How much reality do you really need?

 mglik - Isn't appreciation a function of the motivation and experience of the listener? I.e., the more you put into it the more you get out of it?

dweller - This is usually the case. I know that each improvement in my system brings more appreciation and enjoyment. The upgrade process seems never ending and many who put more and more into their systems not only experience diminishing returns but find that their "improvement", at times, spoils the sound and the experience.
But, mostly, one never imagines that the SQ can be better until they hear the effect of their upgrade. And, IME, price usually can be paralleled with quality.

Mijostyn,

it’s certainly not a matter of getting mad at the music. That wouldn’t be dysfunctional, that would be crazy.
I can’t believe you’re not aware that a common thread of many ongoing Audiogon discussions has concerned the problem of being so obsessed with the sound of one’s system that it gets in the way of actually listening to the music. It’s not a question of fixing your system. It’s the nature of this hobby that we pay so much attention to the sound.
If that’s dysfunctional, then it’s possible a large portion of us are occasionally dysfunctional.

Mglik - The "more" I'm referring to has to do with the listener, not the system hardware. If you are a regular concert goer or have attended many in your lifetime, you have a larger knowledge-base at your disposal.
When you say "this sounds real", it carries more weight because you have a clearer idea of what real sounds like.

How do you know if your system sounds like the sound room where it was recorded or how it sounded live?  I think a sound system alters the sound in order to hear what sounds most pleasing to your ear.  The next step is how much are you willing to spend or how much will your spouse allow you to spend.

I think it is fun to do things in stages and to improve the sound.  This gives you something to look forward to.  Problem is, the equipment depreciates rapidly.

Many young people have no choice but to start somewhere, but they are at least starting.

What amazes me is to look at real estate listings and not see a single home with a pair of speakers in any room of their house.  For example they might have a $5,000 piece of furniture with a wide screen TV and they are listening to their TV speakers.  I would estimate 70% of viewing a movie is based on sound. People living in a $800,000 house listening to their TV speakers.  Yikes!