Is audio a kind of spiritual journey?

Why Elizabeth, I think you've stumbled onto something without intending to.
:-)

fetish:
1) an inanimate object worshiped for its supposed magical powers or because it is considered inhabited by a spirit.
2) a course of action to which one has an excessive and irrational commitment.
3) a form of sexual desire in which gratification is linked to an abnormal degree to a particular object, item of clothing, part of the body, etc.

Its origin comes from the old West African use of an amulet or charm.

I can see where any audiophile can or will fall into the first two descriptions and worry of any who would fall into the third. It just may account for the angst shown here.

All the best,
Nonoise

I would say that for me it has been. I'd also say that it didn't start out that way. Initially, I just wanted to create a home entertainment system for the lowest price. Initially.

Eventually, my perspective changed and assembling the system and experiencing the system became more spiritual. Also more calming. Kinda reminds me of those Japanese banzai plants where the owner spends years pruning and trimming, etc. the banzai tree. Little by little.

And, it might be safe to say that I might not listen to my system as much as the typical 'Gon person. But when I do, I usually enjoy it. It's a bit spiritual, or meditative and calming for me.

In fact. At times when life gets unusually stressful for me, I'll hear a voice telling me, "...you need to listen to some music." Or, "...you need to watch a movie for awhile."

And when I can, and I do. I feel calmer.

If you believe the journey is to arrive in the moment, without ego, and connected to something outside yourself, then yes, music over some systems can take you there. But possessions would work against reaching that state, and I just realized I've mainly had those moments listening to someone else stuff, and not my own possessions, which are often extensions of ego. God knows (slang-speaking) that audiophilia has lusting for stuff as a cornerstone of the faith, but the moment when it all disappears seems spiritual.

Exactly Electroslacker that is what I feel "but the moment when it all disappears seems spiritual."

But is also true that sometimes you catch yourselves having those moments with one of your audiophiles friends stereo.

I do not know why but we some of us, audiophiles, always end up comparing systems instead of just enjoying. Not all for sure.

And after the comparing merry go round, we do not enjoy music as before but we get stuck in the sound analisis "paranois". At least, that was my case some years go.