So where do you fall in the spectrum.? Gear or Music?

@hilde45   “They’re just toddlers with a keyboard.” 

👍 I really wish I had come up with that one! 

The toddlers inspired me. I can’t take all the credit. 

Great responses but for me if’s all about the music.

Why does the question have to be framed as an "or"? 

We can have both. 

Just listening to the gear is not the point, it is a vehicle. 

As to relative sonic merits, I'm most interested in how "regular" records sound, not "audiophile spectaculars"- thus, the baseline is for commercial records from the '50s through the late '70s. If it a question of where my personal priorities lie, that would lean toward music. But, I can usually find good sonic representations of good performances. There is so much music out there....

@whart This trick of having both reminds me of the Pirsig book on motorcycle maintenance.

The tension between the "classical" and "romantic" mindset is at work in a lot of us, but it's possible to find beauty in making things function and logic in expressiveness. This blog post is a nice little potted summary of the Pirsig, for those who are unfamiliar.