"9/11 Wasn't Real" wrote in message
oups.com...

Many of us are becoming increasingly aware of those audiophiles who
show an extraordinary preoccupation with hi-fi equipment for its own
sake. Contributors to as well as readers of HFN/RR have expressed
irritation with this so-called lunatic fringe, which has been
repeatedly criticized for being out of touch with reality.

snip most of this post for brevity's sake

As we would expect, rational assessment can do very little against
such feelings; it is a poor weapon against the mystifications of
fetishistic publicity. I might add that manufacturers who allow
themselves to be exalted and aggrandized by fetishists in the same
manner as their products are doing themselves a disservice. For they
too are indulging in a form of narcissistic gratification and are
lending yet further credibility to the lunatic fringe.

From Hi-Fi News and Record Review, October 1981
http://www.heretical.com/miscella/zfetish.html

A precised version of this post, albeit somewhat tongue in cheek, can be had
by listening to Flanders' & Swan's song 'High Fidelity'.
Can't remember whether it's on their first album, 'At the Drop of a Hat' or
on their second, 'At the Drop of Another Hat'. Sorry.

ruff