"audiophiles listen to their equipment"

Listening "criticality " makes me dissect everything and that's NOT fun....   Getting drawn into the music because it just sounds good is more appealing to me.  

My second system keeps me in check.  It sounds damn good , i listen to it 75% of the time.  It's compact and simple.  Keeps me off the upgrade merry go round. 

When I think I need "more" I go in the main room and listen to that system for a while.   

I'm at the point where I just want to consume tons of music and choice of system comes down to mood and how much free time I have.   

Your system is "good" when you are cautious about making any changes. Basically they both sound so good I'm going to leave things alone for a while 

Music is something that happens in your mind.  The stimulus need not be a sound.  A written score does not need to be played to be understood as music.  A sound designer/editor can look at a waveform and see the music.  A profoundly deaf person can feel music.

The majority of people on this planet do not need audiophile quality sound to enjoy reproduced music.  Even when exposed to audiophile quality sound reproduction the majority of people are not converted.  Musicians famously do not require audiophile sound.  Only audiophiles need audiophile quality sound, hence they are listening to their systems.  And there's nothing wrong with that.

“For the love of music”

We listen to music through our equipment — the two are inseparable. I can't fully appreciate music from just my laptop. I need to hear it played back through my system, seated at the main listening position in my IKEA Poäng armchair, eyes closed, while the massager kneads my back.

Isn't that the whole point of chasing ultimate equipment — to achieve the ultimate enjoyment of music listening? I don’t quite understand the cliché some people repeat, saying they can finally enjoy the music more with subpar equipment.

Well I think this is part of the problem with double blind and similar listening tests. Listening for a difference is the worst type of critical listening. Further, you know you are being tested so it changes the entire experience.