how much to $pend to claim i am an audiophile?

There are all kinds of audiophiles. Forget the money.

Many only use vintage tube gear from the 60s and 70s. Others only buy the latest megabuck system to keep up the the Audio Jones'. Some even get a kick out of buying used gear and seeing how good a system they can put together for $1,000.

Some go to yard sales, flea markets, thrift stores and pawn shops looking for cool stuff for pennies, including old vinyl LPs.

You need to send $1K to me and I will send you your official audiophile of america membership card and decoder ring, plus a tricked up power cord and a spike coaster. Or you can just email me your cc # and I will let you know when your credit limit ahs been reached. ;~)

To be a genuine audiophile you must have and wear an Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie . Without it you are a wanna be.

Link:

http://zapatopi.net/afdb/

This is the latest audiophile "must have"

Best,

Paul :-)

thanks for all the responses my fellow audiophiles.

You don't need to spend a certain amount of money to be an audiophile. One definition of an audiophile might be this: a person who has a strong affinity for stereo equipment that sounds outstanding to THEM, and is willing to spend what "normal" people consider to be an excessive amount of money to get it. Usually that person will have been co-opted into the hobby as a teenager, during a visit to an audio store, listening to a high end "reference" system that has been properly set up. A pitfall is that this hobby can (an often does) become an obsession. It's a mistake to equate the price of gear with sound or build quality. Although there's a strong correlation, it is far from perfect. That fact becomes apparent over years of listening to different systems, some of which sound surprisingly great for the price and some of which sound surprisingly rotten for the price. Personally, I think that just throwing money at a system without using one's ears and brain is idiotic. Although the price GENERALLY correlates with quality, there are enough exceptions to make that rule dangerous to follow blindly.

If I may be so bold as to make a suggestion in response to your question, it is this: Don't get overfocused on the price tag as "qualifying" you as an audiophile. Only your ears, brain and heart can qualify you as an audiophile. It's a self-appointed status. Welcome to the club.
-Bill