The thread we’ve all been waiting for :) Kidding aside, this is a great point of discussion. I think there are two ways to answer.
1. Some (maybe most in active forums) listen to their equipment and can pursue resolving clarity at the expense of all other considerations. Their actual hobby is defined by the equipment in some way or another…sometimes to the point of being vulnerable to inaudible ultra expensive snake oil. I don’t necessarily think it’s an issue of ego gratification but there’s some part of it that can come across as prideful in discussion.
2. Others (my category) greatly enjoy this hobby, appreciate all the knowledge and technology, spend more than the average consumer, but take our joy from the musicality or have an affection for some cultural connection to a certain era of hifi or specific style of music.
People like me land in the middle. I love the era of early pro audio solid state analog power. Love the instrumentation of Muscle Shoals, Stax, Memphis and Chess Records studios. Imprinted by the sound of big hard to drive cabinets like AR3, Infinity and JBL big baffle speakers. But my lifestyle doesn’t allow for the time, expense or space needed to do justice to vinyl, which makes me a digital streamer who loves throwback analog output, LOL
i am a happy camper with something less than state of the art resolution…but my well tuned Crown high voltage SS amp, fed by an ESS Sabre DAC in a thoughtful gain stack into a pair of brilliant Wharfedale Lintons are perfect in my view.
The expertise in this forum is amazing and has really guided my projects, even if I’ve landed somewhere in “good enough musicality” category in pursuit of perfect reproduction. My stuff delivers a balanced enjoyable experience without distortion for under $2K.