Do Audio Hobbyists Commonly Fail to Fully Utilize Their Systems?

This morning the timbre and soundstage is unlike I've ever heard from this chair. For a year at least I had two filters fighting each other squashing my tunes!

You went for a year without noticing? What changed this morning? maybe you listened more intently to the music?  It sounds like you expect to be perfect. So 2 filters were wrong. But you had enjoyed the music for a year before you noticed anything wrong?  My point is that you apparently enjoyed the music for a year. And isn't that what this "hobby" is about?

In terms of using my system I use it every day typically 8-12 hours per day. Mishaps sure I've wired things out of phase before. I once had a pricey Edge battery powered preamp and let the power supply run down to nothing. Called Edge and they told me what a moron I was lol.

Very happy these days tubes and streaming sounds great to me.

The limiting factor for many is music choice. When your palate of musical choice is narrow your system capability will be narrow. The internet has allowed us all to bask in the brilliance of recording engineers, music production and artistic genius never seen before. Neglect it at your own peril.

Hard to generalize. I have been a very committed since I seriously began pursuing the high end in the late 70's. I would read, and continually experiment, and listen to other systems. I met few audiophiles along the way. But those that I did were very knowledgable and committed. While there was always much I did not know. I always would work diligently during each upgrade cycle until all components were balanced and optimized to the extent of my knowledge and financial ability. Then I would enjoy if for five years or more until I got the urge again. So I'd have to say... by and large I have always got the most out of my system and the few other audiophiles I have known did as well. 

There were lots of other folks around. 

(To Artemus_5) Did I enjoy my system for the past year even with those filters fighting each other? Yes but....I was looking for an upgrade (always) feeling there was a "hole" in the sound somehow. (Lack of cohesion, maybe) Its hard to describe when you sense something is off. I realize that may be the case no matter the condition of the music. However, I do listen quite a lot. And, after a while one can perceive various nuances that if engaged repeatedly and on a daily basis begin to stand out. I guess what I'm getting at is this...if I describe every detail of my system down to the room acoustical factors, cables, components, the potential synchrony between these items, etc...could the perceptive amongst us identify potential "weak links" in this collection? Yes, it could be done. In fact. I hear samples of this threading its way through many posts here on Audiogon. A journey? Yes, indeed but I'm actually trying to go somewhere! Maybe I'm searching for a musical mirage just over that sand dune ahead.