You're not a true audiophile unless...

One who can converse regularly in audio forums without embarrassing themselves (too badly)

Goodness, this ought to be so simple.

A bibliophile is one having a disciplined appreciation of literature

An oenophile is one having a disciplined appreciation of wines

So an audiophile is one having a disciplined appreciation of musical recordings

"Audiophile" is now similar to terms such as "conservative" or "liberal." it means so many different things to so many different people that it has become a throwaway expression.

You enjoy recorded music enough to also enjoy accumulating the tools needed to make listening to it a more refined experience. You may actually be having fun doing that.

The Etymology of the word means "audio lover".  Based on that I'd say an audiophile is just that- a music lover who seeks to elevate the listening experience of his favorite music. 

A true Audiophile builds the best system they can affford , and never is finished 

say  a new dac comes out that's very popular , or maybe you want to upgrade your Loudspeakers.I have been into Audio since the mid 1970s  and it never ends 

the closest you can get to the real event is the ultimate goal.

I think audiophile bites the blowhard wiener, I prefer enthusiast ! 
Cheers 🔊

the healing can only begin when you admit it

These are starting to sound like Jeff Foxworthy bits. I love it 😂

... you aren't finished with the break in period until after the return window passes.

…you like being called an “audiophile”

You are not an audiophile until you spend 3k on a piece of gear that you let sit in your rack for weeks and don't crank it up for fear that it might not work or cause a malfunction or might not sound like an improvement over the gear you replaced it with that cost less then half the price.

Those 36 volt cables are thrown out to make way for the 72 volt cables. 

Believing not much matters and hoping sound comes out when the ON button is pushed!

Believing every teak on the market makes a huge difference to SQ.

Audiophile : SS gears

Music Lover : Tube gears

😉😊

For me it has become an education in acoustics.

My wife also tells me that since taking up the "task" my 71 year old hearing has become much more acute and discriminating. I am hearing things in the immediate environment that I didn't used to, and I just generally paying more attention to sounds and identifying them.

to me an audiophile is someone who looks to improve the sound of their audio playback. Its about the love of music and making it sound better, even if that's just adjusting your speakers on your desk top to make them image better, that's an audiophile. Just as much as the guy who spends $100k on a system or the guy just starting out with little. If they like music and take steps to make it sound better they are an Audiophile.   

True I like being known for my music collection first.

I cringe when anyone calls ne an audiophile.

The one that comes to mind is that being an "audiophile" is simply buying a bunch of really expensive gear.

Writing useless posts.