Audiophile Addiction

As a long time audiophile I can tell you this, audiophiles go through many phases......listening to music (which is what got you started in the first place)...is not always first on the list.

If you stay long term, and get past the listening to everything but the music stage, you will, in the end be happy.

After 40 years I'm happy, and probably no longer an audiophile.......but I do listen to a lot of great music.

My audiophile years taught me a lot, and I'm glad I went through them.

Dave

If you can't listen to music and are at the mercy of upgraditis to the point of having to sell off the system to be free of it, you are in way too deep. That's like going cold turkey from a nicotine addiction - pretty severe IMO.

@Hooper -- how did you lose sight of music to the point where your $150k system became a "miserable chore"? Were yo never able to sit down and appreciate what you had put together? I can't imagine it didn't impress at least a little. I've had my frustrations, system analyzing and upgraditis as much as the next audio nerd, but I can say with certainty that my system today has never sounded better, and I'm pretty pleased with what I've accomplished.

What I can say is that listening to the same music over and over again can get quite boring and monotonous, no matter how good it sounds. The cure, of course, is to buy new music for your system and ears to chew on.

he was constantly trying to find the perfect sound from his audio system 07-22-10: Rpg

It's too bad he had to learn a lesson the hard way. I'm not in this for perfect sound. There is very little perfection anywhere. To seek it would seem to be folly. A "satisfying sound" is all I hope to achieve. But even that is not so easy with a High end system. Does anyone agree with me? The performance of a high end system is UNFORTUNATELY sensitive to so many different variables, that putting together a satisfying system becomes a complex process of Applied Physics (control of resonance, vibration, isolation), Electronics (impedance matching, inductance, capacitance, resistance, emi, rfi,) and so on. Oh yeh! and then you need some luck after all the trial and error.

A "satisfying sound" is all I hope to achieve

One person's satisfaction is another person's drivel. Indeed, I think it's finding a level of comfort within compromise

why would anyone choose to spend more time with his family than with a high-end system?