Casual listening

I to am always looking for new to me music. And that keeps me more active, than just having stuff playing in the other room.

Stereo is on 24/7, internet radio during the day while I work, playlists while I cook, eat and enjoy the evening. And finally watching tv through it, I enjoy the heck out of all of it. 

Tim

I feel I’ve finally “come out the other side,” blessedly.  
I was never a tech/mechanical guy.  
I ended up going down the audio rabbit hole because I was ignorant at the time, took the wrong steps in fixing what were very simple/cheap problems, and fell deeper and deeper into the audio rabbit hole.  
That hole that took me out of doing what I loved (loving music) and into obsessing over sound.  
I have a remarkably good ear for music, and have an extremely high sensitivity to sound in general. Combine this with a predilection towards obsessiveness, and I was in trouble. Not good for a few challenging, way-too-expensive (expense in money, sanity, time and effort) years.  
All this money and time spent caused me to understand things I didn’t before, so it wasn’t all for naught.  
Now I feel I can simultaneously manage my low tolerance for poor fidelity and still just enjoy the damn music, which is about as good as it can be for me, I suppose.

Lets say you go out to eat. All you want is a steak cooked right but the chef has it too salty or too well or its too tough. You never would have "evaluated' the steak quality unless some "distortion" would have caught your attention. You intended to simply enjoy the steak meal but you were jarred out of your naïve wish but these cooking errors. And so it is with audio for me and I suspect for most of us. We fully intend to just sit back and enjoy our choice of music when we are jolted by the "too much salt" issue. We weren't looking for the "distortion" but it forced itself into our palate uninvited. Are audiophiles too picky. spoiled OCD obsessives looking for blemishes in a blemished world? Maybe. But frankly the crap some people tolerate calling itself music reproduction is the reason so few bother or believe music can be an exhilarating. engaging, and an enlightening experience. My American made Raven Audio Integrated tube amp while one of the least expensive options on my wish list, ended up being all I could have dreamed of and more. Line Magnetic,Leben, Primaluna, Vincent, all vied for my loyalty. Sorry to mention brands but I searched a long time. Read reviews endlessly. Years buying, trading, auditioning, .....I feel like one of the three bears! This is "just right"! You'll know it when you hear it. No tweak like top grade equipment.   

With the possible exception of the “listening at lower volumes” part, well………DUH! 
😊