Do you listen to equipment or music.

My equipment allows me to listen to more than the music. I’m listening to the microphones used, the room, the mix, the eq, the cutting of the disk, the pressing. When it all comes together it’s audio nirvana. I’m at the point where I’d rather hear a superb recording of a bad polka band than a horrible recording of the Beatles. 

Hey all... just getting back into the music thing after 25 year hiatus. I am in the process of building a vintage Marantz system.  After reinstalling my "out of storage" mid 2000's system and hooking it to something call "You tube" on this thing called the "Internet" I have discovered all kinds of cool stuff.  But to the point of the string.  My goal is to have one room dedicated to a complete system with one chair in the middle of the room and it came to me.... It will never be right.  If I am play Kampert, or Styxs, or Polka or this LP chick I found on "da Puter", it will all sound different and it will never be adjusted correctly, or am I wrong. On a side note, look up LP and her song "lost on you"... wow.... oh... also "the HU band" out of Mongolia with their song Yuve Yuve Yu... really cool stuff.

So I’ve had a system for about 35 years. Each time I change a cable or a component I take some time to listen for the changes.  Then it’s back to listening to music. Been doing this since I started putting together a system.

JD

I don't listen to the equipment unless I just got new piece, but I do sometimes listen to as much of a sound as of the music being played. I know my system very well and don't have to re-evaluate it.
I also compare different vinyl pressings from time to time, this is fun, I always try to have the very best sounding pressings. With some it is like big system upgrade, the difference can be striking.

One does not have to sacrifice either clarity or fullness and musicality. This is not easy to achieve but it can be done.