I lately wonder why I’m an Audiophile.

I like a lot your post...

In the case of audio this metaphor is well understood if we observe that our ears/brain/ learned biases  correspond to  the Cartier-Bresson perspective and limits : what appear as apparent flaws (grainy) becoming the main element of perception and art itself. (similar of the distortion controls trade-off in audio) 

This is why music is more than sound, and sound more than physical linear waves...

Then the gear pieces choice cannot explain Cartier-Bresson ways of perceiving...The gear piece gives only necessary  constraints and possibilities...

«The window is not the countryside»-- Groucho Marx

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.   

@sns My incorrect interpretation of the post I quoted was that you only listen to music once a week and only on your main rig. Thanks for the clarification.

I'm definitely more in the music than the gear camp. There are a couple "mantras" I like.

- Steve Guttenberg's (I think) A good system makes average recordings sound great (as opposed to managing some extreme "audiophile" obstacle course).

- Andrew Robinson: The only person who needs to like your system is you.

My own 2c are that there is more variability in music recordings than gear, so "optimizing" a system to the nth degree is futile. A fortiori, if you listen to a wider range of music. Solo viola d'amore and EBM/punk are worlds apart sound-wise. I enjoy both. That is the problem with the test-track approach to system optimization. It leaves out the vast majority of music, and deprives the listener to the joy of diversity.

To illustrate that, some of my recent interesting music purchases:

- Laibach, 2025, Alamut. Avantgarde neoclassic.

- New Haunts, 2024. Hooks. Eery, neurotic coldwave.

- Algebra Suicide, 1999. Still life. Minimal post-punk spoken words.

- Propter Hoc, 2025. Seduction and Betrayal. Old-school new wave.

- SIIE, 2025. Acmé. Swiss-german francophone EBM-electroclash.

My own 2c are that there is more variability in music recordings than gear, so "optimizing" a system to the nth degree is futile. A fortiori, if you listen to a wider range of music. Solo viola d’amore and EBM/punk are worlds apart sound-wise

Sorry but your 2 cent is not enough...

"timbre" perception and immersive quality of sound and spatial indexes of sound are precise acoustic concepts with no relation to genre of music, styles and other crocodilian tastes, i mean my own innate tastes...

Then system/room can be and must be optimized, mechanically, electrically but especially acoustically ...

I listen all music genre save pop and rock...

Bad recordings as well as better one...

Most of the Russian pianists schools of the past is badly recorded but as said Guttenberg you quote and he is right , they sound better on a better optimized system..

I consider myself an audiophile not afflicted by "upgraditis" ...

OP,

Just my opinion and may Not be applicable to you, just me

I believe you (or anyone else) may have reach the point of knowing that your gear is at its peak and what you hear is the best sound quality you are aspiring for. for the price maybe that you are willing to impart.

Just a background, I started this HiFi journey when Covid started. I did not really know what true good sound is other than what i heard from numerous concerts, operas and live shows i have been too, other than being loud obviously, i can hear each instrument as they are being played, or singers as clear as they can sound.

So, I endeavored to replicate this at home and no way I was able to do it, except making thing loud. So, I relied on the opinion of others and Reviewers and statistically gathered all and made some conclusions. I listened to equipment and with generous return policies during covid, i tried numerous models because i had time at home to do it. (I cannot believe how many times I was at the Post office or UPS) returning gear, as I journeyed, I realize that some equipment sounds good to my ears but has a so so reviews and some gear sound OK I think but has a lot of good reviews and Reviewers uses them as their referent gear. 

Ultimately, I found the gear I wanted and importantly, it has synergy. With this said, I can now learn what is it that most audiophile generally want in their music and magically the Lightbulb lit in my head!! So, this is what I am missing after all. It’s not too far from what i wanted to do or attain, making it sound close to what I heard in actual venues. but there are Compromises and that is what one has to live with

At this point, I know what Quality Music is. I stop obsessing over it, because the next level up is beyond what i can afford. So, I just enjoy the music. The fun is listening to OLD Vinyl recordings. that is truly where I am right now. as I can tell myself, THIS is what music as recorded and played back sounded in the good old golden years. 

Enjoy the music and be Happy