I’ve been in the hobby a long time and there are many reasons why people continue upgrading and seem to never be content with where they are at. Everyone is different. Some people believe that the newer components will give them a better sound. Some people upgrade because they want new, state of the art components. Some people upgrade because they get bored of their system and want change just like we do with furniture. There are so many reasons why people why many audiophiles constantly are moving their gear. I think the most important reason why is that they/we are looking for improvement in sound. Even if just minor improvement, it’s still something we will be interested in. But an important thing to know is that when we get our systems sounding very good to excellent, do we leave it alone and just enjoy music or are we still on that quest for more improvement. I have 2 buddies of mine that are both approaching 70yrs and they are both diehard audiophiles but very different. Both of them have a lot of components in their homes but one is constantly purchasing new speakers, amps, preamps, cables, transports, and the other is very content with assembling a system with his stuff and enjoying music. So everyone is different. I think that many people in this hobby that upgrade a lot do it because this is a big thing in their life. I myself have a lot of very fine expensive amps, preamps, cables, etc. and I’ve assembled 3 systems in my house that I enjoy very much. Honestly, I still do make slight tweaks and adjustments to these systems but I do not drastically change them. I am a diehard audiophile but I also have a life in which I enjoy other things. I live in NYC but presently out of the country on vacation and get back home in 2 days. I will admit I’m looking forward to playing around with my audio stuff and turning on my system and listening to music when I return home. I think this is what audiophiles do but in my case, I’ve been pretty content with my setups and I don’t have a strong desire to change them. So I do believe everyone is different and there are many out there that will constantly be m as king changes and upgrading their systems but likewise there are also many out there that are happy and content with where they are at. Things will never be perfect, it’s only what perfect for you or what’s good enough for you.
Have you reached your end point with this addictive hobby?
I wonder if out there somewhere there’s a support group called Audiophile Anonymous 😂 that addresses Audiophiles constant need for perfection. For my self I would probably benefit from a couple of these group sessions. Putting humor aside there’s some truth to this hobby being addictive and at some point there has to be an end point where you are there and the need to upgrade serves no useful purpose. I can’t say I’m 100% there yet, but something inside me tells me I’m getting close to hitting rock bottom and when I do maybe I’ll see the light, or maybe not 😂!