Concentration

There are many different ways and contexts and purposes listening to music, it has many different roles - but none make me "doubt" my system...

Reading, doing chores, or writing something ... really lessens your enjoyment and can potentially cause you to doubt the quality of your system.  
What do you think?

I disagree. If I listened to my system only when I can give it full, undivided attention I would be listening 20 or 30 minutes a day, as opposed to 5 or 6 or 7 hours. So, far from lessening my enjoyment, ancillary activities greatly multiply it.

One other factor is relevant here.  In one way we’re talking about apples and oranges.  As I’ve said, those who listen to classical music generally have to concentrate a little more on to what is going on in the music.  I believe that rock, pop and the like is detected more viscerally and instinctively than classical.
People feel the music rather than think about it.  Of course classical music lovers also feel the music, but there is an added element to their listening.

I, Will: SkRoLL>>> pasT

Literally laughing aloud.  You are killing me, @unclewilbur !

Obviously we're listening to the sound and music simultaneously, the two are inseparable. Which is most salient at any moment in time is the question. I can't recall a single listening session over many decades of listening to high end systems when sound quality or qualities didn't rise to primacy at certain times. This mostly due to the high variability in recording quality, how one could ignore the often extreme differences in sound quality between recordings seems unfathomable. The only time I can ignore this is when listening on midfi systems like I have at work or in cars, these systems homogenize recordings to a large extent

. I'm also very content listening to mediocre recordings, being attentive to the sound doesn't have to be a necessarily judgmental exercise. Beyond this, paying attention to sound quality can quickly morph into the music and/or performance of that music rising to primacy, I don't listen in only one unchanging mode.