More enjoyment

@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.  

With all the worlds music at my fingertips it seems unnecessary to listen to anything which doesn't tickle all my fancies. Not to say a good backyard barbecue and some old-time southern rock isn't sometimes more enjoyable. 

Regarding the music of my youth. In the olden times, for me early 60's and up, most of my listening was through AM/mono radio. FM was not even a thing in my area. When I revisit some of that music on today's even modest equipment, it can be cringeworthy at times. One of the best examples is the Mama's and the Papa's (the bathtub record). It has zero stereo blending. Trying to listen on headphones is a real trip because you can have one channel playing in one ear and a total suck-out int the other. Rather disconcerting.