Why Don't More People Love Audio?


Can anyone explain why high end audio seems to be forever stuck as a cottage industry? Why do my rich friends who absolutely have to have the BEST of everything and wouldn't be caught dead without expensive clothes, watch, car, home, furniture etc. settle for cheap mass produced components stuck away in a closet somewhere? I can hardly afford to go out to dinner, but I wouldn't dream of spending any less on audio or music.
tuckermorleyfca6
I find that rather than being a status symbol as in exotic cars...Ferrari's and Lambos which touch in the heart of men as rich sportsmen, i.e. as the machinery we've all dreamed of driving fast, high end audio equipment is scorned by many who can't imagine how we'd drive those amps and speakers fast! I've listened to countless people declare that they can't tell the difference in wines. When I put great wine in their glasses and ask them to taste, everyone can. What I believe they mean is that they are unwilling to pay for what they believe is an outrageous extravagance.

Presumably, music is music is music. Why care how it is produced or how near perfectly it represents the musicians actual work? Once having learned to listen to a true reproduction of sound and having given up the taint of flavor which most audio equipment overlays, I don't find that it is difficult to want more, more, more of it. I just believe that like other non-status opulently expensive devices in life, most people don't have the ability to pay therefore they don't allow themselves the willingness to be touched by the sensuality of the experience. Basically, I believe people recoil from what clearly scares them... the obviousness that if we loved the music, we might not be able to afford the equipment.
I collect vintage watches, fine cigars, wine, Italian cars, houses, sailboats and WW II airplanes. Each of these hobbies gives me great pleasure and is a conversation starter for people I meet in business and socially. Someone once tried to sell me a very expensive Krell system, but I couldn't really understand how to justify the price and my wife hated it. In the end, I have Denon home theatre equipment built into a custom closet, B&W speakers and Bose cubes in every room for background music and entertaining. You guys seem to think this is garbage but it sounds great to me.
Mr Whitehead: You seem to have more money than sense. Let me guess -- Investment banking? Rolex Presidential? With diamonds, perhaps? If you weren't so smug and self satisfied, perhaps your education would be broader than rereading financial statements in between back issues of The Robb Report.
mark,

denon is fine for home-theatre; bose is fine for background music & entertaining. seriously.

however, sitting down & listening to music, not doing anything else, but actually *listening*, as if yude gone to a concert or club to hear live music, well, this is something totally different. while denon *does* make some hi-end audio equipment (hoover, on a-gon's classifieds, could surely set ewe up!), i'd hazard a guess that this is *not* what makes up yer home-theatre system. and, while i am not normally so blunt, to put it in your words, ya, h-t denon & bose *are* garbage for serious listening. don't take it personal, serious listening is obviously not what yure into - it's ok, not many people are... the equipment ya got prolly *is* great - for how it's being used.

regards, doug

ps - i hope ewe get enyoyment outta yer other hobbies, it's a shame to let nice stuff sit & not use it. cars, for example - i don't *collect* italian cars, italian cars are the only ones i own. they *all* get driven - as my commute is 45 miles each way, they get driven a *lot*... :>)

Just today I went to tweeter. A friend of mine works there. They had a Bose 30 lifestyle($3,000) hooked up in the ht room and also some other setups. I asked my friend scott to play them, a little A/B demo. Only cause another friend of mine has the Bose setup, his wife is an assistant manager for the Bose outlet in Kittery, Me. Before I bought my system his wife tried to get me into Bose, but I knew better. Well scott played the Bose in the ht setup, I was surprised "I said to scott" not bad. Scott smiled and switched over to other setup, B&K w/kef speakers. Wow what a difference, the bose was missing everything. Don't know how to explain it but the bose was missing lotssssss of information. No mids what so ever, sloppy, boxy, muddy, slow base. Sorry but bose really suck, baddddd...
Mark I'm sure your taste is very good in other areas, but do yourself a favor and find a different hobby or get some help on your system.