How much reality do you really need?

Reality? that's live music.

A stereo can get you only so much. If you have a nicely recorded, produced and manufactured live album, you can get a good rendition of it.

The sickness of the audiophile (which unfortunately is me) is the willingness to continue to pay more and more for less and less perceived improvement in SQ. The poorest to the wealthiest audiophiles have the same sickness, just some will pay a lot more, and get a little more.

Anytime I change anything in my system and it sounds better to me, I get a rush. That's the addictive drug of the hobby. Nothing else.

rvpiano, listening to the sound is not dysfunctional. It is what we audiophiles do. Can I listen to the sound and enjoy the music at the same time? You bet. Does the sound ever keep me from enjoying the music? Never, unless it is bad music and there is more of that than ever. I have to say that good sound lets me enjoy the music more. What I think is dysfunctional is letting frustration with the sound quality ruin your enjoyment of the music. There have been plenty of times I have been less than happy with the sound of my system but that never stopped me from listening to music. 

What the music sounded like when it was recorded is not the point. It is what it sounds like when it is played back. If you can close your eyes and imagine you at a live event you are in business. That is my definition of the absolute sound. 

Epistemology 101: the coffee table may be a figment of my imagination, or it may be a bunch of subatomic particles or even electromagnetic waves, but it sure hurts when I knock my shin against it.

"Music (i.e. art) is nor reality. It is freedom from reality.".

Mijostyn,

I, of course, realize that obsessing over the sound to the detriment of the music is not to be wished for. But DYSFUNCTIONAL???
That word has such pejorative implications, it should not be glibly used. Compulsive, yes.  And many of us are infused with that curse.  It’s almost the nature of the hobby.
But  I find the term dysfunctional way too strong and ultimately insulting.