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

It has nothing to do with money. You will only be an audiophile if you buy those headphones, then stick them in your freezer overnight and claim that they sound much better the next day; more open with smooth upper mids, pin point imaging, and tight clean bass response.

You might want to cryo those decoder rings as well.

You are an audiophile when the loan officers at your bank greet you by first name, and call to check on you when they don't see you for a few months.

Jond- you right about that, my friend. and welcome to the (Audio) asylum, Jetguy. Oops, wrong web site. Anyways, have fun!!!

Start by becoming an Audiogon member - get a real USERNAME ...

And if you feel like this hobby is triving you nuts - become a member in the Asylum (www.audioasylum.com).

Enjoy!

Restock's suggestion is a good one. And choose your nick wisely. I didn't, so am stuck with polysyllabic inanity forever.

Anyways, if you love music and audio stuff then you qualify. Love sounds a bit too hubristic of course, perhaps discriminating is more modern? But a - forgive me - etymological note may help to get clear on your question. There are quite a few words incorporating the Greek verb philein, meaning to love, sometimes as prefix, philosophy say, or suffix, for example, anglophile, audiophile or whatever.

About the headphones - if it's the SR-60's considered, you might also want to consider Sennheiser 580's, a bit pricier, or the 600's a lot more so, especially if your tastes swing more to the classical than to rock/pop. For the latter, Grados in general are a good match, but this is just one opinion and no substitute for first-hand listening with familiar music.