Music seems to always be 'on' in my house, albeit a lot of it is in a background mode. For me mood is not an issue so much as opportunity.
When I want to hear what is on the disc in it's purest sense I use headphones (I have a dedicated headphone system). When I want to just sit back and enjoy the audiophile experience, or just have background music for reading, I use my main system. Some years ago I backed off any pretension of getting a near SOTA system and focused on just setting up a system that sounds good with the music and format I listened to the most (CD's). I ditched my TT , records, and ARC SP10/Threshold amp (impossible for me to listen to this with out admiring how great they sounded). I got a pair of tuneful speakers and a tubed integrated amp. I can now, for the most part, enjoy the music without thinking a great deal about the system's sound or the acquisition of new (better?) equipment.
Worked for me anyway. Good luck in finding your solution.
When I want to hear what is on the disc in it's purest sense I use headphones (I have a dedicated headphone system). When I want to just sit back and enjoy the audiophile experience, or just have background music for reading, I use my main system. Some years ago I backed off any pretension of getting a near SOTA system and focused on just setting up a system that sounds good with the music and format I listened to the most (CD's). I ditched my TT , records, and ARC SP10/Threshold amp (impossible for me to listen to this with out admiring how great they sounded). I got a pair of tuneful speakers and a tubed integrated amp. I can now, for the most part, enjoy the music without thinking a great deal about the system's sound or the acquisition of new (better?) equipment.
Worked for me anyway. Good luck in finding your solution.