Why Don't More People Love Audio?

I think the original premise is wrong. Most people really don't like music. I leave in evidence just one observation. How may people do you invite to listen to music who actually sit and listen without wanting to talk about 30 seconds into the first band? For most Americans music is background soundtrack to their life and parties. Unfortunately some of the must talk crowd are audiophiles whating to praise or criticise the sound of the stereo.

On an independent issue...audio has very little positive feedback. Any friend or stray person off the street will glaze over when I tell them I own Krell or Sonic Frontiers or B&W or Thiel or Levinson etc etc. Now if I mention Aiwa or Sony or Toshiba now we are talking. So the pride of ownership has nothing to do with the previous discussions about Porshe etc. Everyone knows if you own Porshe you got good car taste and lots of money..Krell? You don't get girls with Krell.

Keis, I agree with both your points but especially your first. Many people who love music and go to live performances at every opportunity simply don't regularly listen to music at home. My wife and I play music all the time! Maybe it's a "chicken or egg" and people would listen more if their sound was better ... personally, I think that the majority of people simply don't want music as a priority in their lives. For those who do, only a portion will take the time to sift through the hype and audition great equipment.

Your last sentence is also a killer though: "You don't get girls (or guys) with Krell".

Well guys, it's almost midnight and my South American 'amiga' is lying on the couch in the living room with the lights out just listening to a Simon and Garfunkel CD I left playing on my Swans speakers at a low volume level....she's been listening all night to music--and just loves it.

Just have to do things right.

You have to love music - not audio. If you want your music to sound as good as possible, then you want the best reproduction equipment you can afford. If you don't really care about music - why would you care about the equipment?

People are generally not exposed to high end audio, there are so few high end salons. When and if they come across a high end audio salon, they are confused about the gear and really do not have any idea what they are looking for. Let alone, their ears are not educated to the finer details of audio listening. Sometimes they are attracted by the marketing appeal of a mainstream distributor or manufacturer, which may not necessarily sell a good product (for the sake of staying out of trouble, I will not mention any particular manufacturer or brand).

Many have not heard a good 2-channel system and have curiosity in multi-channel systems, caused by the recent mainstream hype stemmed from Home Theatre. When you think about it, people frequent movie theatres and they desire to duplicate that experience through Home Theatre.

It takes considerable effort, experience, and expense to develop a good high end hoem audio system. Many do not have the time to putforth that effort and as we all know, there are few shortcuts. When you finally get their attention, they must deal with WAF (Wife Acceptance factor).
Have you noticed that there are few women in this cottage high end audio industry? That is not the same in Home Theatre, if you don't believe me, just visit Circuit City's DVD department and see the many women shopping for DVD movies.