How serious are you?

Last few years I was a 9-10 as I digested much info as I can find, demo what I could, to purchase my first high-end analog + digital chains.
8+ today but interest is tapering off - only have Ethernet components, digital cabling, Roon core, then I’m done…for now. I usually peruse reviews and forums regularly.

"Serious" seems to equate for some with how often you change gear.  I've been doing this for the last 40 years and once you reach a certain point and your main system is making you happy, you seldom want to continue the obsessive upgrade thing.  That doesn't mean that I don't listen critically - I do, and other hobbyists sometimes bring gear to my place and vice versa so we can compare. Only occasionally will this reveal a significant change that warrants a revision of a system.

We recently did such a comparison (on my main system) of two excellent phono preamps, a Vendetta 2 SCP-2D and the last iteration of the Herron phono stage.  No upgrades resulted!

From an 8-9 to a 5

I started in this hobby forty plus years ago when I realized that their was this whole other approach to audio than the Pioneer, Technics, Teac, Bose Altec, products that dealers around me sold.  And it happened when my older brother came home from his first year in college with a new stereo system and I was hooked.  Maybe I was an 8 or 9 then and stayed that way for many many years.  Things changed when I first walked into a specialty shop in town and taught me over the years to listen to equipment with the best possible setup and to make my own decisions and mind up as to what I thought was good and not what others tell me as I have definitely noticed happens a lot on Audigon discussions.  One thing at the dealer I noticed was their opinion of rags like The Absolute Sound.  They referred to it as a comic book and laughed and laughed at the articles in it.  Maybe in my forties I packed away everything in a move, built a nice wall shelf between the kitchen. living room and purchased a Cambridge CD 88 and used that for ten years.  Obsession now a 6.  One day I just decided to setup the stereo.  I really don't change anything out in my system unless it's broke and about five-six years back it seemed like my whole setup started to fail over a two week period, some gear from wear and some by accident.  So I started a reset on the whole system.   Buying gear.  Liking some purchases, but finding some lacking one way or another.   Two things occurred to me, I was purchasing things that were good but thought that they weren't what I really wanted not to mention some of my older gear thinking was not repairable and had them repaired.  I now have a system I like and an excess of equipment to get rid of.  So today I'm a solid 5 and not really obsessed anymore.  Other things like being at the beach cottage in Union Pier Michigan with a Tivoli Pal or my Beosystem 10 portable rank a solid 10 on my obsession meter.

Depends how much your system is worth?

< $500 = sounds good to me

$1,000-$5,000 = Im readung reports and recommendations

$10,000 = audio Junkie

$25,000 = I love it and I'm happy

$50,000 = divorce dicussions

$100,000 = no.longer a hobby and obsessed

Probably a 3. I’ve not turned on my stereo in 4 months. Too hot to sit in a sweet spot and listen intently. I’m on the cusp of buying a new set of tube mono’s so I’m certain that’ll start the fire again. Winter is better for tubes and Class A listening. And I’m retired so I’ve got all the time in the world to catch up!