, a hobby is "a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in for relaxation" (Webster's), then I find no issue with the use of that word to refer to the audiophile world. And the arrogance of attempting to intellectually elevate our HOBBY to some higher, superior activity, seems to me to define "snooty".

I believe it is in what you see the object of listening to music is.
If you listen to music as entertainment, and nothing wrong with that, its a hobby.
If you listen to it for the purpose Bach said its for, to enlighten and edify your soul, its something else . And the very essence of that is the opposite of "snooty" .
Of course we are all a work in progress .

Papermill +1

To me audiophiles are nerdy old guys that are a little on the weird side.  At least 95% of the ones I have met.