Many of us want to Changegrade instead of Upgrading

I think my change grade is having a system in my office with a nice vintage Technics turntable and bookshelf speakers and dual subs with a pretty decent sound but quite different than with my main system. Not nearly a good as the main system but a nice change from time to time. 

@erik_squires Thank you for this thoughtful post. I relate to it greatly. I was on both upgraditis and changitis paths for over a decade. I ended up having three systems designed around three speaker designs - 3-way, electrostats, and horns, and then I started upgrading each system. This past year, I finally started getting content with just one system, which is now the system I have left. I decided to sell all of my spare gear. Once in a while I still upgrade something small to tweak, but it’s been fairly stable the last six months to a year.

Instead, I started a hifi company so I could help others through their journey! While the business has been moving slower than I’d like, I am rewarded in ways I never thought I would have - I get to meet lots of local audiophiles, and as people like the way I set up systems and treat rooms, customers ask me to come over and give them my perspective. So in the last few months since I kicked off the business, I’ve heard some incredible systems and incredible components in private settings, and I’ve gotten to play with them regarding positioning and tweaking. While I’ve heard hundreds of systems through the combination of my existing audiophile friends and family, dealers, and shows, the business has exposed me to even more systems that each present music a little bit differently, and it’s given me a lot of exposure to understanding the performance of different gear. And I’ve come to the conclusion that after a certain level of performance, it truly is worth appreciating “different” and not continuing to chase “better”.

How many of us go through phases where we listen to more jazz than rock or more classical than jazz etc for awhile? As each of those genres has a somewhat signature sound that's a bit different than the others, a related listening preference might find one enjoying more acoustic instrument than electric instrument music, resulting in a system component change or two that more accurately/pleasantly reproduces the sounds. I've made cartridge changes for that reason before.

Nelson Pass designs and builds amps with different personalities, for those who want a couple of girlfriends at a time.

I think most of us are already doing this with out calling it. Example when in my office I listen to my office system that consisted of two stereo streaming speakers with class D amps. Then in my car I listen to my Mark Levinson system feed by my phone into IfI hip dac. On my Deck I listen to JBL outdoor speakers being feed by my old marantz amp. Then of course I have my main rig in listening room down in basement. I can say I am off the up grade train as my main objective is to enjoy the music first and any way I can have it delivered to me. I will confess I am a tweeker with all my systems but that is only trying to enhance the main components that I am happy with. Also forgot to list my old Bose 901’s that are hanging from the ceiling of my garage (no need for anyone to chime in on Bose it’s my garage)!