Im joking really, im an audiophile myself with a decent hi fi set up that cost a few thousand dollars.
However, there is a subset of audiophiles that completely perplexes me. It just seems to me that at some stage, its no longer audiophilia (love of sound) but rather, some kind of neuroses where you have to control and make whatever you hear ‘pure’ or whatever it is. I worked in a psych ward years ago, and some of the stuff schizoprenics would say (about things being impure and such) echo alot of what I hear obsessive audiophiles say sometimes.
For example, theres audiophiles that would buy stuff like this:
https://www.toys4vip.com/en/luxury-toy/turntable/
A $133,000 turntable hooked up to a power conditioner, just so they can play a vinyl. I mean, this is fucking crazy right?
I’ve reached the point where sound quality is no longer improving. I’m swapping between different gear that is all equally transparent, trying to find something I really like, as an overall package: Performance, features, design, form factor, build quality, control feel, etc. I’m not addicted to chasing a perfect sound, so perhaps I fall short of mental illness, but certainly I am doing more “decorative” work than “substantive”.
I agree with you. I went Michi because of looks. It was great sounding as well but really it is pretty to me and that was a big factor in investing that much. I’m sure others would cringe at the Michi gear.