Is it possible to be an audiophile and be happy with what you have


It seems like audiophiles are always looking to upgrade. From something as minor as a fuse to upgrading all their components. Music lovers on the other hand seem content with what equipment they have and just want to experience new music. So I ask you, can a audiophile just be happy with what they have? Or is that just not possible being an audiophile?

taters
After a four-year process of upgrades, a process which started out fairly slowly, last year reached "fever pitch", I am just about "done" with upgrades for now.  As I learn more about room conditioning, I'll be installing some more bass traps, but I think (for now) I'm done with equipment upgrades.

I know that sounds strange to some of my audio buddies, the word "done", but I'm really happy with the performance of my system and until I get the hots to make changes (which is not at all likely, at least in the near future), I'll sit back and enjoy the beautiful sounds I've created!

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. 

I dunno. Went from constantly looking to tweak and upgrade to basically staying the same for the past couple of years or so ... mostly due to time/money constraints. Somewhere in the process I went from listening to my equipment to listening to music. Now I sometimes find myself thinking "boy, that sounds pretty damn good" - even though I haven't changed or upgraded anything. (Replacing burned out tube doesn't count :-) 
No. No way. Besides, happiness is an abstraction that I hope I will never reach. Process is really more important. Listening to music is a process too, and good equipment helps big time. But I try not to give in to obsessive upgrading all the time, including in my mind.
As I am sure many others I too find the source, the recording/mastering, to almost always be the weakest link, and that's something that I can do nothing about. Most of what I listen to was not recorded/mastered well, but sometimes not too bad. But I do hunt for the best sounding pressings, so in some cases I have original US, original UK, original Japanese, early Japanese reissue and maybe also original Dutch and German. I don't listen to classical jazz or classical music, though I do like some neo-classical albums that are all in digital. You could try The Umbersun by Elend. So dark.
Anyway, returning to the original question, with reasonably good recording my system sounds acceptable to me. Well, it's only entry-level $15k set-up with three source components.
OP-
much will be dependent upon how one approaches building the system.
Start out on a lower scale and move up the chain. Or, start at the top of the chain.