Have your standards/taste in music changed?

I think I'm coming at it from the opposite direction.My interest in Records has spurred a desire for better methods of reproduction.Ultimately though I have developed an interest in Audio that is seperate from the record thing.I also find that with age I am more willing to listen to music that would only have rated a sneer at age eighteen.That would be Jazz other than Bebop.I'm just not the purist I once was.I still worship Bird,but Armstrong and Hoagy Carmichael speak to me as well.In the final analysis I think in high end audio I find that some things just sound so good that I don't need to always be emotionally invested in the music or the artist.It can just be a sensual experience.I hope that doesn't sound like I'm in love with my record player,got enough problems with the wife already.

I think I've probably come full circle. When I was a teen, I listened to the stuff I liked, early Zep, Allmans at the Fillmore, early Traffic, Tull (mostly pre-Aqualung), etc. Once I started to ascend the heights of 'audiophilia,' I learned there were 'audiophile approved' records which were played to demonstrate the 'accuracy' or 'realism' of a system, or just to make it sound good. Alot of these weren't that interesting, musically, or if they were, they got beaten to death as 'demo records' that were almost unavoidable. Fast forward the 40 plus years of which the OP speaks: I'm now listening to what I want, rather than what shows off the system best. If the music and sonics coincide, great. If the music is great, but the sound can be improved by finding a better pressing, I usually do. But, I can't say that 'hi-fi' circles have enlarged my exposure to new or different music.
Exploring new music (whether newly released, new to you, or old stuff that you were aware of, but didn't take time to assimilate fully) is a pretty personal journey. And my taste and preferences change, and change again. I respect highly skilled instrumentalists, or a gifted voice or production, but none of that moves me in a emotional way. There is some intangible aspect to this that goes beyond consummate musicianship or a well written composition. And what I find magical may not be something that moves someone else. Perhaps part of it is mood, too. But, having the ability to get beyond the confines of genre and a willingness to listen to virtually anything without regard to it fitting into the 'type' of music I think I like has opened doors. Right now, for example, I'm digging a band called Patto, which was only extant from around 1969-71. They are categorized as "progressive," but that term fails to capture what they sound like, particularly the second album, Hold Your Fire, which is an interesting mix of jazz, blues-y, a 'rock' singer and a guitarist who plays complex lead lines and 'fills' with the touch and sensiblity of a vibraphone player (which he also was). Obscure, sorta, and great fun. I only got there because I decided to dig deep into a particular catalog, and the band certainly wasn't one of the names you'd know in passing.
I can finish that album, and switch to an old Janos Starker mono record or listen to a track from the Outlaws or one of the Lynrd Skynrd albums and switch to Ellington, followed by Alice Cooper. I haven't made the jump to 78s, but there is so much wonderful music from those early recordings- and a whole other life pursuing them.

I have also noticed a widening of my tastes as I have delved deeper and deeper into this hobby/passion. A lot of my newer developed tastes have come from time spent at audio dealers and audio shows. Hearing what other people are listening to in both venues has exposed me to artists, styles and releases formerly unfamiliar to me. Although there are certain genres of which I just can't develop appreciation.
But to answer your question, not only have I learned to appreciate various electronics, but more so the imagination of musicians that I play through my system.
In a way, recordings are a tweek in themselves to our systems.