I'm frustrated with people who don't ...

I dont discuss my addiction with many people at length, I just accept that they dont "get it". Of course, many people truly cant hear the difference.
But what makes it all worthwhile is having someone over, letting them sit in the sweet spot, and watching their eyes light up and jaw drop when they hear what they have never heard before.
The best part: Then they buy some of your stuff, and you get to upgrade here at Audiogon!

As an engineer I work with alot of other engineers from various disciplines. I think a few of them get it but still look at you with a kind of skewed expression when you talk about it.

I've concluded with many of your responses, there was nothing I could say to convince anyone, just move on. When I get a chance I'll get some of the guys over and let them hear for themselves. You guys are right, at the end of the day, it's about the music and our interests... just got 2 new CDs from Amazon, I'm gonna' go crank it up.

It depends on how you use your music system. Audiophiles listen intently, and get upset about the slightest fault. But many people listen very casually, background sound while engaged in another activity. For them expensive equipment would be a waste. And furthermore, new technology, particularly digital, has greatly improved the sonic quality of very inexpensive stuff. If you don't believe this you haven't hooked up a $275 Panasonic digital receiver to a good speaker, perhaps even $500 Maggie MMGs.

the other day i had an accomplished finger-style guitarist over to help me unpack some speakers. i asked him to sit
down for a few minutes before we began weightlifting, and
listen to a cd i had on w/classical guitar playing bach.
i could hear the attack and decay of every note/chord as well
as the beauty of the composition, but my friend quickly became bored (!), so we started in on the chores. later, he
took out his new handmade $6k guitar (madagascar rosewood/adirondack blanchard) and we both played it for awhile- the
guitar had the most beautiful harmonics and a mellow tone totally unlike most steel-string flat-tops. this guy could hear every nuance of sound that guitar could produce, and we both went a little nuts passing it back and forth, trying different tunes/techniques (he's about 10,000 times better than i am...). even laymen comment on the unusual appearance of my mark levinson 33h amps, but he just said that i have a great system and that was all i could get out of him. he's working on his 2nd cd right now, so he knows enough about electronics/digital recording to get by to say the least.
everyone has a mental prism that they look through, but playing musical instruments is what got ME into audio.
this guy just wants to save up for another guitar- well he does play 3-5 hrs a day...