I had a ~150k system that I sold because I had lost complete sight of the music. Audio was a miserable chore, and, as a result, the system ultimately had to go. I'm completely content listening to my infinitely cheaper second rig while I cobble together the pieces for a budget-minded main system. Music is now technicolor again instead of the black and white it was when I had my uber-rig.
Audiophile Addiction
I met a man on Audiogon who had a fairly high-end system and he was selling the whole thing off. I asked him why, which is the purpose of this posting, is that he was constantly trying to find the perfect sound from his audio system and came to the conclusion it does not exist. Additionally, he said most often all of his hours of listening were alone, taking many hours of quality time from his family. In addition, he said he was listening to his equipment vs. the music. He is now very happy listening to background music with his family from his AV system. I don't know, I just wanted to share this story as I myself fall into this trap (made me think).