To answer your question, Lakefrontroad, I will refer to Jaybo's response: the ultimate direction of electronics is to sell more electronics. And the only goal by which the carrot is guaranteed NEVER to disappear is the pursuit of accuracy. Any other stated goal would send a company down the financial tubes.
For our part, we are more like those people who buy self-help books in order to find happiness, live in the present moment, be satisfied with our system, defend our way of doing the hobby, etc... The impossible aspect of this pursuit is that unlike a 315lb. person who sets their target weight at 175, we are operating in a realm of vague parameters. Sure, manufacturers can give us stats for their products, but how they stand up synergistically with their neighbors is strictly a judgment call on our part. Trust your ears, right? What I would contend--just my opinion, naturally--is that the way that many choose to combat the unsettling, ambiguous nature of this hobby is to search for an end goal of specificity. And the only one that fits the bill is accuracy. To say, "I've found it, the truth in audio." In fact, accuracy is the messiah of audio. And we all orbit that savior in much the same way we do religion itself. Agnostics say its all about the music, right? The devout are quick to "nuff said" others who don't agree with them. And the atheists? Well, they buy Bose. :-)
