How does one get off the merry-go-round?

Blackwillard, 99% of the world doesn't care about sports cars, fine wine, plasma tvs, guns, electronic games, travel abroad, or any of the other vices that afflict modern society. Obviously, money is the key element is being able to afford your passion. :Your statement about hearing very little difference between a $5k system and a $50k system is, however, over the top. One would have to be a very poor audiophile to buy a system for $50k that would not be audibly superior to an average $5k system.

I find this thread quite interesting as I think there are few audiophiles that would want to get off. I have been doing this for nearly 50 years now and am still having great fun, more thoroughly enjoying realism, and enjoying the circle of audiophile friends I have met over the years.

Blackwillard, I think it is true that 99% of the world don't care about this hobby. But approximately the remaining 1% that do care are audiophiles (audiophiles represent a small segement of society). I would also agree there are far more important things in life including family but for an audiophile, a healthy balance between the two is a very good thing. It is when this balance tips towards compulsive behavior & out-of-control spending that leads to more serious consequences, thus the reason this thread exists for some.

Anyway I'm sure there are is an audible difference between a $50,000 system and one that costs $5,000 but the law of dimenishing returns do apply at a certain price point. If given $5,000 to work with, I could come up with a very enjoyable & satisfying system.

Perhaps for some it is the journey and sea of constant change that keeps them trapped on the Merry-go-round.

Careful perusal of this thread and A'gon site in general shows that many audiophiles claim to have gotten off the merry-go-round (found that ideal component, system, the BEST!). Great eulogies abound to this, that, and other prized components... that the great search is ended!

Recorded for posterity, these threads are like trunkless legs of stone, a shattered visage, in a desert where nothing beside remains: a testament to long dead, fleeting passions.

Near field listening !
I am listening to a modest system now near field, and enjoying it quite a bit.

1) Sony es CD player ($800)
2) Marantz 2285 receiver (from many decades a go)
3) Mission speakers ($300)
4) Wires - $160
5) Oneac power conditioner ($170)

When I go near, I gain so much in audio pleasure - makes me wonder why more people are not into it. I get my favorite cup of tea, and a book, and my music playing practically in my ears, and I am in heaven.

When I was four years old I walked over to my girlfriend's house and her mother informed me that she was not at home. I said "fine, i just came over to listen to her record player!" (And people say audiophiles have their priorities wrong!)
The first "high end" system of memory was Altec A7's driven by a Dynaco st-70 with an Ampex 15 ips deck. This system would still make me happy if I had a very large room.
I enjoy and appreciate the variety of equipment and recordings, but in hindsight I know I wasted a lot of time and money trying to get the latest approach which rarely represented real progress. My progress list for BETTER SOUND alone over the last forty years is short.
1. turntables (credit to Linn)
2. digital room correction
3. subwoofers (slow evolution just recently good enough to be high end)

My system includes these improvements, but many of its components are old enough to vote.