When faced with someone who questions my fervent pursuit of an illusive specter of happiness through some external means (as most of us do in so many different ways), i will usually seek out some common ground on which we may meet and enjoy life, rather than that on which we differ. Music is a universal language and is often an easy subject to find mutual enjoyment with anyone, as opposed to focusing on the gear (which I really don't like to do anyway). If common ground obviously wasn't there in music I'd just move on to something else. In the same turn I wouldn't attempt to discount anyone's opinion just because they don't understand something about me. Nor would I close myself off to the possibility that there was something I could learn from their disagreement. If the interacction was obviously not constructive I might consider a simple statement like, "...thank you for sharing." and leave it at that.
As a side note I think that some folks (not all) who obsess about various pursuits as you've described, use the pursuit not only to 'define' themselves in some way, but also to 'elevate' themselves above others through their obsession. This kind of attitude may naturally lead to dissension among those who did not indulge in a similar pursuit and perhaps did not appreciate being looked down upon from such lofty heights by someone whose poop stinks just like theirs does.
Marco
As a side note I think that some folks (not all) who obsess about various pursuits as you've described, use the pursuit not only to 'define' themselves in some way, but also to 'elevate' themselves above others through their obsession. This kind of attitude may naturally lead to dissension among those who did not indulge in a similar pursuit and perhaps did not appreciate being looked down upon from such lofty heights by someone whose poop stinks just like theirs does.
Marco