Why do some think "music" (not gear, trading, etc.) is the ultimate end?


A recent thread spurred a debate about the word "audiophile." Again. It went round and round in the usual ways.

What I don't understand is why so many take for granted that loving music is superior to loving gear. Or that gear is always -- and must be -- a mere *means* to music, which is the (supposedly) true end.

But if you stop and think about it, why do we love music? It gives us enjoyment.
Isn't that why people love gear? The enjoyment?
Or even, to push the question, buying, selling, changing gear? That's for enjoyment, no?

So, it raises the difficult question: Why do some think that "music" as an "enjoyment" is better than "gear" or "shopping, buying, selling, trading"?

Not everyone believes this, but it is the most prevalent assumption in these discussions -- that "love of music" is the end-which-cannot-be-questioned. 

So, while music is the largest end I'm personally striving for, I do realize that it's because it brings me enjoyment. But the other facets of the hobby do, too. And I'm starting to realize that ranking them is an exercise but not a revelation of the "one" way everything should sort out. It's all pretty subjective and surely doesn't seem like a basis on which I could criticize someone else's enjoyment, right? 

What do you think? On what grounds do you see it argued that "music" is a *superior* or *ultimate* end? Whether you agree or not, what reasons do you think support that conclusion?
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I certainly enjoy the music, but I also enjoy dusting and polishing the my equipment, so I guess I can understand both.  If I had technical knowledge, I would probably enjoy testing and replacing the electrolytics (I would jump on buying equipment if I knew how to test and service them).   There must be something to the allure of those blue meters on the Macs, right?

I enjoy watching the equipment review videos, and I also enjoy watching the stereo equipment repair videos, especially those by xraytonyb, even though there are a lot of technical things he talks about that are totally foreign to me (my ex-gf said I was “weird” to watch stuff like that, but I find it interesting).  
It's gotta be easier to have a couple walls packed with vinyl, a hard drive full of downloads and a subscription to Tidal or Qobuz than it might be to keep a closet (warehouse?) full of gear at the ready and suitably warmed up.  Not to mention the sheer time it might take to install that particular cartridge you believe is the magical device that'll bring your Casino Royale soundtrack to bigger, better life.  Then again, just last week I put the word to Jeeves.  "Jeeves! I wish to hear Love over Gold!  Order my golden-eared musclemen to hook up and position my Magicos!"
Hello,
I am a gear and music audiophile. I would love to hear all of your systems. Just to experience the differences between the sounds.  I have driven some nice cars. The experience was different in each. A Porsche does not drive like a Ferrari. A corvette does not drive like a Mustang. I’m still driving, but it’s a different experience. Tube or solid state? Vinyl, SACD, or stream it? They all sound different. As long as the recording was done well it’s all good. I have to say I love listening to music. Any time I can experience that music in a different way excites me because it is new. I have Pink Floyd’s, Dark Side of The Moon in UHCD, SACD, Vinyl 2018, Mofi Vinyl, and CD, they all sound different, not bad, just different. 
I don't think listening to music, no matter how noble that may be, is classifyable as a hobby. Hobbies are related to things one does, gets absorbed in and that count as an activity.