OK-- I think I get it, now...

For a long time, I've hesitated to call myself an audiophile, preferring "music-lover", instead.

To be honest, I've had a somewhat dismissive attitude regarding those whom, to me, appeared overly obsessed with sound. 

With the recent acquisition of a Hegel H390, I'm forced to "change my tune", as it were. I guess I just crossed over into the high end.

I've been immersing myself in the Burton/Corea duet disc "Crystal Silence", a long time favorite of mine, and there is just so much "more" going on to notice and appreciate, now.

First of all, the music is unmistakably occurring in three dimensional space. And notes have roundness, color, density and texture. Instrumental timbre is richer and more distinctive. The players' use of varying dynamics, attack and tempo are much more evident than before. Vocals convey so much more emotion and now I can feel the emotion's impact somatically. That's new.  

It's certainly made me appreciate my speakers, more. Apparently, up until now, the Silverlines have been denied the sort of amplification that would permit them to perform at their best. I hope the speaker gods will forgive me! 

No doubt, in time, I will make other discoveries, but for now, this is crazy (in a good way).

I feel I've entered a whole new world. There's no way I can still claim to be "just a music lover". Master M has emphasized the unity of sound and music many times and finally, I think I get it. One cannot be separated out from the other-- they are inextricably one.