@snilf the # of responses to your post should indicate you belong on the forum. Lots of responses and opinions.
Are you an audiophile? Ask for the definition and you’ll likely get as many as you got responses to this post.
Based on your love of music and that you can make music with the talent you have playing instruments and the obvious interest you have in enjoying listing to recordings of songs, music, that checks a lot of audiophile boxes. The fact that you love music but you’ll still pick tracks that highlight your systems sound over music you already know, like, that’s for sure an audiophile thing, check. The time you have spent building out a network of fellow audiophiles, check. The price you paid for your gear is irrelevant, from the sounds of it you took advantage of opportunities that presented themselves, allowing you to collect some great gear that you love, with little expense, relative to the quality of the system, check. Money spent isn’t the precursor to being an audiophile.
The definition of what makes you an audiophile is subjective, just like comparing 2 sets of speakers, both can be incredible speakers, they’ll have a sound signature, if they are your speakers, the only person they need to sound good to, is you.
I’ve cycled through gear, spent way more than I would ever want to admit to someone who isn’t into this hobby, obsessed over the equipment I’ve bought, what I want to buy, had my family question my sanity more than a couple times. That doesn’t make me anymore or less of an Audiophile than you. What I think makes me one, since I was little, I always was really particular on how music sounded when I listened, I could hear differences others couldn’t or that didn’t matter to them. I’ve always wanted to find that perfect sound, to me. I’m still searching….