How do you explain audiophiles to your friends?

At times, I have trouble explaining to me, myself, and I. True!

I can't, as they don't understand any of it. Friends, family, work colleagues.

I usually end up (with any of my equipment) saying "it's supposed to..."

I'm not Robert

An idea of some of the things people didn’t/don’t understand

When CDs came in and I still used vinyl...

When home theatre systems were popular, and I remained two channel...

When CD players had an inbuilt Dac, and mine was seperate...

When any of my cables cost more than $50...

When I bought fuses...

When MP3s were everywhere, and I wanted CD quality...

When I got my 5th Gen iPod modded by Vinnie at Red Wine...

When I had Tidal, and everyone else had Spotify...

Why I want to stream instead of use Bluetooth...

What do you need linear power supplies for...

Shumann Resonators do what?...

What is that tape? Fo.Q Tape...

Not sure how to explain my network switch...

I explain it this way:

Audiophiles love sound enough to slow down, pay attention, learn to make discriminations with ear and word, and then seek to manipulate their experiences to aesthetics ends, often but not exclusively in the service of musical content.

The wine lover learns to appreciate wine then seeks out a variety of novel and better wines.
The art lover learns to appreciate art then seeks out a variety of novel and better arts.
The sound lover learns to appreciate sound then seeks out a variety of novel and better sounds.

What’s different about the sound lover is that their level of interaction with the components of their love-object is far greater than the wine and art lover.

In that sense, audiophiles are like chefs who love food and cook for themselves. They are sommeliers of sound.

Short version: "Audiophiles are chefs of sound who cook for themselves."