"audiophiles listen to their equipment"

@hilde45 ...

No one wonders how we can BOTH think about the taste of our food and then go back to enjoying it.   

I think listening to ones' equipment is analogous to considering how your dish was prep'd, cooked, and plated...

...but my spouse is a food show junky....a format that's so ripe for parody I almost can't stand the lack of.... 
Although 'Cutthroat Kitchen' with a physical end to the losers might be a little off-putting....*L*

I listen to equipment because I want my equipment sound at its best.  Good equipment makes my music sound better, and enhances my enjoyment.   It is a virtuous circle for me.

My interest in the system is greater than my interest in the music. When you have a precise, revealing system, with both power and control, you can enjoy music you don't like to a far greater extent than you would otherwise, particularly if it has interesting dynamics. 

I put together two good stereos - living room and home office. I listen all the time, and I have a fair-sized collection of vinyl, CD’s, and even cassettes. Also I have a good streamer and subscribe to Apple Music.

I was getting way into the audiophile side of things for a while as I got the systems to be as good as possible within my financial restraints. I’m good at buying quality gear at good prices.

I’m so happy now with these setups, and my small collection of excellent headphones as well. I’ve been on a huge music discovery kick, in and out of record shops, and online moving between Wikipedia and Apple Music, reading, learning, listening.

That’s the joy for me. I know my stereos can be improved, which will enhance enjoyment. But I am so settled in to loving it as it is, and digging the music, which is what it’s all about. Don’t want to hear music on a shite system, that’s for sure. Just make it so you’re happy, don’t get obsessed with so-called "perfection", and enjoy!

@stuartk all of the musicians I know are very much into tone

these tend to be guitar players, keyboard players, bass players, the sound of their instrument / their equipment is an essential part of their whole process

for the audiophiles their equipment is the instrument… Changing the gear overtime is their contribution to the process of creativity, no different than musicians, changing their instrument or gear chain