My reaction to the question is a little broader than letting something "settle in" before I evaluate it critically. There are all sorts of people in this pursuit of hi-fidelity, from very dedicated enthusiasts, to people "in the business" to more casual users who want information on what to buy or how to address a problem, but whose interest is mainly in enjoying music with a minimum of fuss.
There is an analytical side to this and a musical enjoyment side-- for so many years, I was more devoted to the analytical side-- how good does the system sound, what records sound better (I’m still largely LP based). There were moments when everything gelled and I could enjoy what I was hearing for its own sake but I found those moments too infrequent.
When I put together my present system, starting in roughly 2006, I started focusing much more on the music, the performers, songwriters and production. I tend to like simple productions--they often sound more real to me-- and eventually moved from classical and hard rock to post-bop. Part of that may be personal taste. But I also began to appreciate that the technical know-how, the why it sounds good or bad is only a part of the process. I’m fascinated by the relationship between the music and the medium, as well as archival/preservation processes (about which I want to learn much more).
There is so much to learn--and I find the process very fulfilling- from music history and the stories behind the recordings and performers, to the manner in which the recording was mic’d, the way it was mixed and ultimately, how the thing was produced into a manufactured product. I’ve had the opportunity to do a fair number of "deep dives" into musicological history, researching archives, the US Copyright Office records, and various correspondence among participants in the production process as part of transactions buying and selling catalogs. It’s all interesting to me.
But, at the end of the day, I still want to put my feet up, listen for enjoyment, the bliss of a great performance on a good recording without my brain working on overdrive.
I guess in this sense I’m disciplined though much of what I learned about audio was not through formal education and much of what I learned about music history was either lawyerly research or study for my own interest.
In terms of letting gear settle in, I do believe that is real. I can have an immediate reaction to the swap out of a piece of gear, but I do prefer to live with the piece in question and "evaluate" it (that sounds very formal, maybe "living with it" in a given system is more apt) for some period of time using a range of material.
I guess the question of discipline as an audiophile can take various forms-- one might be to improve sonics, another might be to broaden your musical horizons.
I embrace all of it. The longer I’m on this planet, the more I want to know. I think that kind of inquisitiveness is invaluable, whether it is technical, musical, historical or other aspects of this convergence between art and science.
