Iām with you @mahgisterĀ . I have found that the difference between a good system and a great system as far less than the difference between a good room and a bad room, or a good recording and a bad recording.
I recently saw an interview on the audiophiliac with David Chesky, a musician, producer, and record company owner. And he said something to the effect that recordings can be like a photo with extra vivid colors, which I took to mean that they can be kind of an enhanced reality. I agree with this. Most live music actually has rather subpar sound and seldom sets off aural fireworks for me. The performance and the music itself are the focus. Chesky also suggested that recorded music is essentially an artificial experience that can be crafted in many different ways. All of this is good to bear in mind when we start to get too carried away, telling ourselves that we are on a search for ātruthā.