Has this ever happened to you?

Yes, but it won't last long.

it happened once and I pretended it didn't. Still chasing it (and what would I chase if I had it - scary prospect...)

LOL

This happens to me quite frequently. I'm really pleased with the sound of my system.

Yes, but it won't last long.

Yep, lol. This is the sad reality of most "hedonist" pursuits. Audio is less unhealthy than most others, at least :) 

Our subjective perceptions of sound are very powerful, but also quite inconsistent, ever-evolving, and influenced by a zillion factors outside our control. My "better" systems have had far less "off days". When I've had a system that wasn't quite right, the delta between "good" and "bad" days was crazy. Some will attribute this to variable power quality, EMI / RFI levels etc. Not here - I think the biological soup inside my skin bag is to blame lol.

Congratulations. 

I can't say this has happened to me exactly that way. But once I have gone through an upgrade cycle... my attention turns from the system to the music and there is typically a big sigh of relief and an appreciation of the music that my new system creates. Then, I forget about the system for five to ten years and just enjoy the music. So, I guess the answer is, yes.

I experienced exactly this in the past, and yes, it didn't last. In recent years I've not experienced anything less than a fully immersive, pleasurable listening session, I both consistently admire the sound quality and become fully involved in the music.

Only when I have been away for a few,days and haven't played my system. When I return and play it .I say Wow,nice...

Timely post. Just recently I have reached this state of music satisfaction. For years, I was swapping this or upgrading that, and there was usually something about the sound that bothered me or seemed unbalanced. Audiogon and my friend, who is also in audio, have been super helpful in my journey. So much good info on here. @ghdprentice and many others’ advice appealed to me - discussing the music side of things and not just precise signal reproduction.

I am at a point where when I listen I get lost in the music. I don’t hear the system, just the music. Nothing is bothering me or needs to be changed. Just a nice balanced sound, a bit of an all-around system. I know there are systems that sound better, but it is nice to be happy where I am at for awhile. I also think I can get my system/room sounding better but am not in a rush right now.

My system is an Aurender N150 that feeds into a Benchmark DAC3, and then into a PS Audio BHK Preamp. I run two PS Audio BHK 250 amps that are vertically bi-amped to Focal Utopia Scala Evo speakers. All XLR, but not high end cables. With the exception of the DAC, it was all purchased used or on close-out sales to keep the costs down.

Yes, about two years ago and nothing's happened to change my mind.

@12many audiogon definitely shaped my journey. Besides @ghdprentice,

@tomic601 in every possible way (just one ones)

and @shtinkydshtinkydog

I think you're there when you stop thinking about the system.

It took me awhile to appreciate how much a lengthy break-in period is necessary before making any rash decisions.

Reminds me of the old saying that goes “every time I find it; it moves.” Also ‘round these parts “if it an’t broke, then don’t fix it” is often ignored. 

**Do NOT tell you dealer**  You'll never get another invite to the holiday party.  But seriously, congrats that's what this is all about.  Be sure to share, don't hog the sweet spot from your friends and family!

Hedonic Treadmill 

There is a name for the quest… 

We ( I ) am just running ancient lines of code… maybe Neanderthal and other you can’t escape them for long.. it is after all.. how you got to wherever here is. Migration notwithstanding the current myopic view is nothing new.. my people ( yes I know factually because I’m not afraid of a dna test ) crossed a land bridge and a different ( topographical )

Ocean… running a line of code “ I wonder what is over there ? and is it better ? The grading criteria as simple as hierarchy of needs.

The audio journey is a luxury good but no different really… it is a hedonic treadmill 

Audiophile / music lover know thyself …

It is wonderful that the OP has found 

A stopping / resting point weather a lush verdant valley or a high peak exposing even higher points beyond are just as valid…

There are two old saws:

Familiarity breeds contempt but absence makes the heart ( ear ) grow fonder …

Glad to know some good people here…. 

@cleeds @grislybutter @mulveling @nonoise …. fellow searchers and good kind souls… stay on the quest but rest awhile and savor

and sorry i forgot @ghdprentice … and many others….

It happens.

Yep, never seems to last. Thats why I have 5 amps and  13 pairs of speakers. When THAT sound wears off I just rotate out and That sound will come back till the next round.

When you sit in just the right spot in the middle, that Bosewave radio is perfect. Musical Bliss!

can't type

(just one ones) = (just GOOD ones)

Yes, it happened two days ago when I plugged in my new pair of REL T/5Xs and realized I was finally hearing the sound that had been eluding me all these years. I hope the euphoria never wears off, but it probably will.

For me it is more likely to happen when I listen to a particularly good recording. 

I think many audiophiles underestimate 1) the effects of their room acoustics and 2) the quality of a recording in how realistic their system can sound.

I have a Harmonia Mundi (classical music) CD that sounds more realistic than many SACDs and other high-res files I've listened to.  Currently, that is my most-realistic reference recording.

It has happened to me.  And then the drugs wore off.

OK, one more: any time it happens, the owner of the store would wrestle the remote from me and firmly request that I leave the showroom

Congratulations on reaching audiophile nirvana.  Yes it has happened to me several times, but not spontaneously.   Rather it has occurred during evaluating or installing component upgrades when I my analytical persona expresses itself.  After some time, my music lover persona resurfaces and I focus on composition and performance, enjoying the music being produced by my system for years since I do not make system changes often.  I do not have audiophile FOMO disorder (fear of missing out on the latest component loved by the press).  I find I can go from my analytical to music lover personas at will, but 90% of the time, the music lover is expressing itself. 

