OK, I am again reminded of why I became a musician instead of a writer. Kijanki and Jax2, my statement "as professionals our much deeper knowledge of the music gives us much more pleasure in listening to a great performance" was not at all intended the way you and some others here took it. It was not at all meant to be read as a comparative statement that musicians take more pleasure from music than others do. Onhwy61 put it much better than I did. I was simply referring to the fact that the greater understanding and comprehension add to our own pleasure when we listen. I guess I see how you could take it the way you did, but that is not at all what i meant, I assure you. I was not trying to engage in oneupsmanship. While on this topic, I should add that much of this knowledge and understanding is easily acquired by non-professionals if they want to take the time required. I have often advocated on this site for more audiophiles to take a formal ear-training course, or study some basic music theory. It will only add to anyone's enjoyment of the music, no matter what type of music it is that you listen to.
Newbee also put my main point very well, as he so often does: "But folks, music, soul, whatever you want to call it, is only found in the composition and the performance, not in your audio systems!"
To Bryon's excellent comments I would only add that expertise and appreciation are not mutually exclusive, not that you were suggesting they were. Sometimes it is difficult for professionals to enjoy recordings of their own playing for some of the reasons you suggest. Some orchestral musicians have a hard time listening to orchestral music at home for pleasure after a hard day's or night's work (it is indeed hard to "turn off" the critical ear), and only listen to jazz or rock at home. Others get burned out on the standard rep that we all have to practice so much. We very rarely have any control at all over what we are paid to play, so it can at times seem like drudgery. One of the main reasons I listen, in fact, is to keep my sanity, and keep my love for music alive and well, which in turn makes me a better musician. I truly appreciate and am grateful for the fact that I am making my living doing what I most love to do.
As far as Kijanki's statement that "quality of gear is inversely proportional to musical education and involvement," this cannot be taken seriously. I'm sure there are many who decide only to have their iPod (I personally do not know a single professional that only relies on a boom box, this would usually only be true of students, and just about all of them have iPods nowadays as well). There are many more musicians that do care about high-end audio than you imply, however. In fact, the very best two or three systems I have ever heard were assembled by professional musicians, and I would also say that the percentage of musicians with at least some high-end audio equipment is probably higher than almost any other profession, despite the fact that most of us don't make a whole lot. Economics is another big reason more musicians don't have the best equipment - the vast majority of us simply can't afford much of the gear talked about/sold on this site, even at used prices. But just because many do not personally own high-end gear does not mean they do not appreciate it when they hear it. We just would never place gear above the music, as many calling themselves audiophiles do.
