"One of the so-called 'love hormone' studies was published in 2012, and it examined oxytocin levels in new lovers versus those in single people. It found that there were high levels of the hormone in the first stages of romantic attachment, and that these were sustained for six months."
If audiophilia is a sublimation of sexual response, then perhaps like new love, the acquisition of new equipment by an audiophile triggers oxytocin release by the pituitary... and after 6 months, the bloom on the rose fades, and the urge to get new equipment returns.