Thinking back over the years, I guess I fail the "audiophile" appelation as defined by Sean. I think the shortest period of time I owned a component was about 6 months, but most of the gear I acquire stays with me at least 3 years, and sometimes as long as 5-10 years. The longest ownership period for anything in my system was a Nakamichi cassette tape recorder, which I kept for nearly 15 years, but it was virtually unused for the last 5 years before I sold it.
Now that I am getting closer to retirement, I think the audio gear I got during my last upgrade will be with me for a long time. The only reason that would make me continue to upgrade would a significant change in technology which essentially makes something obsolete (this will be more true for home theater than pure audio).
Now that I am getting closer to retirement, I think the audio gear I got during my last upgrade will be with me for a long time. The only reason that would make me continue to upgrade would a significant change in technology which essentially makes something obsolete (this will be more true for home theater than pure audio).