Isn't it really about quality of recording?

The quality of any recording starts with the musician(s) and requires that all components in the chain from the musician to the listener's ears are high quality.

I’ve found that extremely well-engineered recordings absolutely shone in ways they hadn’t before with lower-fidelity systems.

As silly and trivial as this hi-fi stuff may seem to some, there’s something to it indeed.  The willingness to jump through the requisite hoops to optimize music playback is determined by the individual.

It's very subjective for me.  Whatever makes an emotional connection.  Sometimes it a pure tone, sometimes it a subtle detail that I've never noticed and sometimes it's a recalled memory from simpler times.  Kind of like drinking good wine.  Once you get used to something  good, it's hard to go back.

I've been looking down the rabbit hole recently and I Imagine it's like gambling for some.  Not every financial gamble pays off but when you get the occasional emotional reward, it's enough to keep you going back.

A dedicated 20A line and Furutech GTX-D outlet are scheduled for this week.  Just one more fix and i'm done:).

I'm finding that DSP tends to filter out some of the openness Of recordings. 
 

Looking forward to customized analog cables versus whatever it is that audio quest or even Cardas has created in their laboratories

it's simply a larger guage Quality cable and some hopefully good RCA connectors. I'll offer up details after I try them out. I think this is a potentially good way to open up a system. 

Great system, lousy recording?  You can't polish a turd.  Don't care how hard you try.