Both; When I find a classical recording performance I like better than the one I have I "upgrade". The performance matter most to me. The audiophile interest comes from wanting these recordings to sound as good as possible. I do sometimes have more than one favorite of a particular piece, but an upgrade means the old recording is traded in or sold. I do have musician friends who have nice gear, but I think most would rather spend the money on live performances.
Love of MUSIC or love of GEAR
I think the appeal of audio gear is more complicated than simply a love of music. In my experience I have not seen much of a correlation between the love of music and the pursuit of high-end gear. That is not to say that audiophiles do not necessarily love music – I think that they do (or they at least have some kind of aural fetish)– or the gear would not make sense to them. But if the full appreciation of music was dependant on hearing it played through the best gear, then musicians, composers, CBC FM radio hosts (yes, I am Canadian) – would all be audiophiles. As it stands, this is not the rule but the exception. (I would bet that there are more architects than musicians that have high-end systems.) I propose that the pursuit of high-end audio has something to do with an obsession with the POTENTIAL of gear to produce music. Wrapped up in this ‘potential’ are the aesthetics and physical appearance of the gear, its smell, feel, ergonomics, size and mass, technological innovation, myths associated with it, etc. The pursuit of gear in this context is its potential to offer a doorway to a world of music as expansive and rich as we can imagine, that we can open at will - by ourselves or with others who are willing to listen.