Are there any absolute truths???

There are no absolutes. Except for no two people will hear and exprience the exact same thing. We all have different preferences, stimulants, experiences, physiology, and hang-ups. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" applies here.

#3. The biggest challenge in this hobby is avoiding addiction to the 'hit' that you get from upgrades, that distract from the pursuit of musical enjoyment.

1. A component, wire, or tweak must be used (heard) in your own system and room to actually assess/determine its sound quality and value to you.

2. Some tweaks will work and some won't-- in YOUR system, and some can be very beneficial.

3. It's important to develop "critical listening skills", and it's just as important to differentiate between critical listening and listening for pleasure.

4. It's important to understand your own listening preferences/biases.

5. The room is every bit as important as speakers, components, wires, and tweaks.

6. When it comes to speakers, assuming a good quality product, the three most important factors in music quality are location, location, and location.

7. Music is more important than system, and recording quality is really important whether played in a low-fi or high end system.

8. There's no accounting for taste(s).

9. All audiophiles are obsessive-compulsive and suffer from audiophilia nervosa.

10. "Spirits" are an excellent lubricant and can greatly facilitate the enjoyment of listening to music.

Potshots to the above list are welcome. Good thread Hank. Cheers. Craig