Has it all been worth it?

Well worth the journey and as they say with motorcycles "$2 of gas is worth $2k in therapy".  

Been playing this game since I got my first crystal radio (shaped like a cartoon rocket 4" tall).  It was tuned by moving the nosecone antenna in and out and had the obligatory 2 cent ear piece. We're talkin' late 50s here.

I did the same thing as @biwire and collected speakers from thrown away TVs and music consoles.  Built my first subwoofer at 14.  Bought my first REAL stereo from Radio Shack at 16.  My dad thought I was completely bonkers, whole thing cost $400.  He was driving a car that cost very little more than that. 

Fast forward a bit and I started to make real money and it was off to the races.

In the @ghdprentice mode of upgrading, it was a clean sweep, all new and exciting.  Now I'm on my last/best system and it's not going anywhere.

With the past as prologue, the best constant in my life has been music.  There is always some BS going on.  But the music, the music is my synaptic drug of choice.

So, to answer your question directly:  A RESOUNDING YES!

Regards,

barts

One thing I've taken up recently is spending several hundred dollars investing in HiRes music. I've bought & downloaded a lot of music I already owned, but now that I have a system capable of resolving all the extra 1's and 0's , and while I'm selective in what I buy, I'm enjoying these familiar pieces on a whole new level now. 

@retiredaudioguy, +1

At the end of a particularly powerful work by Salonen (who also conducted) at the CSO last month someone's phone went off during the extended decay of the last notes of the performance. You could see Salonen's head drop in disappointment because the moment was ruined for everybody in the auditorium. Turn off your ****** phone!!

I grew up wanting to get a job as soon as possible, getting a Marantz receiver in my room, getting an affordable car, and installing a nice car stereo.   Through the decades that has not changed much for me.   However, after a lot of research, once I decide on a home stereo system, I usually keep it for decades.   My journey has mostly been going from receivers, to amp/preamp separates, to tube amps/preamps.  It has been fun, but, hobby money has always been an issue for me, so, I almost always buy my equipment used.  I have also found that most people do not understand the logic for this hobby. 

I think it's "worth it".

I also think what you've been feeling is what I refer to as "Hobbyist Maturity"; that point where the enthusiast feels like what I have is good enough; I'm not seeing massive improvements in either quality or enjoyment anymore, like I did when I had lesser equipment - and the gains from upgrading were immediate, very noticeable, and very satisfying to see the results. Now I feel like I'm spending increasing amounts of time, effort and money... while getting decreasing amounts of pleasure out of the results...

Happens to most of us at some point. And there is a little bit of sadness / remorse because something that once brought excitement and pleasure no longer does. And you miss that. So you question the entire "metamorphosis" and wonder if where you are at the (perceived) end of the journey was worth all that effort.

I'd bet if you thought more about all the memories of chasing down some of those things that you thought were either unachievable or impossible to find and how it felt when you actually had it in your hands, the first time you hooked it up and the joy and anticipation you felt at that time, those times when you brought home a piece of (almost) junk and brought it back to life and the satisfaction of a job well done... you'll feel a little better about the whole ordeal. And always remember it's perfectly OK to enjoy what you have - and just enjoy the here and now...