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Try to explain Shun Mook $300/m interconnects to anyone outside the hobby. They'll act as if you've asked them to join the Moonies.
Innovation can often come from unexpected places, but "thinking different" can also engender ridicule. Is audio's "lunatic fringe" good or bad for the hobby?
Regarding the enjoyment of recorded music in a domestic setting as a "hobby" is in and of itself a good way to exclude 90% of your potential customer base. The "lunatic fringe" does indeed convince most non-audiophiles that we are audiophools. Peter Belt et al have a lot to answer for.
A little from column A; a little from column B. We need people who think the unthinkable, in order for the art/science to progress in new directions. On the other hand, there are people who make our passion look ridiculous every time they open their mouths or type their thoughts. Mind you, even when you read the more frothy-lipped contributions (like the Stereophile letters page), at least they care—the nutters. Sorry, can't have one without the other, I'm afraid.
Bottom line is that the lunatic fringe (it's called that for a reason) hurts the hobby. It discredits the hobby and makes it inaccessible. How do you explain to someone who can buy twice the computing power at half the cost compared to a year ago vs audio's lunatic fringe which asks for twice the price for benefits which seem to only be audible when the listener is aware of the price of the product. It makes the hobby look like it's populated by a bunch of suckers.
The crazies are out there no matter what field you are looking at. Sure, they can be distracting to some, but sometimes (often) there is a kernel of truth in their fanaticism that does lead to true improvement in the end. We need the crazies to keep us sane.
There is no question but that those in the lunatic fringe who listen very carefully can push systems and discover new methods for sonic splendor, but 99% of it is BS. Solid engineering (without a blind adherence to dogma), together with careful listening is what really moves the industry forward.
JGH kinda said it best here: "I know I did, and my whole excuse for it—a love for the sound of live classical music—lost its relevance in the US within 10 years. I was done in by time, history, and the most spoiled, destructive generation of irresponsible brats the world has ever seen. (I refer, of course, to the Boomers.) " Where is the new generation? Wherever we can find it! I battle with naysayers and haters (MP3s are the culprit) all of the time, and it is much worse now than 10 years ago, vinyl lovers excepted, sort of. (Most consumers at record stores don't own great LP rigs—the stores certainly dont'!) I would find it interesting to see what's the age the of consumers who buy the newest remasters of the Beatles catalog. Baby Boomers or younger? JGH thought different, and he was an archetype. Mikey is too. And I thank god for both of 'em!
It's a good thing, because designers get into bad habits, designing with current demand in mind instead of innovating to make something that will engender new demand. It's a bad thing, because it tends to cause rifts among otherwise civilized people.
Fanaticism is almost never a good thing. Balance—both between the left and right channels and in the quest for great sound—is essential to making listening to high performance audio gear flourish. Making people who do not have the same likes as you feel bad for their opinions is both narrow-minded and elitist, which pushes people away. That's bad for all of us who love getting the most performance while enjoying their music. Think about it.
It's good because the true lunatics often can raise the bar for what can be achieved. It's bad because the "false lunatics" are only interested in getting into our pocketbooks. That causes the truly cutting-edge side of the hobby to get lumped in with the shysters.