Hindsight after 45 years

Thank you. And yes, I have enjoyed every minute of my audio journey.

I never  was bothered about the way  "music (can ) sounds indistinguishable from a live performance"...

Why?

I came from classical music context...

it was  in my case all about "timbre"  acoustic translation in my room and about spatial acoustic cues translation...

Not about so much dynamic,bass impact, or sound effects,or crowd hysteria feeling but more about silence of great hall ,high frequencies information,and voices timbre translation...

I only learned how to do a system/room optimization (mechanical,electrical,acoustics,using DSP,) after retirement...

I ought to learn acoustics basic,buying gear in a race toward more and more powerful system was not an option for me because of budget and children priorities

As you can see we are all different with different needs....

I enjoyed my journey because i enjoyed reading about acoustics and experimenting (2 years) ...but what i enjoy the most was not my past  journey it is my actual state of satisfaction when  listening music ( at peanuts costs because i learned how to do it, i had no other choice )...

Not sure how you would have used the pro gear at home.

But for what it's worth I've had my hand in both home stereo as a hobby and in pro audio in my career. 
I tried to use pro audio amps at home and found the noise floor to be much, much higher than home audio amps (two channel). It wasn't possible for me to make it work. 
I enjoy live music and have spent years listening and building those systems but the noise floor is really high and it's acceptable in a bar or concert setting. For me though it's not tolerable in the home environment.

Theres a reason those pro audio amps are so cheap as compared to audiophile level amps. The former are noisy units (buzz, hum you name it). 

So I don't think you missed out by not going the pro route. I tried it at home and for me anyway it just didn't work..

Best Regards 

Great you enjoyed the journey. Not sure about pro gear at home. It perhaps it is the source you use as reference. But pro gear has not gotten the gestalt correct when using real acoustic music as a reference. It tends to over emphasize the venue and details. Which I think is important in mastering... but not good for recreating the overall correct musical experience. It is very different purpose stuff. But many folks are looking for different experiences. 

I had my jaw dropped at a upscale nightclub last year. I investigated what pro speakers they were....and bought some  higher end pro speakers. I feel like the pro guys are the only ones who are still innovating.

No OCD, no neurosis, just enjoyment of album after album when i sit in front of them....

I don't think I'll be buying "audiophile" speakers again! (rinse repeat of the same thing for decades).