The longest you have owned any gear?

Sorry. I can see that some people still buy Studers on ebay, for about $4k, but don't buy them for over $5k. I don't get it. When it comes to Studer and considering that $4k is already no pocket change, I would be prepared to pay extra $1k if I saw a good reason. 

I still have in use an Ariston RD11S TT that I bought new in 1977 ($280). No arm. First arm was a SME 3009, second was a JH Formula 4, third was a Keith Monks, fourth was a Lustre GST-1 and last (and present) is a Grace 707/ Denon 103 combination. The mat is also from 1977 - a Hiraoka Diskmat SE-22 that I bought new from Harvey Sound (48st NYC) - $20! Still sounds great! I also have more TT's, including a Linn Sondek, though none have been with me as long as the Ariston!

 I also still have and use the Audio Technica Record Weight that I bought new in 1978 ($15) from Audiocom in Old Greenwich, CT. A great store! They carried GAS, DCM, Snell ... and Beveridge!

The oldest piece for me is my TEAC X1000R RTR.  I bought it new in 1982 making it 35 years young.  It is still going strong.

Both Rega Kyte and RS1 loudspeakers for over a decade each. And these were days when 2 or 3 years were a long time in audio.

The Kytes were vivid and RS1s a little more muted but smoother. Within their bandwidth they were at least as good as anything else I'd heard.

My Marantz CD 6000ki is getting on for 15 years and I can't imagine why I would get rid of it whilst we both keep working.

For me it's a question of satisfaction. That usually happens when things sound balanced and correct in the midrange. Its when you start looking for resolution in the extremes, especially sub 35Hz bass that things can get tricky.