Hey, we don't get no respect

Truth is, very few people sit down and listen to music for pleasure. Fewer still strive to buy equipment that better ables them to "connect" emotionally with the music.

Hate to sound like an old fart, but consider this: just today I read that Mariah Carey has now tied Elvis' record of 17 number one US Singles. That woman can peel paint with her inane vocal antics.

We are deceiving ourselves if we think we AREN'T the lunatic fringe!

$12,000 is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a speaker. In any field the state of the art will always be expensive, but I've gotten sick and tire of hearing how components costing $10,000+ are described as "a bargain" just because they don't cost $50,000. The majority of music lovers I've met do want high quality audio reproduction, they just don't obsess about it and they won't pay the equivalent of a nice new car to have it.

Just like anything in life it depends on what it's worth to you. Unfortunately when it comes to alot of our market there are alot of products that are way over priced like th pair of speaker cables the guy is claiming he's almost giving away at 5,500 bucks. That's about what my speakers cost. I think the cable industry is the worst but there's alot of people who think the price makes the product and actually get sales.

To me I feel my enjoyment of music is worth investing the several grand I have into it. It's a pretty safe hobby. Many of our children will appreciate music more than the next person which in my mind is a nice gift.

Sdcampbell,

You say that "I haven't decided if the majority of music listeners simply aren't very particular about audio quality, or if they just don't care." Do you think it could simply be that one person's "goosebumps" is another person's "rash"!?

Therefore, I submit that it's a matter of priorities. and not absolutes, in terms of what experiences provide an individual the most stimulation. Many people who appreciate music, and have experienced all kinds of live performance, have heard my system. And they DO go "Wow!". They bring they're friends over too. AND, some of them could easily afford wall-to-wall Goldmund if they desired. They just don't desire it, and would probably use it for background music, if they listened much at all. Simply put, they don't find themselves being transported, or deriving the kind of ongoing pleasure that we do, from achieving the (near perfect) replication of a real performance in our homes. When they do happen to hear a live performance, it's more often accidental than intentional.

And let's not forget budget Home Theater systems, more specifically, the ability of video to lend a greater perception of realism to audio.

And though I cringe when one of my friends says to me "Gosh, your stereo sounds soooo much better than the Bose & Olufsen so-and-so just bought!", I do get some satisfaction knowing that at least THEY won't be wasting THEIR money on a Bose & Olufsen any time soon :~))

SDCampbell,
Your right on both counts, they don't care and they aren't concerned. Music is just backround noise for 99% of them. I've been a audiophile for over 30 years and the true joy to me is to sit down and really listen to what the artist has said with the music. Doing so on a nice system only inhances the joy of the artists gift to me.
MJW55