As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
With any hobby that requires time and money, there are sure to be snobs. This is no different in the audio/home theater space.
Although this is discouraging it is the reality as some audiophiles mask their love for audio with classism/elitism.
So this begs the question, why are audiophiles snobs?
Audiophiles are often snobs because they constantly pit their sound systems against others and degrade those who do not have the resources to get the more expensive sound setups.
They also tend to look at everything wrong with someone’s setup and are not positive.
In this blog post, I will further explain why audiophiles can be snobs in more detail as well as how to avoid these people and their negativity.
There are a ton of snobs out there in film and audio
Cinephiles, audiophiles, etc, movies, in general, can attract snobs as film is a complex medium.
For example, some people think they are better because they watch slow-burn psychological films from the criterion collection and mock anyone who watches the vast majority of films that come out from Hollywood.
“I just watched the seventh seal, what a masterpiece!”, “Nice I just saw the latest Transformers, it was pretty good”, “Oh my god you have no taste, you are such a casual”.
In the audio space snobbery is especially prevalent and targeted towards people who buy soundbars and don’t invest in a traditional home theater setup.
For example, the r/hometheater subreddit is notorious for downvoting to hell and going after anyone who dares mention a soundbar in a post or comment, it has gotten to the point of pure comedy.
They also demean people who don’t have subwoofers, I have seen people firsthand make the most idiotic statements “You don’t have a subwoofer?” “Might as well just listen to the movie with your TV speakers”.
FOMO drives the elitism
For a lot of home theater enthusiasts, there is a fear of missing out and a need to constantly have the best possible sound equipment they can afford and comparing their setups to others.
Instead of actually enjoying what they have they are always on a mission to somehow improve their setup or buy something new. It’s a sickness almost.
If you are happy with the sound quality you are getting that’s all that matters. you don’t necessarily need “the best” system.
Audiophiles tend to be people who are never satisfied or happy, constantly needing more and more to fill a void in them.
Often times people can be made fun of if they have budget audio equipment or a soundbar.
Inverted Snobbery
there is also a form of inverted snobbery that is prevalent in the home theater space.
As defined by Oxford, “a person who appears to despise anything associated with wealth or social status, while at the same time elevating those things associated with lack of wealth and social position”.
There are people out there that have extremely high-end audio equipment but are not snobs and are relatively humble.
If these people post a picture of their setups or talk about them on youtube other people who cannot afford them sometimes demean them and say they got screwed and did not get a good deal.
The “best bang for your buck” is emphasized and people who cannot afford these high-end setups just come off as jealous. People like to spend your money for you for some reason.
The snobbery can come from either direction, whether the person has tens of thousands of audio equipment or just a couple hundred.
Audio Store Snobs
There can be a sense of discomfort when you go to a high-end local audio store when someone there asks what your current setup looks like.
Sometimes audiophiles forget that the whole point of listening to music or watching a movie is to have fun and enjoy it, not dissect every aspect of it and never be happy with it.
Some people are really elitists when it comes to the brands of audio equipment.
Snobbery mostly comes from lack of empathy towards other sound enthusiasts but also an intense borderline unhealthy passion with audio from audiophiles.
They know every detail about sound systems and can easily pick apart any system, They can choose to be overly negative with ease, no sound system is perfect.
Conclusion
There are a lot of audio snobs out there, don’t let them get you. Mostly avoid Reddit or other forums that are full of elitists and tend to be overly negative and positive.
Understand that any hobby will have it’s fair share of snobs.
For some reason people are always on the lookout to demean others and make fun of them to build themselves up, it’s truly bizarre.
