I think the glossy rags lead to my upgrade itch. They wax on and on lyrically about what a tremendous improvement the mk II version is over the mk I, that I start listening more critically, and finding more 'problems' with my own system. I find it best to cancel my subscriptions, and just listen for fun. Even really bad recordings where I like the music are suddenly tolerable.
I have figured out the upgrade itch
I think I have finally figured the upgrade itch out. I answered another thread that wanted to know (what do you do while listening to music?) I said that 25% is serious listening and the other 75% is half heartedly listening and reading. I went on to say that it use to be the exact opposite of 75% critical listening and only 25% reading. I have not upgraded anything lately but I have the itch to do so. I've noticed that when I upgrade anything in my system I tend to do a lot of critical listening. I believe we upgrade so frequently so that we can enjoy serious listening. To me critical listening isn't fun unless a new toy is in the sand box. What do you think?