LoFi

 Alexa - any sonic tweaking? Add a subwoofer?

No subwoofers yet.
But listening to the radio I realize this a classic case of missing the forest for the trees.
Too much sonic detail to hear a composition as a whole.
This is true especially for classical music (bigger forest) which tends to be more complex than other types of music

I strongly suggest that you stick with lo-fi to avoid any dissatisfaction when switching back to hi-fi. Like my son (no kidding), who enjoys lofi much better and care less about hifi. My best half also enjoys WQXR better than anything else. I am the minority who can not live without hifi.

I don’t think OP’s issue is low-fi vs hi-fi. It is the wrong approach of hifi, which focuses on some soundstage, separation and how things are spread out in it, pinpointing whatever. It makes an analytical mind go crazy, takes you out the music.

About a month ago, i watched an orchestra in a grand acoustical hall, not too far from where i live. There was not even a remote instance of not being fully enveloped immersed in the music, almost transcendental, while watching a dense orchestra.

To do that type of envelopment and immersion at home (that shuts down the analytical mind) at home, one may need to resort to some atmos/multichannel/object based audio....I recall 10 years ago, it was the classical guys who were switching over first. But, of course, it requires a larger space, more expense, setup complexity, etc.

Or the other extreme is to get a bluetooth boombox or transitor radio to completely kill all expectations and lower standards drastically... so it becomes enjoyable again.

I strongly suggest that you stick with lo-fi to avoid any dissatisfaction when switching back to hi-fi. Like my son (no kidding), he enjoys lofi much better. My best half also enjoys WQXR better than anything else.

deep_333,

You know, I’m actually thinking of something like that. I realize how much music I’ve been missing, and how much I’m enjoying music now, and how this hobby has corrupted my senses.

It seems a shame after all the dedication and expense I’ve invested to dump everything and start over. But this Hifi addiction has been ingrained in me for so many years it seems almost impossible to break. I’ll have to find some solution that includes both listening methods but not at the same time.
Or, break the addiction. (Not likely.)