I was recently told that in this person's considered opinion, 99% of people hearing for the first time a high-end audio system wouldn't know the difference between that and a pair of powered monitors.
And the logic is pretty simple. If only a tiny handful of the world's population are audiophiles, that must mean the rest of the folks aren't discerning enough to notice the difference.
Which is not only silly, it's illogical. Would 99% of the people know the difference between a ride in a Tesla versus one in a Toyota Camry? A McDonald's hamburger versus one from a Michelin starred restaurant?
Of course they can, just as much as anyone on the planet would instantly hear the difference in sound quality between a pair of Aspen FR30s and a set of powered monitors.
The point isn't whether they would hear the difference, it's more about whether they would care.
And that's the crux of it. We audiophiles care about the quality of music reproduction in our homes.
We care enough to get it right and maximize our pleasure.
