What do you do when the music’s not speaking to you?

I do something else.

I've never had a conversation with my system. My dogs maybe, but it has to be in Spanish.

The closest I've come to that is when I just cannot decide what music to put on, so I just watch a series or a movie on the telly instead.

My audiophile system is only used once a week for 'intense' listening sessions, this system demands my attention so using it for casual listening is a waste. Most of my music listening done via completely mediocre audio system at work. I much more enjoy casual listening with this system since the music can still demand my attention while the sound quality is completely moot.

I've never used an audiophile system for casual or daily listening, not enough hours in the day, between work and other hobbies I only have limited time for serious listening. The other thing for me is 'special' experiences become the usual or mundane when repeated too often, keeping them special means limited exposure for me.

While it doesn't happen often. Get on my bike and go for a long ride. Some exercise gets any angst out of my system and lets me enjoy the moment.