Hi end audio who cares

I've been lucky like Mikec; even recently, a musician was sitting mesmerized listening to LP after cd after LP...
For many (myself included) hi-end is about the MUSIC the machines play -- NOT the machines as an end. If this were the case, we'd probably own no more than 20 pieces of audiophile s/ware between us.
And Broubin, your account of profit contribution in the recording industry doesn't tally with Universal's; it's on the contrary these snobs (tin-eared and otherwise) often buying the hideously expensive stuff that are usually targeted for mid & longer term profit...
OTOH, as long as we're healthy & well, does it really matter? Cheers all!

Sometimes they just have to be taught. My sister was one who thought it imbicilic to spend so much until I got her into an audio store. As we recently demoed a replacement amp and speakers, her budget increased to the superior musicality of higher end equipment. For someone who thought a month ago that the enjoyability of music is the music itself, she discovered that the true enjoyment lies in hearing all the music that is meant to be heard. She planned on spending a $1,000 for speakers until she heard the difference between $1,000 and $3,000. Her Tyler Reference Monitors arrive this week and no one could be prouder than she. We have a convert!

Most people could care less. They are happy with terrible sounding boom boxes or the majority of car radio systems. I set up a demo for my employees using an ASL headphone amp with Sennheiser HD600 phones and a Cambridge D500SE player. This little system is killer and everyone who listened to it was blown away, comments were like, "I never knew music could sound this good!" Then they went back to work and were happy listening to their nasty sounding boom boxes. No one even went out and even up-graded to the Bose wave radio! But I guess not everyone can exhibit a discernable level of discrimination in every facet that is available. I can appreciate the attributes of a BMW versus a Chevy and I value the performance and appearance of my Hi-end equipment versus the mid-fi and merely mundane. However, I'm satisfied with a 50.00 flyrod versus an expensive one. I don't have the skills or knowledge (discrimination) to appreciate an expensive rod so I'm happy with what I have. My palate is satisfied with a 5.00 bottle of wine. I could care less about owning a 60 inch plasma screen since I watch very little tv and think that most movies are trash. So, from a 2 channel Hi-end audio perspective I'm a good guy but from a fly fisherman's, Home Theatre or Oenophiles perspective I just don't get it.

In my city there are only 3 hi-end dealers. 2 are ran out of houses and the other is rather snobby piano/hi-end place. I wandered into the third a long time ago to hear some Polk 5b's i read about in Stereo Review. I look back now and i'm glad i went in there. Because i was planning on getting some cerwin vega's untill i heard the polks. But till this day if anyone but my salesman sees me walking around in there they make me feel like i'm not good enough to be there. When i go in to BestBuy i feel like i own the place. Maybe if the hi-end places were a little less snobish they could get a few more people into it.

The most difficult thing I encounter in my own family is the perception that my system sounded plenty fine to their ears several iterations ago, and that I should be spending my money on a Spa for the deck.