Has Radicalizing the Rig Led to Revolutionized Listening?

It's such a rewarding experience to have a fulfilling listening session every time one sits down before the system. I couldn't relax and simply let the music wash over me when it had major faults as I interpreted them. But, with the elevation of the sound quality, I could relax and sense the reality in it. 

That level of quality is far higher than I dreamed it would be; i.e. the cost to achieve it was far higher than I had imagined. 20 years ago I never thought I would put so much into audio, but I wisely budgeted literally a certain amount each year to expend to build it up. That has paid of handsomely, and if not for that this discovery of the raw beauty of acoustic may not have happened. 

I concur that nostalgia can lead you back to other genres. I find myself listening to performances of 30 or more years ago with glee, as they are so well rendered by a good system. I hear, and appreciate so much more now than when I was young. The artistry is what shines through on such performances, and when it is rendered beautifully it touches the soul. 

Vocals, too have changed for me, and now I tend toward less harsh, more nuanced songs. One of my great joyous discoveries in recent days has been the series of Voices Only and Voices Forte series of recordings of a cappella groups. I sang in choir in grade school, high school and college, so group vocals takes me back to some lovely times. 

I'm guessing much of this is a function of aging, but the equipment has solidified strong desire to hear it. 

As I’ve spent the past 6 months putting a system together, I’ve been listening to a lot of acoustic music in order to critically assess the each new component. But, in addition, I’ve found myself drawn in as you’ve described.

One moment where I actually gasped was when I listened to really exceptionally well recorded acoustic music. Blue Coast Records pays attention to every step of the process and some of the cuts on their samplers has provided me with critical listening benchmarks but also deeply felt experiences.

https://bluecoastmusic.com/blue-coast-collection

A good rig dont necessarily cost much money first, and with a good rig ANYTHING sound better, even the bad recording were more enjoyable...

Acoustic music  is almost all music anyway.....Only acoustic natural  musical instrument gives us a reference point.... 

Doug:

You will circle around @ some point (I did)...

https://en.audiofanzine.com/fuzz-pedal/editorial/articles/legends-the-history-of-the-great-fuzz-peda...

DeKay