“Don’t get discouraged. Be like Pepe Le Pew.”

This one works too  

“Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever”

Napoléon Bonaparte

I just take advantage of  what I have @ hand and see if I can find the limits of my little 'steampunk speakers; (an absurdvation by a local friend) by taking them to 11....
Since I'm also the 'warranty dept.', I learn 'not to do That'.

Audiophile Definition:

A Person in The endless pursuit of converting money into sound 🔊

HEY…I resemble that remark !!! 🤦‍♂️

Yes that’s what it’s all about.  As Hans says, enjoy the music.  

Yes, many times. It's actually a fairly easy task with a properly built and acoustically treated listening room when your goal is simply to reach that level of audio nirvana on a specific rig, whether it is streaming, CDs or vinyl. The real challenge starts when you strive to achieve the same level of sound quality for all rigs. Enjoy the journey.

Yes.  It stays there until you experience the next "whack you upside the head" moment, or hearing loss.  Whichever comes first.

Speaking of native, internal coding; recent geopolitical events have probably been rearranging things in such a manner that it is effecting musical appreciation as well - for better or for worse depending on how an individual's orientation has been altered. A most important component is our ears and the brain circuitry backing them up. Neurological stress is akin to "noise on the line." So are solar outbursts.
 

I completely turned over my system last year over a 6 month period. Everything sounded really nice and I appreciated the upgrade. Then one day a few months after my last upgrade I noticed the system seemed to open up even more. More liquid, natural and a better image and sound stage. Probably a result of all the new components and cables settling in and me not focusing on the equipment. Just listening. It’s stayed that way since then. I enjoy it every day. 

Happens to me all the time. When it just hit you, I star at my rack (thinking it's speaking to me) then get lost in the music. Everything disappears but the music. 

It can be very emotional at times. Other times it transports me to another time and place when that song held significance in my life.

You have to reach a satisfaction point,matching your components properly for your room and stop nitpicking...Start off with a high current amp able to drive low impedance loads,match a good quality well isolated TT with a cartridge well mated to the tonearm (mass to compliance,respectively)Dont go by price...Matching is the key!..Save your money for other things....I refurb classic speakers and prefer 2 ways with an active sub....

Yes, recently completed and burned in crossover mod to Maggie 1.7i s. My brain was asking Is this finally happing? So open, clear, real. Even wife said " It cant get any better" lol, I wish.

Maybe her way of saying now you can stop spending $ on the system, lol.

One has to find a happy medium between enjoyment of an expensive hobby and keeping the wife on board after many moves...believe me ,ive engaged in it with my wife saying.."I thought you were happy with those speakers"?...lol...

After about 55 years of building, I am mighty close. I want to try some DAC’s, but I’m really loving my system.

I try to convince myself this is the system, this one is it…but it never sticks and eventually I’m looking for something new, better and exciting.  My wife says I’m at Nirvana, but she doesn’t understand 😅

Oh boy, I hope many of the assembled here are lucky enough to have a co-habitant with the hearing skills of mrs. xenolith. To wit: recently scored a matched quad of 1949 Sylvania flat plate 6BL7GT, generally considered the best sounding of the rather obscure, but excellent sounding, 6BL7 tube. So I swapped out the matched quad of 1952 Sylvania T-plate 6BL&GTA in our two-of-a-kind 2x6BL7 + 4xKT77 monoblocks. I thought they sounded great with the new flat plate tubes. mrs. x waited about a week before she gently told me that the...and I kid you not..."soundstage seems closed in". WTF! Knowing that I was running the best input tubes possible, I replied, paraphrasing ’honey, that can’t be, these are the best input tubes possible’. She smiled and said "OK". About a week later, I started to hear evidence of her claim. I told her so. "Let’s swap just one of the other tubes (1952 T-plates) in she says. "OK" I says. You guessed it, it sounded glorious! I had that ’this is what I’ve always hoped our stereo sounded like moments’. Did a little research and found a few folks who discovered the same superiority of mixing 1:1 flat plate to T-plate 6BL7. She was already a keeper at 40 years together, but WOW, she can still present previously unknown talents that make our life better. I hope some of you are similarly blessed.

@xenolith +1 to your honey.

I recently posted about the very large improvement I got with the Tesla powerwall installation. I was then told all I was looking for was "confirmation bias" as though the author was the only one able to distinguish valid improvement to my system.    I did play with speaker positioning parallel to wall after seeing the comments on one thread, but I had done that before with no improvements from before after. I only have a few degrees of toe in.

I did contact the manufacturer about positioning and they recommended trying the "tilt" of the speakers. They are dipole, 5' panels, so I tried 2, then 1.5, then 1 degree. At the 1 degree angle, I got new speakers. lyrics plain as day that I hadn't understood clearly before, imaging, and all the rest of improvements we all like to have.

all the time

I have had several of those moments lately where I feel that my system has elevated the sound.  It has definitely helped curb my urge to try yet another speaker upgrade.  I signed the contract today to get my house painted!