Interesting thread. I guess I have slighly more invested in music than in equipment, considering I purchased a lot of my equipment "pre owned". I make major equipment purchases about once a year..and have gone for up to 2 years w.out making a single change. However, I spend at least $ 100/month on LP's/CD's..and sometimes a lot more. Yes, I am sure I can improve my system and definitely have a "wish list"..but i just can't resist new music. I try to listen for 2-3 hours each day, and find myself also listening to "groups" of CD's/LP's for a whiele then moving on to a new group. However, I will also randomly pick LP's or CD's out of the shelves 2-3 times/week to "force" rotation. Last, I also find that some music I bought 2-5 years ago simply doesn't appeal to me anymore. This is more likely to happen w/ pop/rock than classical,jazz or blues..though I can sometimes pick up a new pressing or recording of a classical piece that "supercedes" one I already own. For example, I own five differnet versions of Carmina Burana, but only listen to two of them; I own several versions of Mahler's symphonies, but for the most part keep going back to Solti's, etc. etc. I also own multple pressings of the several LP's (e.g., 3 pressing s and one more on the way of the Dorati 1812 on Mercury) My point is that new music (even if only a new recording of the same piece or even a new pressing or remastered CD) can be as rewarding as a major component upgrade, and often more so. At the end of the day, your system is only as good as what you feed into it.
New Music vs. New Equipment
I assume that many people are like me in that we are always looking to optimize our audio systems. Unfortunately, to do so can require spending thousands of dollars. Furthermore, when all is said and done, the system sounds better, but it's never going to sound like real musicians playing real music. At what point is it better to leave the equipment alone and instead purchase more music? As an example, will I be better off spending $2,500 on new bi-wire cables, or should I buy 125 (@ $20 each) new albums? The new cables have the potential to make the 2,500 albums I already own sound marginally better, yet 125 new albums should yeild some great music. Which way should I go?