Can one ever be "done" in this hobby?

There’s a fine line between audio nervosa and just doing what needs to be done. You could even call it housekeeping. Very unstressful. The stress comes when you can’t figure out where to go next or what’s wrong with your system. There’s not enough time left in the world to do what I think needs to be done. If I could explain it to the average bear they’d give me the Nobel prize. Good luck to y’all. 😀 Now, if you’ll please excuse me, I’ve got a plane to catch. A plane going to the future, I only come back here for the breezy chit chat and Wack a Mole. They don’t have audio forums in the future. Talk amongst yourselves. Smoke if ya got em. 

Kaitty, you're excused and please don't come back (my wishful thinking impulse kicked in). Regarding the subject at hand, note the word "hobby." Changing components including cables and tubes or whatever can be FUN, and I, like many, don't change things very often except in my case maybe tubes, and that's because tubes are an inexpensive personal esthetic testing device. Otherwise, my sort of recent switch (couple of years) to a small single ended amp and efficient speakers is working for me, mostly because the music coming at my earballs sounds sublime...hobby...fun hobby...

I almost forgot. Nobody said audio nervosa can’t be fun. Think of it like gambling. Sure, it’s an addiction. But it’s fun. Even when you lose it’s still fun.  

The more time and energy one devotes to focusing on the music, the less one has left for thinking about sound for sound’s sake. Just as the best musicians play in service to the music, so too do the "best" audiophiles. Perhaps I’m actually not an audiophile at all. ;-)

This is a hobby where "done" usually means "done for now". I've been there countless times. There are just so many different designs and implementations to explore and listen to. With loudspeakers alone we've got single-driver, 2-way, 3-way, line-array, horns, panels, omni's, monitors, floor standing, etc. etc. Never mind driver size, materials, and crossovers. I could go on but y'all know what I'm saying. So, for me it's not so much nervosa but simple curiosity. I think it's part of being an audiophile. Love of music is the driving force and, let's face it, we love the gear as well. Do you really need to upgrade? Of course not. Need has nothing to do with it.