Is Upgrading Degrading?


Is the search for the "perfect system" a kind of vulgarity?

We don't tend to say "I' had an old Bach recording, but I've upgraded to Schoenberg!" We appreciate the wildly diverse character of these two geniuses on their own terms.

ok--it may make sense to say "I've upgraded from the Spice Girls to Bartok" but once music reaches a certain level of seriousness, it seems to me the correct approach is to bask in the aesthetic differences and perhaps the same is true of music systems.

Are we really getting "better sound" along an imagined continuum that runs from ghastly cacophony to some auditory Valhalla or are we just experiencing different wonderful systems with personalities as varied and unique as human beings are?
marburg
A better analogy would be that you just heard Tchaikovsky: Symphony 6 "Pathétique" in B minor Op. 74 performed by The NoName Symphony Orchestra and now you would like to hear the same performance performed by either the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra or Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Now that’s an upgrade. Comparing one artirst to another is a matter of personal taste.
or are we just experiencing different wonderful systems with personalities as varied and unique as human beings are? Marburg 04-08-11
That's just not a realistic point of view, at least not for me. When my system is "wonderful," I'll be happy and content. I think many feel like this. "Wonderful system" means that changing gear stops. Putting together a "wonderful system" can be easy for some, and full of difficulty and frustration for others. If you are fortunate enough to have a high end system, or any system, and it's "wonderful," you better be listening to music. Forget about upgrading!
"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Is that true?
I can't speak for anyone but myself, but for me, it has been a long process. I don't really consider the evolution of my system "upgrading" toward some absolute standard. For me, it has been more about learning what is important to me personally in a music system. I have been a slow learner, partly because I read too many ads and reviews. I am more in touch now with the sonic priorities that make music sound good to me. Of course, affording it all is another matter...
I have noticed recently less of an interest in reading reviews in Stereophile and TAS as well as the many online publications since I finished "tuning" my system after years of investment in gear of all kinds. My shift is clearly to music and I find myself opening up to new genres. I am on a huge bluegrass kick right now. I've been in this hobby for decades and never really appreciated the musical chops that the finer bluegrass musicians possess. As I write this I'm thoroughly enjoying the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Will the Circle be Unbroken" Awesome stuff.

For me at least, settling on the performance of my system has sifted my focus to the music. Good thing that.