Largely out of fear of making a costly mistake, I go slow when considering upgrades. I had a pair of speakers for 9 years that really didn't work for me. I upgraded the front end and source gear, added acoustical treatments to the room, and upgraded cables to make sure none of these things were holding the speakers back. They weren't. Five years ago I finally replaced those speakers with speakers that I tried based solely on reviews and the forums here. They were returnable, so I took a shot.
Well, it was a home run. It was just lucky synergy with all my gear. No, my rig is not a big bucks rig, much of it purchased used, and it has been largely static for the last four years. Upgrades simply haven't been an option economically, anyway. But I really enjoy listening to my system whenever I get the chance, and only occasionally do I hear something that bothers me. And that's most often the fault of the source material.
I love discovering new music, and have over 1000 CDs and downloads on my Amazon Wish List, but very little hope of ever buying them all. That said, I have hundreds of LPs from record shows that I have yet to listen to, so they will be new for me, at least.
Am I an audiophile? Well, I might upgrade some things if I had the money, but that doesn't mean I am unhappy with my system as it is. I am very active in my local audio society, and through it I get to hear all sorts of gear - DIY, high-end, entry level, vintage, etc. - and I can't remember when a system I heard made me feel bad about my own system. Even if a system is clearly superior to my own, I think about the money that system costs and how relatively little I spent on mine, and I feel a sense of great accomplishment, of real "bang for the buck." I even enjoy music in the car through a reasonably good car stereo (in a rather noisy car, though), so I am definitley a music lover. But since I was not happy with my old speakers, and did not spend much time listening to music on them, I would say that I am indeed an audiophile.
