And don't forget audiophipia's close cousin, videophilia—both of which turn their victims into obsessive, compulsive freaks who live and die by their A/V equipment. Count me among the infected.

CNET audio guru Steve Guttenberg (or rather, his concerned wife) found this great story from the Time.com archives, dated January 14, 1957, which first detailed the dreaded affliction known as "audiophilia."

According to one Dr. Henry Angus Bowes of St. Anne's Hospital in Quebec, audiophilia is (as Time put it) "the excessive passion for hi-fi sound and equipment." Amen to that.

Profile of the likely victim? "Middle-aged, male and intelligent ... they are often singe (or if married, childless) ... they rarely play any instrument well themselves  ... is very frequently of compulsive personality, and tends to go through rituals in the playing of his recordings." I like the "intelligent" part, but "compulsive"? "Rituals?" That's sounds worrying.

Oh, and a few more symptoms: Victims may "treat their hi-fi set as the emotionally immature treat a car—as an expression of aggression, as a power symbol." Also, the afflicted may crank the sound "until it reaches the physical level of pain ... one addict told me he would not be satisfied until he could hear the drop of saliva from the French horns." Maybe a set of $7,000 audio cables would help.

Yeah, it all sounds pretty nuts ... or does it? After reading the Time article, I think I might have to diagnose myself with "videophilia"—an "excessive passion" for flat-screen TVs, which features symptoms such as obsessing over the black levels on a given HDTV. (I had a severe attack after seeing a demo of Pioneer's new Kuro plasma sets.) Still, I don't think I bought my Sony Bravia as "revenge" against my wife, as Dr. Bowes suggests. (Or hey—maybe I'm just in denial.)

OK, show of hands: Who here's a audiophiac? What about you videophiliacs out there? What's your drug—er, component of choice? Don't worry, you're among friends here.

Related:
Do you have the audiophile 'disease'? [CNET]