Try listening to music in stead of listening to your system 
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All of them. I would say tweaking and obsessing is challenging. Music discovering is adrenaline like (so much to fit in little time), listening is nirvana like. Time spent is another marker, it would be 15% tweak, 80% music hunting, 5% nirvana. But all relies on that 5% as without it there is no more drive.
I would say does not exist but in different flavours that can provide only a taste of it. That 5%
Interesting question and ground for further thoughts.
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Maybe itās time to simply enjoy the music and stop worrying about the system?
Unless thatās not your goal in the first place. If not thereās plenty of rabbit holes you can go down and tinker until your hearts content.
Me, I was so glad to be done reading reviews promising me the next greatest thing.
I still read Herb Reichart cause I like the way he writes, and I miss Art Dudleyās reviews. Otherwise itās satisfying to let go of that crave.
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Been a designer in this industry for years, R&D in high end audio. Always chasing the minuscule, slowly moving in the right direction, but always bothered about whats missing. Few years ago built a Soekris 1021 Ladder Dac and spent not a lot on a Conrad Johnson Premier 11a amp (driving some nice speakers admittedly - but the magic is in the dac and amp). Analogue sound but with a tonne of detail, authority and naturalness. Images just float even at low listening levels, like listening to a master tape. At this point its kind of it for me, the job is done.
Life is now about listening and connecting with music and emotions. I am rarely thinking about the technical stuff which is such a pleasure. The only, only time i have briefly though about an upgrade was to potentially have a little more power, if someone offered me a pair of Premier 12ās for a good price id think about it, they would justify their real-estate iām sure. Iād make room for them but really Iām not that bothered.
Literally all that audiophile quest crap is gone
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I think youāve been missing the point. To me there is no quest worth going that does not take into account the music itselfā¦
Whatever our level of equipment, the most important search is the search for new titles, new album, new version or interpretation. It would be a pity to live in the past and be content with the recordings we have, when there are so many new interesting things coming up from the mainstream or independant labelsā¦
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YES - and that alone take a lot of time. But it is worth it
Torben
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I agree (as I wrote 80% of the time that I spend on music related tasks is searching) but found that others do feel different. I still talk not as often as I would like with my best friend from when we were 14 years old, and music came as a subject. He uses a black classic iPod full of the music we were listening together at 20. And he does play maybe at least 6 hours a day. I tried the Kruder and Dorfmeister sessions from that time and could not enjoy or maybe I even felt annoyed by it in the background (Iā¦ we both were mad about it)
With a bit of thinking I found that for me musical enjoyment is a cocktail of familiar and new. If very familiar I feel bored if extremely new I feel untouched emotionally.
Opens up a discussion and also some statistics can be done.
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Itās like a lot of people and their hobbiesā¦the quest for the what goes into the hobby replaces the actual hobby and then emptiness sets in because the the search is over. Audio is no different than many forms of collecting. A toy collector has a model car that is in ok condition, but they continue to look for one in better condition, which they buy. The cycle restarts and continues until they find a mint or near mint one or even better new and still in the box. Once the complete the cycle it is more of a letdown than victory as the quest is over. The next level is not being able to sell the lesser condition ones. All of this happens with audio too and farther complicating the quest beyond components is all of the related gadgetry for which a lot of is in your mind.
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Time to start exploring some vintage gear for a second system! Often great value and an ear-opener. Iām having more fun than can be imagined streaming Roon to an Akai AA1125 receiver bought for the princely sum of Ā£70 and a pair of Kef Reference 104AB speakers bought at auction for less than Ā£200. Whilst I still enjoy my āreferenceā system, thereās so much to experience by stepping back a bit and listening to the music. In a rather cramped attic room, Iāve not even got hung up over speaker placement, etc etc, just want to keep playing the musicā¦
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Insanely beautiful
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Iāve finally found that I actually like someā¦jazzš
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Wow! What about actually listening to the music?..
I get this.
I love music and I love building stuff. With hi-fi, itās speakers (though Iāve also built headphone amps and power amps, and hi-fi racks). I have a great 2 way stand-mount pair, but currently working on a curved, wide-baffle 3-way floorstanding pair, not only because of the final result, but also the journey to it. New woodworking skills, improved skills in stainless steel TIG (GTAW) welding and metal finishing. A completely new journey into carbon fibre wrapping and finishing.
Iām a scientist, but Iām also a creative. I appreciate art - from both the perspectives of technique and finished result. I love to make stuff, but gave up on purely aesthetic artistic endeavours (drawing, painting, sculpture etc.) as they conflict with my need for functionality.
I have ADHD and co-morbid ASD (Aspergerās), so Iām a real mixed bag of āstuffā. I live life at both ends of the spectrum and anywhere in between!
Iāve found a happy medium now - I create stuff which is functional. I have an artistic vision, I go through all of the technical challenges of the creation and end up with something which is hopefully beautiful as well as functional.
I get the enjoyment of music, but I also get the need to ātinkerā with hi-fi. Itās right-brain, left-brain or however you want to define it.
One is the destination, the other is the journey.
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Maybe we need another OT thread on neurological ādisordersā. I dislike the term disorder though as it suggests that somehow something is broken.
Neurodiverse vs neurotypical is slightly more acceptable, however Iām firmly of the belief that weāre all somewhere on the spectrum. Some of us are just a little nearer one (or both ends) than the middleā¦
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Amen. Preach it, brother! I donāt know why people find that so hard to understand.
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Life has been a journey for me (though itās a journey for everyone) - I lost my big bro to cancer when he was 45, I was 43 at the time - our birthdays are only 18 days apart. A period of self-reflection, introspection and questioning followed such a massive, life-changing event. Age 45, I was diagnosed with (fairly extreme) ADHD, and in the post-diagnosis sessions - understanding, coping strategies, CBT etc. the lead psychologist raised the question of ASD. Following further assessment, my ASD (Aspergerās) is also fairly extreme, though clinically, due to the ābalanceā provided by ADHD, Iām considered āmarginalā. On a good day, I can pull-off a fairly good facsimile of neurotipicality. On a bad day, Iām a messed up cranial fornication of a human being who can exist at either, or both ends of the spectrum. On most days, Iām somewhere in between. Sometimes, Iām the life and soul of the party, other times, Iād rather be at the North Pole than anywhere near the partyā¦
Back on the topic of science - were either ADHD or ASD an evolutionary disadvantage, they would have died out. The fact that they havenāt suggests that neither is disadvantageous to survival.
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My system just didnāt sound right to me either , but I later discovered I had a tapeworm inside me that was affecting my hearing.
Once I had the tapeworm removed through surgery , my system sounded perfect .
Very interesting & youāre not alone, I started a support journey only yesterday & hoping for some answers before too long 
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If you have not already, work on your room. Big improvements with little investment are possible with room treatments.
-I am āsailing in your Boatā!
Finally I just listen to the music.
(Until I suppose the Brand I use upgradesā¦)
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