Music first or sound first?

Well it’s the qualifier “in listening to their rigs“ that changes my answer. With that it is always the sound over the music.

There are many ways, for me, to enjoy music. But when it comes to my rig, I want it to sound like nothing else, as if it’s an experience. Nothing is better (with my audiophile hat on) than playing music on my system to someone who’s not familiar with what these system can do and getting them, inevitably, to go: OH WOW, what the heck is this?!

@patrickdowns I am OK with looking at expensive gear now. I used to feel jealous or envious because I knew I could never afford it (anything over a $1000) but now I enjoy it like I read car magazines. Technology will trickle down and I will be able to enjoy some aspects of expensive gear and so it's mostly fun to read and watch reviews. I am fairly certain I wouldn't enjoy music more if I had more $$$ to spend on gear, or at least not in any way proportional to the cost. 

It's definitely sound first for me. Good sound always makes a song more enjoyable and I'm not afraid to use external gear to help me shape a song to the way that I want it to sound. 

Music makes me feel something or it’s just sound. It can be perfect sound, amazing sound and surreally real sound. A car starting, a hammer dropping - just noise. A heart beating, a wish, a lost love, a triumphant victory. That’s music. That the system communicates it well is paramount.