The two stages of audiophilia

I look at the two stages different.Stage one is the love of music and you will do any for that love. Buy a system you feel will help nurture that love of music. Spend all your free time loving that music. Always looking for new artists to grow and deepen that love. It is a journey that can be very fulfilling.Stage two is the down fall that too many fall into. Their love of music turns to their love of their system. This sends them it to a tail spin that they can never get out of. Chasing new equipment based on a post from someone who does not own the piece but gives an opinion. Thinking they are hearing things they really can’t hear. Tweaking things just to tweak, buying new because the technology has to be better it’s newer right?
Their only hope is that they come full circle and rediscover the love of music and remember that system love is that high maintenance girlfriend who you can never satisfy and will dump you in a heartbeat!

Sgreg1,

Very eloquent. 
I agree with your stage one.
We have to fervently hope there will be a stage three.

I look at the two stages different.Stage one is the love of music and you will do any for that love. Buy a system you feel will help nurture that love of music. Spend all your free time loving that music. Always looking for new artists to grow and deepen that love. It is a journey that can be very fulfilling.Stage two is the down fall that too many fall into. Their love of music turns to their love of their system. This sends them it to a tail spin that they can never get out of. Chasing new equipment based on a post from someone who does not own the piece but gives an opinion. Thinking they are hearing things they really can’t hear. Tweaking things just to tweak, buying new because the technology has to be better it’s newer right?
Their only hope is that they come full circle and rediscover the love of music and remember that system love is that high maintenance girlfriend who you can never satisfy and will dump you in a heartbeat!

Great post really! Thanks...

You are spot on right....

I myself suffered for 8 years of this "disease" which is also could be a marvellous journey though....

What take this marvellous journey to his natural and usual end in my case was acoustic science...

Without acoustic treatment and controls all audio system are compared one against the other to be evaluated for themselves...

With acoustic treatment and controls, which are applied individually to some specific gear in specific room; in this instance and circonstances, the distance between what we can qualify "sounds" and what we can qualify "music" or "spoken words" or "singing voices" melted progressively at some level in one singular experience : sound was no more only some signs but something now uniquely meaningful....

For me it was the revelation of the art of listening... Alas! i am not a musician....Nor an acoustician.... Only a lover of music who was dreaming to afford for  himself Hi-FI....

sgreg1,
"Their only hope is that they come full circle and rediscover the love of music"

I think you may be painting with a rather large brush here.

Personally, I've never lost my love of music (or stopped purchasing it), through tweeks or equipment changes. I would go as far as to say my love of music has increased with system (including room) improvements. 

Stage 4..?