It has always been a very esoteric pursuit. It takes unique interests in music, a technical bent, with an appreciation of achieving the pinnacle of what is possible. Typically someone that likes to spend time alone.
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In the 60’s and 70’s many college students were exposed to stereos systems and pot together. Everyone liked listening to the best systems their friends had (none remotely high-end)... and an extremely small minority went on to put together a true high end system... I don’t know anyone that did, other than me. of the thousands of people I have known in business and outside of work I ran into one or two. I met many people claiming to be an audiophile only to proudly state they owned Bose... the marketing scheme worked for decades convincing people they were buying a high end system, to the horror of those of us that actually knew what good equipment could do. We have always been a very small minority... but dedicated over our lifetimes.
The assessment of the popularity has always been in aggregate. Number of attendees to shows, subscriptions, and sales of companies... and bankruptcies.
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In the 60’s and 70’s many college students were exposed to stereos systems and pot together. Everyone liked listening to the best systems their friends had (none remotely high-end)... and an extremely small minority went on to put together a true high end system... I don’t know anyone that did, other than me. of the thousands of people I have known in business and outside of work I ran into one or two. I met many people claiming to be an audiophile only to proudly state they owned Bose... the marketing scheme worked for decades convincing people they were buying a high end system, to the horror of those of us that actually knew what good equipment could do. We have always been a very small minority... but dedicated over our lifetimes.
The assessment of the popularity has always been in aggregate. Number of attendees to shows, subscriptions, and sales of companies... and bankruptcies.