Hedonic Treadmill
There is a name for the quest…
We ( I ) am just running ancient lines of code… maybe Neanderthal and other you can’t escape them for long.. it is after all.. how you got to wherever here is. Migration notwithstanding the current myopic view is nothing new.. my people ( yes I know factually because I’m not afraid of a dna test ) crossed a land bridge and a different ( topographical )
Ocean… running a line of code “ I wonder what is over there ? and is it better ? The grading criteria as simple as hierarchy of needs.
The audio journey is a luxury good but no different really… it is a hedonic treadmill
Audiophile / music lover know thyself …
It is wonderful that the OP has found
A stopping / resting point weather a lush verdant valley or a high peak exposing even higher points beyond are just as valid…
There are two old saws:
Familiarity breeds contempt but absence makes the heart ( ear ) grow fonder …
Glad to know some good people here….