Yes, it is real. There really are audiophiles who assume nothing unusually expensive or hard to understand can actually work.
And yes, it is a joke. That such as that think of themselves as audiophiles.
Look at it logically. If you truly are an audiophile then sound quality is incredibly important and you will pay dearly for it. So a high price in and of itself means nothing.
Also if you are an audiophile then you know the extreme high end of quality always involves pushing the performance envelope into new areas of development. So it is the norm for novel products to come along from time to time.
They say having to explain it takes the humor out of the joke. So be it. Still a joke. Just always better to be in on it.
