More enjoyment

sometimes I will look for nice musical performances on youtube... those are not in any way high fidelity sonics, and you actually listen to the music for its own sake, sound quality is barely passable but not the point, and not to obsess over... it is a good break from doing the hifi gear thing ad nauseum sometimes

Great to hear from you.glad you found your happy place. I love the golden ear and have all generations way back to the definitive technology sc 7000, eand up to your current model.enjoy the music.

@gkelly:

I still like a lot of the music of my youth, rock & punk mostly but confess I rarely listen to it. Everything now is jazz and blues. 

As a youth I hated jazz and thought rock way outshined the slower tempo of blues. It took awhile to realize a lot of those rock musicians "borrowed" so much of the music from the classic blues men.

I can’t imagine if AC/DC and Van Halen sounded good. Why would I need anything else? 

Actually VH had a couple of recordings that were very good. VH II and Women and Children First.

AC/DC Back In Black is no slouch. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap is pretty good too.

Ah! A music lover over an equipment lover.  For me, an excellent composition and performance played on my Bose compact in my backyard with a beer can bring a tear to eye and touch my soul as it does on my main system with a 99 rated Barolo.  Admittedly, the sonics of my main system enhance the emotional experience greatly, but it does not overshadow the primary response to the composition and performance.  I think your strategy is sound for keeping you from falling into the audiophile trap of never being satisfied with your system, and remaining a connoisseur of composition and performance.   From some of your past posts, I know you understand differences in performances, and you have a pallet for classic compositions.  I believe we are of the same generation.  Over 55 years an audiophile, I have only made system changes a few times, either because my means improved, or technology advanced.  I have always been satisfied in long periods between.  Good luck.  Stay true to your strategy.