I'm definitely more in the music than the gear camp. There are a couple "mantras" I like.
- Steve Guttenberg's (I think) A good system makes average recordings sound great (as opposed to managing some extreme "audiophile" obstacle course).
- Andrew Robinson: The only person who needs to like your system is you.
My own 2c are that there is more variability in music recordings than gear, so "optimizing" a system to the nth degree is futile. A fortiori, if you listen to a wider range of music. Solo viola d'amore and EBM/punk are worlds apart sound-wise. I enjoy both. That is the problem with the test-track approach to system optimization. It leaves out the vast majority of music, and deprives the listener to the joy of diversity.
To illustrate that, some of my recent interesting music purchases:
- Laibach, 2025, Alamut. Avantgarde neoclassic.
- New Haunts, 2024. Hooks. Eery, neurotic coldwave.
- Algebra Suicide, 1999. Still life. Minimal post-punk spoken words.
- Propter Hoc, 2025. Seduction and Betrayal. Old-school new wave.
- SIIE, 2025. Acmé. Swiss-german francophone EBM-electroclash.