Good old days

yogiboy and Hilde45,

Listening to a speaker that doesn’t do “magic tricks” with soundstaging might well be the way to go. Getting my mind off of the artifacts of sound can only be a good thing in listening to MUSIC.

@frogman

I can see how involving myself in musical endeavors might get me more involved in the music.

Don’t do it.  Don’t chuck the stereo away.  I moved to Germany for a few years to work there.  I left the stereo system packed away and used a Sony receiver for 2 1/2 years.  I even bought some B&W P6 speakers in downtown Stuttgart and I liked them.  (In a coyote ugly sort of way).  Once back home with my stereo the sound was glorious!  I had sure missed my stereo.

It can get expensive, but the best thing is to get out and hear some other systems- either in people’s homes or at some stereo shops.  Get an idea what you like and try to match that sound in your home system. Plenty of tips and tricks on these forums.  Sometimes the little things can make a big difference.

For many years in the past I would think about what a new amp, turntable or speaker would sound like while listening to music.  That is not very satisfying.  So first thing in my retirement I visited a few shops and Axpona and then I broke open the piggy bank and revamped the whole thing.  Now I’m like a kid at Christmas every time I turn on the stereo- for now…

tonywinga,

It isn’t that I don’t like the sound of my system, the problem is I like it too much.

Of the speakers I have heard that were simple, engaging, inviting, and non-analytical, nothing has really beat Fritz's Carbon 7 SE Mk. II 

It is not his most expensive speaker, but there was something it did that just pushed past audiophile thinking, straight into the music. I auditioned it for 6 months and then sent it back. Now, many speakers later, I realize that there was something he did with that speaker that is kind of magical. Just a thought.