Why Don't More People Love Audio?

FWIW, I think that it is determined by your personal history. If you grew up loving music and listening to it on a decent stereo through good speakers or headphones, then you realize that your experience can be enhanced through better equipment as electronics have evolved. You then allocate some time to seeking the best equipment you can afford because its important to you. An analogy would be that you grew up liking cars, so today you are driving or lusting after that Porsche or Ferrari. Its not rocket science, but if you have a passion for something and the means to afford it, you pursue it.

That make sense...the only thing I have to add is it's a drive to get closer to the music, and approximate the tonal quality of real instruments, providing the recording allows it! A great system allows you to do that, imo.

They need to hear it. My wife came down to my "man cave" and thought she was going to hear this loud stereo. Mind you I just set it up for a test run, much room work needs to be done.
Four hours later she's going to her car to get some more CDs.

Cool. Sounds good. Yes, I agree. Hearing is believing.

I think the answer to this question really lies in the fact that most people are either ignorant or embarrassed to identify with music (like classical or real jazz) that definitely IMO benefits the most from high end components. "Real music" is to a certain degree an acquired taste and takes a little digging and understanding to get full value from. I said full value. A lot of what is considered music today does not benefit that much after a certain price point in a system. And if you think that sounds a little nerdie I was going to Rollling Stones, Jethro Tull, Frank Zappa, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix concerts before many of you were born. Really, most people are not willing to get out of their box and try something new. I couldn't stand classical music until a surgeon I was working with (I am an anesthetist) forced it on us and you know what? A few years later half my music collection is classical music. So, we need to inspire our young folks to be more well rounded in all musical genres. That, I think will inspire them to be more appreciative of instruments that can reproduce the sound as if they were hearing it live. Just my 2 cts.