To me Stereophile is a magazine about high end audio.
But I do think the question of what is an audiophile is an interesting one. Often folks claim to be audiophiles but are clearly not. I think audiophiles are folks dedicated to achieving the absolute sound (yes, what that is varies).
Often, back in the 80’s definitions centered around one’s priorities. Definitions included “your system cost more than your car.” That has always been true for me.
My first loan was for an amplifier… about three times more expensive as my car. This was never intended to be a superficial gauge. It had nothing to do with conspicuous consumption. It assumed that there were magazines like The Absolute Sound and Stereophile laying all over your house and you spent most of you waking moments listening to music and trying to find ways to improve the sound of your system. This meant your social life was limited, you were probably a geek. Outside of work, audio was your pursuit.
We always joked about audiophilia being a disease. It has always been a wonderful compulsion. My partner of 37 years always jokes about audio dollars being a different currency… the rate of exchange being about 100 times different than regular dollars. I will buy a interconnect for $3,000 with about the same amount of reservation for spending that amount of money as a $30 trinket for the house. The research I would put into the interconnect would be massive… it would not be impulse purchase… but making the investment would be as difficult as something else for $30.
There was none of this “spending money to spend money” BS. I might say that part of the reason I was successful in my career was because I just loved chasing the best possible sound.
A real audiophile is not into conspicuous consumption, but into a true passion for the best sounding system… well over towards to fanatic side. For the purpose of enjoyment. I listen to my system about three - four hours a day. There have been about six people outside my partner who have seen / heard my system in the last twenty years. It is for my own personal satisfaction.