Some good thoughts have been expressed. I think of audiophile as some one with the passion for music and hi fi gear. Some have come to associate audiophile with snobbary or eliteism but I think as in anything we should not stereotype. I do consider myself an audiophile. I also consider many others here audiophiles and don't exclude any one unless they exclude themselves. Some are merely hobbiests are Home Theater buffs who aren't really into the music end of it and I don't consider them audiophiles. A person should not be excluded from being an audiophile because of the means. They could be an audiophile and still have a modest system. Because they can't afford top line gear doesn't mean they don't appreciate it or enjoy it when opportunity presents itself. I also feel an audiophile should have some knowledge of the hobby, so running out and buying a $20k system don't automatically make you an audiophile. I feel I was always an audiophile, collecting music, always trying to find better gear and gaining knowledge. But my knowledge grew the most when discovering stores with true high end gear, doing listening, comparing and from getting the internet to exchange ideas with others with the same passion. Also, you can't stereotype because as in my case audiophiles can change their views and goals.

My goal was in the beginning to acquire the most accurate gear I could find, coming closest to reproducing the true tone of an instrument. First, this is a problem because it's totally subjective. I ended up using Krell and Dynaudio. I still think Krell is the best for reproducing certain aspects of music like impact, dynamics and control. I was not satisfied though, I was upgrading and changing gear around. Krell had a "wow" factor but I wasn't fully enjoying it though. I remembered years back hearing a tube system that blew me away with a certain presence but I dismissed that direction because my mind set at the time was "accuracy" and tubes had flaws. I started switching to tube gear little by litttle. Luckily I found Conrad Johnson equipment. after finally switching out my Krell 500i integrated with CJ separates I reached sort of a satisfaction. I loved the sound but missed the power. So I bought another power amp and had CJ turn them to mono and I was set. Tube gear has come a long way in some cases from our father's day which eliminates many of the stereotypes of tubes. It is still a trade off, giving up some of the impact and control for more presence and micro/macro dynamics, I don't want to hijack the thread by getting into tube/SS, this is just my journey. I can say now that I haven't changed any components in over a year and a restlessness I had is gone. I don't browse the internet for a good deal looking to upgrade somewhere. Actually, I like my system so much the way it is, I'm almost afraid to change anything. I think many may be looking for that "just right" system. Hopefully, some day they will find it.