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

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. 

@hilde45  Thanks for bringing that book to mind. Too many perceive quality only as judgment on linear scale. However, replace the word quality with qualities, this then allows one to learn to be mindful of all the parts of the whole, this is actual insight. One can appreciate the complexities of all things with this mindset, not be so anxious to come to conclusions. When things aren't going well, focusing on nuance rather than end games allows one a measure of satisfaction, and the calm mind needed to pursue better end games.

And I love motorcycles as well as the audio, I go about modifications of both with the mindset Pirsig introduced to me all those years ago.

I was one angry person for many years, Pirsig taught me so much! Also led me into Buddhist philosophy, words cannot express how much this philosophy has meant to me, much more sanguine mind.

@sns Thanks for relaying those memories. I based my college entrance essay on the book. It had a big influence on me in high school.

These kinds of debates -- gear OR music -- are indicative of a way of thinking that just perpetuates false choices. The question I’m curious about is what does it say about where we (collectively) are that we repeat the same false choice, over and over again?