I have a confession to make

Pssst! Hey buddy, over here.

I've got just what you need. This is the greatest thingamabob to come down the pike. Only $$$$$$$$. Guaranteed, this will do it. The LAST purchase you will ever need to take your system into Audio Nirvana! Everyone loves it, just read the reviews. These are very rare, so you have to act quick or miss out on the opportunity. Don't be fooled by cheap imitations, this is the real deal! Now, all I need is your credit card number..........

My recommendation has always been, and still is, to go out and spend on records whenever the upgrade bug hits. Buy stuff you always wanted, stuff you never dared to buy, music of a type you never really heard before. There is a vast musical world out there beyond hardware. Think about how much actual music you can get for, let's say, $500. It's about the music and the music is in the recordings, not the equipment itself. Don't buy into this notion that whatever "new and better" component you get will be like having a whole new record collection. You are way beyond the point of diminishing returns on the equipment side. You can go JPN going for that elusive nth degree of "resolution", "air", "dynamics", "PRAT" or whatever the hell you feel like your system is lacking. Oh, one other thing: you have to stop reading the insane audio press and sites such as these. Ask yourself a simple question: could there really be an audio revolution about every ten months? The insane audio press is all about getting people dissatisfied or insecure enough to keep the audio business machinery revolving. Good record buying and good luck.

Scottht, Remember there are two parts to this hobbie, the equipment and the music! Don't get caught up in the FLAVOR of the month as it's for shure a dead end. Last month I thought I needed a new pair of speakers so I went and heard many different one's and when it was all said and done my speakers I had up for sale are no longer for sale. what I finally realized is that I'm happy with my system and I don't want to change that.
Now lets get to the second part of this hobbie the music, It's the most important part, really it is...
I'm on a vinyl buying spree right now and I'm blown away at the used prices starting at about $1.00
The best part is I have a dozen stores in my area that sell music of all formats and used, I generally hit the stores once a week and always come home with 5-10 pieces of music and never spend more than $25 except once I parked in a parking lot that had a sign saying that this parking is for the resturant and you are only allowed 40 minutes of parking and violators will be towed, I thought I'm not going to get towed, so when I came out from the record store my car was gone!! I think any other time I would have blown a rod but I didn't, even though it cost me $120 to get my car from impound. Maybe because I just scored some great vinyl for cheap. I look back at this and laugh!!!
I never got this much enjoyment from the equipment as I do from the music. Works for me and I Hope you find a cure soon!

It's a combination of obssesive-complusive disorder and the placebo effect.
These days, job security and funding a retirement plan take higher precendence; for me, at least.
Software is always more important than the hardware.
Your hearing goes to hell as you age, anyway. Best to enjoy what you have now, 'cuz you won't hear differences in cables when your in your 70's.
Too many audio revues are hazardous to your health...

I understand that there is a little humor mixed in with a little real concern, but I wonder about people here (especially myself) if there isn't a deeper problem. No system, no matter how good is ever going to sound like live music. I have heard lots of good systems including my own, and the moments when I was caught off guard by how good a person or instrument sounded are few and far between. They are the exception, not the rule. Even though they are the driving force behind many of our equipment purchases.

The illusion is in your head.

If that is the case, can't we just decide to be content with what we already have? This gets to be like little kids buying Star Wars trading cards or whatever. One of the real differences between children and adults is self control.

Pbb might have had the first good idea of his life when he suggested that a person buy music when the bug bites. It's a lot cheaper to buy a few LPs or, perish the thought, CDs rather than buy a new pre-amp or speakers. The newness factor is still there, but the savings account is still intact too! Your wife might like that.