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Why do people think I'm nuts involving audio?

Let me start by saying that I don't drink, drug or smoke and that my only vice is audio. I've been a Mac junkie since '80 and to date, I own a Mac system that I've put $40,000 into. To me, it sounds WONDERFUL! I'm very much into music, as opposed to philes that appear to be more into "sound" than music, at least this is what I'm gathering from the stuff I read.My problem is that NOT ONE person I know has a system that's more than maybe $1500, and mostly everyone I know thinks that I'm mentally "defective", although they all love the way my system sounds! They just think that I'm NUTS! I have money, so I'm not being irresponsible to anything, I just LOVE audio. Two weeks ago, I took a 4 day trip to the McIntosh Labs in Bingimton, about 170 miles from my home. A guy from Audio Classics in that area set up a tour of Mac for me and I just loved it, BUT, took major heat from my friends about taking an "audio" vacation. SO, is there anyone out there with similar experiences with friends who can advise me on how to respond to them? Thanks, A SANE AUDIOPHILE!
sal
6bq5
62 posts
 
Sal,
I am a bit late in responding to this one; however here goes:
My first Job out of College was working for a tube audio mfg!, talk about dream come true! I loved it. It took me a while and another audio mfg to realize that I needed to make more money that what I could make as an assistant, or manager of one of these companies, but what I learned will keep me in this hobby for life (I got hooked as a kid w/ my fathers mac, fisher, bozak, ar system).
I haven't spent quite what you have spend, but I am getting there...
When people find out that Hi-Fi is my hobby, they ask: "what should I buy?" My universal response is: "how much are you willing to spend?". this separates the seekers from the serious, and allows me to answer their question appropriatly.
Happy Listening
ohlala
1,234 posts
 
I keep my audio quiet. Most of family does not even know of its existence. It is visually stunning compared to Best Buy gear, so it has dropped the jaws of friends and cablemen. There's always the 'What's that?', and I hate explaining what phono stage is to someone who does not recognize the word 'turntable'. When they inquire about the stereo, I quickly get off the subject. When people ask for component recommendations, I just tell them B&W 302s and stay away from Bose (sadly, the Bose part almost always elicits an argument). I have been in audio a short enough time to realize that it is bazaar. Way more bazaar than golf or photography. Laymen are used to those kinds of weirdos. All this is okay because normal people are boring.
sc53
718 posts
 
I love the last response, about trying to explain that that box is a phono stage, and that other one is the power supply, for a turntable with a moving coil cartridge--when the inquirer has never even seen a turntable before!! And refers to the major part of it as a "needle," anyway. My friend just refers to each of my audio "boxes" on various racks and spikes as "receivers," except for the two boxes that she readily recognizes, the "speakers." She has also learned that all the strings she calls "wires" and "plugs" are actually "cables." It's really hilarious, when you think of how much I've spent, and all the time I've spent researching and auditioning and trying and experimenting with all this different gear over all these years, to hear someone refer to it all as "receivers" and some "wires." I actually get a kick out of this!
Sarah
gregm
3,396 posts
 
Sc, speaking of nomenclature... Having learned the appropriate audiophile vocab, my friend (a music-phile)has lately invented & uses her own terms esp. when talking to audiophiles. Hence, cables become "wires" (ofcourse), cartridge a "cartiledge", TT is a plastic-grinder, cdp a cd-phone; tubes, lamp(-bulbs); speakers depend on shape: heaters (Quads), freezer (big footprint), canary (small, generally), doors (panels generally); amps are "transistors"... as in, "...the wire hooking your lamps to the freezers?" or "...you're pushing the heaters with a lamp (the pre) and a supermarket transistor???"

Cheers!
audiotomb's avatar
audiotomb
1,112 posts
 
Interesting thread

not so many years ago when I was mid-fi-ing with NAD Cal etc I always yearned for the hifi end, not because I was consumed with owning it from a status end- but because of the way it would transport my living space to the vibrancy of music

every purchase I've made since then was a dramatic step in enhancing the musicality

I consider it a small price to pay for the true enjoyment

too many people are sold schlock and are convinced that they have arrived, they also typically own a small variety of music

crazy to someone else? who cares
my levels of satisfaction are immense
I don't feel I have to justify it to anyone else
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