I lately wonder why I’m an Audiophile.

This is like photography.  A razor sharp digital image is perfection and many people seek that. Then you seen a grainy Henri Cartier Bresson image that makes you realize it's NOT about the gear but about the vision of the photographer.  So, listen to the music not the gear.  I am only coming back into this after a decade of hanging it up after listening to gear not music. I just got frustrated.  I'm ready to listen to music again because music heals the soul, gear does not.  

As the old saying goes, when you're sad you listen to the  words, when you're happy you listen to the music,  Listen to the music.  

Given the posting history of the OP, I suspect that his latest conversion to “The music is the thing, the gear doesn’t matter “ school of thought will be short lived.

  The only new component that I’ve bought in the last few was the $100 Wiim Pro, because I am pretty happy with how my 3 systems sound.  I still consider myself an Audiophile.  It is possible to say “This is good, now let’s play some music “ and not have FOMO that there is 0.005% of improvement that I can make 

@mahler123 

Mahler was also a pessimist.

@laminarman - I'm a photographer and I know what you're saying about gear; a good photographer with an iPhone will get better pictures than a poor photographer with a Hasselblad. Cartier-Bresson of course used a Leica, so he wasn't exactly slumming it.

But I would also say that gear makes a lot more difference to the end result with sound than it does with photographs. 

OP in the beginning you love sound, and music. Then you discover there are gear to be able to transform the sound and music? You got excited by the sound of high end components, and even how they look. Unfortunately it cost your time money and etc. you went for the journey of this hobby, and you enjoy it. Are you audiophile then? It’s up to you to do the labelling if indeed you are audiophile. After putting up good system buy more music you like and enjoy, This hobby has no end.