whart
... the enthusiast market, in my estimation, was never about how big the check was- it was the pursuit of building something excellent (whatever that means to you) over time--many of us gradually upgraded to get where we are after various systems that were probably more than "OK" to the average consumer ... A lot of the people I know who have long been deep in this hobby are not in the billionaire class- they are just ardent hobbyists who don’t spend on boats, Ferraris, second or third homes, jet shares or whatever.
I think that’s an excellent summation and we all started somewhere. For some of us, audio is a long-time priority, so that’s where much of the "discretionary spending" goes. Further, it’s a bit simplistic to think the alternative is a Ferrari or boat. It’s really all about the habits and practices that Thomas J. Stanley explained so well, starting with The Millionaire Next Door.