That there aren't musicians who are also audiophiles is a myth; that they "don't know that the high-end exists" is an even bigger myth. This notion keeps coming up time and again, and is completely false. Consider how many people in the general population are audiophiles; a very small percentage. There are far more audiophiles within the community of musicians, as a percentage of that population, than there are audiophiles in the general population; and while probably not to be considered "high-end", the vast majority of musicians have playback gear that is infinitely better than what the average non-musician owns. Now, some would expect most (if not all) musicians to be dedicated audiophiles. Clearly, this is not the case, and there are various reasons why some (many?) musicians are not interested; the main reason is related to the OP's basic premise:
One of the very reasons that draws many (not all) audiophiles to the hobby is one the reasons that many musicians are not interested in the hobby. Not because these musicians think that there is anything wrong with this, but because they already have, in their craft, an outlet for that particular need; the need to constantly improve, to tweak, to achieve perfection. Anyone who thinks that audiophiles are compulsive in their quest for perfection and obsession with equipment, would be shocked at the fact that this level of obsession is nothing compared to what musicians go through in the quest for just the right guitar, strings, horn, mouthpiece, reed, etc.; and the setup of these. There are only so many hours ($) in the day.
If there is a correlation between the quality of the equipment and the level of musical enjoyment, it is dependent on the individual's personality. In other words, some listeners are able to appreciate music to it's fullest on the most humble systems and, in fact, find the complexity or even the visual impact of an expensive system to be a distraction from that enjoyment. Some of us like the process and technical aspects of assembling a complex system and optimizing it, and that process maximizes the listening experience. For those of us a better system does, in fact, heighten the listening experience; up to a point, since it can be a bit of a catch-22. It takes work and effort to assemble and maintain a great system, and it can easily go from being enjoyable effort in the service of the music to being an obsession of the kind that takes away from the musical enjoyment. IMO, although I am not prepared to give up my expensive audio toys anytime soon, there is value in remembering that, at the end of the day, they are NOT absolutely necessary for the enjoyment of the music.
One of the very reasons that draws many (not all) audiophiles to the hobby is one the reasons that many musicians are not interested in the hobby. Not because these musicians think that there is anything wrong with this, but because they already have, in their craft, an outlet for that particular need; the need to constantly improve, to tweak, to achieve perfection. Anyone who thinks that audiophiles are compulsive in their quest for perfection and obsession with equipment, would be shocked at the fact that this level of obsession is nothing compared to what musicians go through in the quest for just the right guitar, strings, horn, mouthpiece, reed, etc.; and the setup of these. There are only so many hours ($) in the day.
If there is a correlation between the quality of the equipment and the level of musical enjoyment, it is dependent on the individual's personality. In other words, some listeners are able to appreciate music to it's fullest on the most humble systems and, in fact, find the complexity or even the visual impact of an expensive system to be a distraction from that enjoyment. Some of us like the process and technical aspects of assembling a complex system and optimizing it, and that process maximizes the listening experience. For those of us a better system does, in fact, heighten the listening experience; up to a point, since it can be a bit of a catch-22. It takes work and effort to assemble and maintain a great system, and it can easily go from being enjoyable effort in the service of the music to being an obsession of the kind that takes away from the musical enjoyment. IMO, although I am not prepared to give up my expensive audio toys anytime soon, there is value in remembering that, at the end of the day, they are NOT absolutely necessary for the enjoyment of the music.