Do people don't care or don't know?

I'd say almost everybody realizes they've been missing a lot when I give them a demo. Some are completely amazed, having had no idea what a "stereo" could sound like.
But maybe only 1 in 10 people take any action after that. Music's just not as important a part of their life as it is mine. No one has rushed out and spent 40k or 50k on a system, but I also tell them they don't have to. I let people know they can get 80 or 90% of the "magic" by spending $3k or less on good used equipment, and 70% for $1.5k (assuming vinyl is not involved), and that I'll help them if they want to. As a last ditch effort, I tell them they can find a pair of used speakers for $750 or less that'll transform their system.

I have a number of friends and acquaintances who have nicer home audio now, and I also put together a restaurant system that completely changed the place's ambience for a friend. It's a good feeling - kind of like being a drug pusher. "Better Living Through Audio" - how much you want?
There are others who may indulge eventually, but right now they're busy with teenage kids or businesses, etc.

Being an "Audiophile" requires copious amounts of time, research, energy, experimentation and intensive listening to decipher personal preferences.

We live in a fast food society, so if Bosenova Supra can market and all-in-one solution that doesn't require much THOUGHT and can be purchased at the local Mega Whopper consumer electronics store, then it is little wonder people are taken aback when they hear something truly special.

Most men find it difficult to get beyond the WAF, but we only have ourselves to blame for high audio costs. The rich drive up prices by encorporating the false notion that price has a one-to-one relationship with performance. Prices are further exaserbated when a hot new manufacturer comes to market with cut rate prices in order to gain market share and idiots tell the world this new manufacturer should be charging 3x what they currently are, enevitably leading to multiple price increases as the buzz heightens to a crescendo.

to jimlevitt i realize that you may have had a particular vision of what a living room should look like, or perhaps the idea was sprung from the fertile mind of an interior decorator or architect. and your question is certainly legitimate and earnest. but is having an echoey cave for a living room conducive to domestic harmony? I do not have a living room, my shop is my living room, and i have no stereo in my apartment in the back. the building is made of cinderblock and glass, the shop are is 20 x 30 with 10 ceilings. there are some irregular shapes in the room so it has potential. i upgraded my system alot before i tried adding some absorbant material to the walls and ceiling. i have made some hanging panels to go on the walls, and four large cotton print tapestries are suspended from the ceiling. there is expanded polyester (quilt batting) above each print. the sound goes through the print , hits the ceiling, and is then absorbed again on it's way down. the stereo was playing when they were placed, and i could hear a major difference with each one. the little triangular panels that go into the corners can do alot for the sound without being very obtrusive visually. the corners act as amplifiers for the bass boom and alot can be done there with little material. if you cut an opening window into an adjoining room that will absorb alot of sound and may look ok to you. you might make certain that your rug is very absorbant; try wool. bass equalization will reduce the dominant room modes but nothing will substitute for proper damping. my open baffles are mounted from the ceiling and so are angled downward, so the sound is pointed at more absorbant areas. if the speakers are on the floor and are tilted up, the sound my strike off harder surfaces such as glass or sheetrock. do not put a ton of money into your system until you are willing to address the room because your money is thrown away. sealed speakers have less boom than ported. stuff a tennis ball or something in the ports of the subs. get the speakers away from the walls and corners. get a set of headphones so you can hear what your gear is really capable of. good luck - i hope i have helped - i tried.

WAF? This is beginning to bug me! In general most of the men I know or have known throughout my life all have had some creative or positive hobbies. Discounting the illegal and immoral fun there is still much left to do and usually this hobby (hunting, fishing, concerts, skiing, boating, various forms of collecting and the like) will be costly. Yes...our female companions will object to some things, but frankly you have EARNED the right to have a decent sound system if there is a room for you to setup besides the den or the living room. So if you are unable to gain appropriate WAF perhaps the issue is in your relationship and not the cost or placement?

Our home purchases have all been made with my wife KNOWING that I will need a big room for my system and my album/CD collection. A basement is sufficient in these parts of the country. I was into music and equipment BEFORE I met her.
It is a part of me. She accepted me and therefore....