One key to building great systems over time.

@stuartk 

"For me at least, there’s an advantage to "willful ignorance" when it comes to audio."

I agree with this statement.  There's nothing wrong with staying in one's comfort zone.  We still service vintage gear.  Many pieces are 45+ years old.  To their owners, these solid examples of "consumer gear" from the era are musically satisfying and represent the best of the best in their audio world.  I am certain that they wouldn't trade a stack of current "audiophile gear" at 10x the value or their equipment even up, for a variety of reasons.  So, I listen intently when they tell me how great their system sounds, and try to uphold the promise of not having their equipment leave here in worse shape then it was when it came in.  

Personally, I hit the "eject button" about 10 years ago on my "reference system."  The reasons are complex.

As mentioned earlier, inviting people to audition "better gear" was the right thing to do in my opinion as a dealer.  Our Mission Statement read something like:  "Helping people reward themselves for being successful."  Denying them the opportunity to take their musical experience to another level was unethical in my opinion.  As I told many customers:  "You live there.  I don't."  

Sounds like you're still enjoying your system, and have made good choices.  Well played (literally).

There is a minimal acoustic satisfaction threshold...

This threshold is defined by many acoustic factors you must learn to recognize in your system room by studying and experimenting ...No money needed..

 When this minimal satisfaction threshold is there you know how to upgrade with a real change not a marginal one and often most upgrading are no more appealing...

It is my experience.. i am more happy than most with two  low cost synergetical  systems i learned how to embed than most with costlier system not well embedded... ...

@waytoomuchstuff 

Thanks for your gracious response. I'd agree that, from a dealer's standpoint, encouraging customers to audition better gear makes sense, for a number of reasons.    

In retrospect, it's occured to me that what I was responding to was not actually the content of your post but the mind-set of "constant craving" that seems so pervasive in this hobby. I don't personally enjoy this state of mind but it would appear that for a good many, it's pleasurable. Different strokes, as the saying goes. 

And, if everyone was satisfied with their systems, there wouldn't be nearly as much to talk about, here. . . ;o)

When I was an active audio consultant, I felt it was my job to help the listener understand the various differences between components, such as tubes vs ss, box, panel, horn speakers, etc. and determine what the listener’s preferences are, based on the music that brought them the most enjoyment. Many of these people were more interested in the sound of equipment, and the prestige in owning said equipment, than to engage, musically, with the performance, of their favorite recordings. And when I say favorite, I am talking about Sheffield Labs, Telarc, and other labels that presented a higher degree of pinache. They would only listen to these better recordings, which showed me, they were audiophiles, first, and music listeners, second. I find this to be the case today, based on my experiences, reading, and talking with people. But, those that put the music first, were the easiest to assist in their journey, and were happier, long term, to listen to the system I helped put together, than those that went on the " next purchase " bandwagon. A system should ENGAGE the person, in that moment of listening, and this engagement, is where things get interesting. We need to determine what attributes of sound, are the most important to us. I learned mine, at a very early age, and I give credit, to my dad, who loved music and bought some nice gear at the time, and to my music teacher, who helped me determine what to listen for. Being a member of a chorus, was also an enlightening experience, and added to my golden ears. Golden, as I know, what characteristics in a sound system, are important to me. Some of you have gotten to this stage ( no pun intended ), and some, unfortunately, have not. My advice has been the same for years, on this forum. Listen...to the musicianship...the artistry...and the arrangements...WHAT are the musicians doing on " your stage " ( your system ). Most folks are more interested in WHERE are they, on the stage, and the sound, size, distance, of the stage / environmental acoustics. While I do believe these characteristics are important ( they ARE on our recordings ), those qualities of sound are secondary to my main interests....The artist’s PLAYING, singularly, and together. The PERFOMANCE itself. I ranted enough, and I apologize. My best, always, MrD.

Very interesting point mrdecibel ...

Myself i think that most audiophiles are such as you described because they never .learned that between music personal engagement and the gear component is acoustics learning...Many  are lazy and buying is way less costly in time than studying and experimenting with basic synergetical gear...

Then they test their gear instead of listening music between two upgrades...

Basic acoustic and electrical and mechanical embeddings teach us how to gain the most from any system ... Upgrading teach nothing...