Are audiophile products designed to initially impress then fatigue to make you upgrade?

That could well be right.

I've gotten several preamplifier's and power amplifiers over the years, both tubed and solid state, yet here I am again, using my non remote, non surround Sumo Athena preamplifier in passive mode, including its built in phono stage, more than 30 years after buying it second hand.

And after many turntables and cartridges, I didn't go back to the Sony Biotracer I had near the beginning, but to my pl 518's relative, the old S Tonearmed PL 560 and a Denon DL 103, although I still have a half dozen near vintage and modern cartridges.

Sometimes when it's right for my own tastes, I wish there was a light on the system indicating  I arrived. It would have saved a lot of trades, upgrades I abandoned, and tweaking.

I wonder if this question doesn’t reflect technology in general. I have an iPhone so old I don’t dare upgrade the os because it will stop working. My brother had to get a new Apple TV box because the latest apps wouldn’t work on it. It used to be we had to upgrade software but now they make us rebuy hardware. 
 

So how this relates to audiophiles is maybe on the margins of newer equipment. My not very high end system is antique components and so I haven’t cycled through changing things besides my amps. Those do seem to just stop working. 
 

well, sorry if I’m off topic, but it seems to me there is a lot of this bait and switch happening with sometimes very expensive pieces of equipment we use every day. 

Yeah, I would say this thread has gotten kind of off topic. I know it's easy for it to devolve into a discussion about certain pieces of equipment or whatever, because after all that's part of the fun ... right?

But, I thought the OP's question that he posed when he started the thread was: why is it, that whenever I add a new (whatever) piece of equipment to my system, does it eventually leave me feeling un-engaged by my system ... and why does it leave me with a sense of fatigue after listening for long periods?

I would believe the answer is b/c the system you've put together is leaving you feeling those things.

Isn't that the nature of this discussion?

@tunefuldude 

I would believe the answer is b/c the system you've put together is leaving you feeling those things.

Good effort to get things back on track.  I would agree your answer may be one reason for the OP's observation. 

Could another reason be that the constant barrage of review press, forum threads by enthusiastic owners, manufacturer marketing releases, new tweaks, and "breakthrough" innovations has conditioned many audio enthusiasts to continually look for the next best thing and to continually question whether their system sounds as good as it should thereby putting them on a never-ending quest for the holy grail of audio systems?  All the factors I mentioned may make it hard for some audio enthusiasts to simply sit back and enjoy the music.

  I have no such issues I DIY most all my gear or I buy from very well-respected knowledgeable builders. But I do see you types living what I posted constant gear changes many complaints of not using systems or of listening fatigue. Many loudspeakers today are voiced to have an extended response in the upper ranges but are overly small and weak in mid-bass and bass. These require large power to produce a sense that there's a lower frequency which leads to thermal compression and listening fatigue maybe you recall the BBC would put a bump around 100hz to give the impression of bass. These types of loudspeakers will sound bright and clear at the shop thus attracting buyers. Many modern amps are also fairly bright and hard sounding toss this in with the over-bright extended upper range weak thin mid-bass and bass with a bump to make you think you have bass but once in a home, you will be left wondering why you don't make time to use such a system. Manufacturers know they need to grab the attention of reviewers show-goers and at demos. Why I posted what I did.