Economics of upgrading in light of acoustic acuity

I've always had a serious interest in audio equipment from early days building Dynaco tube gear, through dozens of speaker upgrades, custom SET amps, tube and other preamps, etc. I've fallen for expensive cables, power supply cords etc. I've loved the dialogues and discussions. But after a recent audio gram done in a high quality lab, I realized that I needn't spend money in ANY expensive upgrades for any acoustic value. Only ego value, and at my age, there ain't such a budget line. Before dropping thousands, get your hearing checked. 

Aquaticdoc